Letters to the Editor

Letter: Commute by barge

A bridge too low, a bridge too high. Rail wheels cannot be subjected to radical elevation changes. The Columbia River is a natural economic path for this region. It should never have an unnecessary artificial barricade.

Letter: No defense for county's defiance

Clark County has had a "muddy" if unclear history with regard to accommodating developers, safeguarding water quality, and protecting salmon and steelhead. Besides state requirements, there are federal standards and requirements: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

Letter: Convenience of travel will improve

As a retired grandma in Vancouver, I often travel to Hillsboro, Ore., to volunteer in my granddaughter's classroom. Each time, I dread getting trapped in the I-5 bridge traffic. It's 45 minutes over there and 31/2 hours back on Friday afternoons, with bumper-to-bumper polluting gridlock.

Letter: Coal dust has demonstrated harm

The Sierra Club, along with partner organizations, filed suit against BNSF Railway over coal dust from trains. Comprehensive independent studies have not verified that surfactant sprays significantly reduce coal dust for long-distance travel. In any case, current federal legislation does not mandate that surfactants be used and it is unclear what materials are used in their manufacture.

Letter: Madore's governing is too extreme

I have to hand it to Clark County Commissioner David Madore, he knows how to woo the voters. This week's Columbian photo of him dancing with seniors is a good example. Can a picture of him kissing a baby be far behind?

Letter: Separate light rail from higher span

A bridge solution? Maybe so. The Columbia River Crossing needs to be low enough for light rail to go up and over it due to the maximum grade it needs to travel, 95 to 116 feet. The CRC needs to be high enough to allow water business to take very large loads under it, 125 to 178 feet.

Letter: Domestic spying is hard to justify

The most disturbing thing, to me, about our government spying on us is that so many people don't care. They want to be "safe."

Letter: Support Clark College effort

As a student, I was glad to read of Clark College's fundraising campaign to raise $20 million. Clark is a great opportunity for those who don't want to spend the enormous expense other colleges have while getting a credible associate in arts degree. Even though Clark is a community college, it is ranked among the top community colleges in the state of Washington. This campaign, Ensuring a Bright Future, implemented by community volunteer Jan Oliva and Bob Knight, president of Clark College, is for the purpose of improving "scholarships, health care programs, science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, as well as facilities." It has already successfully raised $17 million but wants to reach the goal of obtaining the remaining $3 million.

Letter: Increase traffic-law enforcement

Here's a quiz for drivers.

Letter: Acts of kindness decorate our world

One of the problems I see every day at school is people being unkind to one another. As a student involved with ASB and Leadership, I like to look for new ways to help people and make them feel welcome. One thing I learned while in Leadership class was to do random acts of kindness.

Letter: Let's move on recall effort

When and where can I sign the petition to recall self-appointed "King" David Madore from the Clark County commissioner position, as well as his court jester, Commissioner Tom Mielke? Please make it as soon as possible. My thanks to any efforts in getting a recall movement started. Although I'm on Social Security, I will donate what I can to it to put my money where my mouth is.

Letter: Third bridge needed

The partial bridge collapse over the Skagit River proves we need a third bridge now. We need to get freight trucks off our I-5 bridge. A third bridge could route them away from downtown streets; it doesn't destroy historic sights, neighborhoods, businesses or shipping.

Letter: Build a bridge without light rail

With all the persistent chatter these days of "functionally obsolete" and collapsing bridges from one end of the I-5 corridor to the other, you'd think our economy and safety was destined for a final dunking. Instead, here's what's been taking a dunking for years -- our intelligence, our democratic voice and our wallets.

Letter: Make a recall next front page news

The headlines of the June 4 Columbian's front page -- "Longtime county attorney resigns," "Fee plan might be a tough sell" and "Cities, developer give waivers programs mixed review" -- adds to the need to recall King David Madore and his lackey Tom Mielke.

Letter: Hope in first step to end bigotry

The decision by the Boy Scouts of America to allow gay Scouts (but not gay adults) is a good place to start a conversation on what equality really means.