Letters to the Editor

Letter: A day in the life of a Vancouverite

Tired of spending my Saturday afternoon standing in line at a local retail store — the same store that sends out "support your local small business" fliers — only to pay more than my Oregon-licensed fellow Vancouverites, I slowly trundle south across the rickety I-5 bridge (suffered through a bridge lift as a newly manufactured drilling derrick slowly drifted past, barely clearing the bridge) to the uberweird and wonderful land of no sales tax.

Letter: Legislators need a 'timeout'

The taxpayers are again reaping the effect of nonproductive state legislators, who, by their foot dragging, have added to the budget deficit.

Letter: CRC view is forced on us

In the June 15 story, "Murray targets opponents of CRC," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., argues that if we don't accept a bridge with less traffic capacity and overpriced light rail, then we don't want a new bridge at all. This is another dishonest argument.

Letter: CRC alternative merits a look

In a June 15 story "Murray targets opponents of CRC," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., was quoted as saying, "The people who are opposing (the Columbia River Crossing) need to tell you what the backup plan is."

Letter: We enable rebel extremists

President Obama declared that Bashar al-Assad of Syria has "crossed the line," alleging Assad's use of chemical agents against Syrian rebels. Obama is now publicly wrestling with just how to support the Syrian rebels.

Letter: Economy will suffer with fee waiver

The city of Vancouver used to have a point person for economic development; they still have a business assistance coordinator. It seems Clark County could invest 3 percent of the amount it is giving away in its fee and traffic impact fee program to staff an economic development office — giving a couple of people jobs in the process — and create a program with real accountability for an active program to bring jobs to the county and get a lot more bang for the buck.

Letter: Explore ways of giving

If you own a refrigerator, a closet to hangs clothes in, a bed to sleep in, and a roof over your head, you are wealthier than a large majority of the world. People all around the world are suffering, and anyone, including you, can step in and help. People experience poverty, natural disasters and sickness on a daily basis. Something as little as sending $1 to organizations that help these people who are suffering can buy them their food. Many people live on only $1 to $2 a day.

Letter: Take stock of your public bosses

Clark County Commissioner David Madore's problem is that he has no experience running a corporation that is accountable to stockholders. US Digital is a privately held corporation. Clark County, in contrast, is a publicly held entity in every sense, answerable to every one of its "stockholder" citizens. Madore is used to calling the shots unopposed in his private boardroom. As an elected official he appears not to appreciate that voters can remove him from their board of directors just as easily as they put him there.

Letter: McEnerny-Ogle is superb candidate

Anne McEnerny-Ogle is running for a seat on the Vancouver City Council for Position 3. In the past several months I've served on the board of Daybreak Youth Services with McEnerny-Ogle and have observed that she is highly skilled with communication and group decision-making process.

Letter: Burley offers fresh perspective

Vancouver has a terrific opportunity to become more inclusive and accessible to more residents by electing Galina Burley for Position 3 on the Vancouver City Council.

Letter: Turlay is an attentive candidate

Thank goodness someone stepped up to the plate to run against Mayor Tim Leavitt. Our city has deteriorated since Leavitt became mayor. Many open spaces and medians are ridden with weeds and debris and have been largely unkept. I contacted the mayor by email and have written letters to see why our tax dollars aren't paying for basic services. He seems to forget that we pay his salary. Will I vote for Leavitt? A resounding "no." He doesn't seem to have pride in our city.

Letter: Reagan's amnesty failed

Edwin Meese III, former U.S. attorney general under President Ronald Reagan, offers keen perspective and insight in his critique of the 1986 Reagan "amnesty" bill in a June 14 Wall Street Journal column.

Letter: $4.8 million is a lot to lose

The Board of County Commissioners by a vote of 2-1 "kills fees in quest for jobs." So any company or corporation building or expanding in the county will not be responsible for the necessary county services that will be needed as a result of their actions. According to the June 12 story, "the county estimates the general fund burden will increase by $4.8 million over the coming year and a half."

Letter: Legislature's duty is clear

Most people agree that it is the job of state government to educate our children and build infrastructure that strengthens our economy. As a representative of the 49th District, I find these are not partisan issues. Our state constitution and state Supreme Court could not be more clear about our duty to fully fund education. Late Thursday night, the Legislature passed a bill that moved beyond one piece of the partisan gridlock that has put us in this second special session. There were very few Republican votes. The hardest part of our job is still in front of us.

Letter: Atheists demand a preference

I agree with Larry Dorr's June 10 letter, "Hope in first step to end bigotry," about needing to define "what equality really means." Yet, he ignores the definition while accusing the Boy Scouts of America of bigotry for allowing openly "gay scouts" but not atheists and gay leaders.