Our readers' views March 7

Having attended the Columbia River Crossing meetings, I believe the Feb. 25 op-ed piece, "Bridge partnership forged for long haul," by Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard, is pure bureaucratic balderdash.

Regardless of who has "joined in" you can be sure that Adams is not looking for "a smarter way," "maximum efficiency," or "benefits to both our communities." He (they?) are looking for "control" and permission to "manage … I-205" (tolls), and additional "jurisdiction." Adams (CRC?) doesn't want a "thermostat," he wants an entire new PUD.

Current jurisdiction has managed the current crossing just fine and will continue to do so in the future. Guilt terms like "right bridge," "innovation," "done right," and "casual observer" imply that the public is too stupid to see the big picture. Oh, we get it: More government is better. These elected geniuses that have taken four months to make a one-month decision. Go figure.

James D.W. Newton

Vancouver

The Feb. 26 editorial, "Read her lips," recalled that Gov. Chris Gregoire said she wouldn't raise taxes. If our legislators raise taxes, has she raised taxes? When the bureaucrats raise taxes and say they didn't is when it taxes only a minority. The majority of us will overlook it. A few years ago our Legislature raised taxes on alcohol and cigarettes. It was OK because it only included a minority.

Again taxes are rising. My home value is down, but the newspaper reports property taxes are going up. The U.S. Postal Service is raising stamp prices in May. Bureaucrats have convinced Gregoire to add fees to auto license tabs. Taxes on water and sewer have risen. Again they want to raise cigarettes $1 a pack, using the ruse that the cost would prohibit minors from purchasing cigarettes, but it's against the law for minors to purchase anyway. That's OK because it only taxes a minority.

Norman L. Wilcox

Vancouver

I'm certainly an advocate of maintaining a clean planet. However, it's time for some sanity in the climate change debate.

For those already moving inland for fear of rising sea levels from melting polar ice, be advised that most of the ice is already in the ocean. As a native Texan I cannot recall leaving my iced tea in the summer sun and returning to find the picnic table baptized in Lipton.

I'm doubtful that ancient Skokomish considered a tribal ordinance to restrict campfire burning in lodges when the great melting ice barrier gave way to the salt waters of Puget Sound. Worried about melting glaciers? That's what glaciers do, unless of course, they're growing. Then you may have a serious problem.

Considering that our solar system had a beginning and is moving toward an ultimate end, to be surprised at climate change is like riding Amtrak and expecting the scenery to stay the same. So, before we panic and recklessly reshape the social and economic matrix, remain in your seats and stay calm.

Dwaine Bowden

Vancouver

Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is in the process of changing the boundary for hunting blacktail deer in Klickitat. It would eliminate the Klickitat Wildlife Area as being in blacktail deer country. Proposing the Klickitat River as the new boundary would make sense with one minor revision, whereas the KWA would be included within the new eastern boundary of game management unit 578. This change would have the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife proposed boundary remain as the Klickitat River south from the Yakama Indian Reservation, except that it would revert to the Glendale Klickitat Highway at the Leidl crossing bridge and continue along that highway towards the town of Klickitat. The boundary would revert back to the Klickitat River where it again crosses the river and then continue south as proposed by the WDFW.

If the WDFW proposed boundary change is made in KWA, blacktail deer hunting will be eliminated and eventually it will be permit only for mule deer.

Dan Cox

Chinook

As a registered nurse, I take the quality and affordability of patient care seriously. The work of improving conditions for patients happens both at the bedside and on Capitol Hill. The stimulus package gives health care providers the resources to invest in new technology and update existing health IT. It will save money by making delivery of care more efficient, reduce redundancy, and improve patient safety.

It it were your mother, brother, best friend or yourself lying in that hospital bed, would you want your care providers spending more time documenting your care, or actually providing it? Would you want your nurse to have to hunt down the doctor for clarification on your medications because they can't read their writing? Meanwhile your treatments are delayed. Investment in electronic medical records would eliminate this problem. This is just one example of how an investment in our health care system will improve the quality of it.

Heidi Rolfs

Vancouver

Reading Don Brunell's Feb. 25 column, "Clean coal can be mined for energy solutions," I wondered if he really thinks that the process of burning coal is clean. From the upending of mountain tops to get at the coal to the "science project" called CO2 sequestration, there's nothing "clean" about the coal industry.

While Brunell is quick to point out the loss of jobs should plants close, he fails to point out the ugly realities of burning coal. No amount of filters will remove the sulfur, mercury and lead that is put into the air when coal is burned. Just look at the devastating effects on the eastern U.S. and Europe, where decades of burning have had a serious impact on the health of the people who live there. When we cannot safely breathe the air, drink the water or eat our food without concern over toxic, environmental poisons, a lot more than jobs will be at stake.

John Felton

Vancouver

We Americans created this recession individually by spending money that we didn't have and couldn't pay back. The new government proposes that we solve the recession by spending money that we don't have and cannot pay back.

President Bush inherited Bill Clinton's recession and with tax cuts engineered six years of growth. President Obama has inherited Bush's recession and proposes to solve it with taxation and government growth. I don't feel good about how this will turn out.

Glenn Durden

Vancouver