Put up or shut up
Regarding Howard Miller’s April 8 rant about Marty Trillhaase “because he is liberal as hell and only right about 80% of the time ... and he doesn’t see” corruption in the welfare office, or immigrants crossing the border, Maxine Waters talking about the homeless, Nancy Pelosi’s and Dianne Feinstein’s insider trading,or even Eric Swalwell’s mistress:
First you have to admit compared to most other editorial writers, especially in this paper, 80% right is pretty good.
Second, do you actually have any issue with anything he has written in his column? After your diatribe, maybe it is time to put up or shut up. Just yelling sound bytes so people give up listening is no way to engage with those you disagree with.
Jeff Watt
Pullman
Neglecting students
College students today are constantly being given tough deadlines and massive assignments. This causes them to have anxiety, depression, panic attacks and terrible mental health in general.
The issue in today’s society as a whole is that colleges and universities are continually not doing enough for students. Another way to state this is that students are not being given the correct tools to ask for help. Colleges giving the correct information to students who are struggling or have seen others struggle would be a great solution.
If colleges were able to implement some sort of program into their orientation meetings, it would prove beneficial. Then these programs that have been implemented are made to be easily accessible for anyone. At that point, we should see a decrease of college students struggling with mental health issues.
This issue has continued to grow to a point where the numbers are frighteningly high. Action must be taken or we will only continue to see an increase in college students struggling with their mental health.
These struggles directly correlate into even bigger issues such as suicide due to high amounts of depression and anxiety.
Trayton Skinner
Lewiston
Breach the dams
Pacific salmon and steelhead are on the brink of extinction. Last year, Congressman Mike Simpson released his bold, science-backed, Columbia Basin Initiative that has since been acknowledged by tribal nations, grassroots organizations and other lawmakers in the Pacific Northwest. With Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray’s plan coming this June, it is increasingly important to pressure our lawmakers into making decisions that benefit the region’s future.
Salmon and steelhead are a lifeblood for Idaho and Washington. Returning hundreds of miles inland to central Idaho, they supply the perfect combination of marine-derived nutrients that benefit streams, riparian zones, forest floors and more than 137 other species. Salmon are also a cultural lifeblood for tribal nations – and have been promised to them through indigenous treaties.
Idaho is one of the only remaining cold, clean and viable locations for salmon and steelhead recovery, but the fish are struggling to get there. The only solution is clear: breach the four lower Snake River dams. ...
These outdated dams don’t supply equitable power. The river economy is non-existent. Bonneville Power Administration is losing money and Southern Resident Orcas are dying at an alarming rate.
The time to act is now. We need Pacific Northwest lawmakers to step up and work together to save this species that so many of us rely on. I urge all readers to contact Washington’s Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee in favor of breaching the four lower Snake River dams to provide a lasting solution for the entire region.
Carson King
Pocatello
Spending too much
The city council and the new strong mayor, Dan Johnson, need to get serious about the high cost of government in the city of Lewiston. Recently the council agreed to go forward with a new fire station that will cost $6.9 million, which is $2.9 million more than what was estimated just a year ago.
The current fire station would be perfectly adequate with some modest repairs and upgrades and is literally only two minutes response time away from the proposed new station. The fire chief argues the city has already spent $550,000 on the new site. But why throw even more money for a project that once again will blow up the city’s budget?
The city’s budget for this fiscal year is $104 million. Coeur d’Alene has a budget of $110 million. Coeur d’Alene has 20,000 more people. Post Falls, which recently overtook Lewiston in population, has a budget of $39 million. Just five short years ago Lewiston’s budget was $64 million.
It has been painfully obvious that the city needs to get serious about its spending. Last year, the people decided to replace the old city manager/ weak city council system with a strong mayor system because people were alarmed by the skyrocketing costs of city government. The old council wanted to buy the old pea plant for $2 million and ... create a new fantasyland at Community Park for $95 million. ...
We need to get real. ...
The mayor and city council have to cut costs.
Brian Hensley
Lewiston
Spring arrives
Spring is finally here. I see it every where — pretty new flowers, tree blossoms, new green grass, songbirds singing happily and new baby animals trying out their long spindly legs.
Meanwhile, humanity is very busy killing, cheating, stealing, hunting and deceiving each other as fast as they can.
We are different from other animals — we have the ability to think and reason, and can choose the actions we will take, unlike other species who operate under the laws of nature and instincts.
And we have made a mess of everything on Earth.Why?
L.C. Hubbard
Clarkston
A gem of a column
Marc Johnson’s April 6 column was a real gem.
I wish more people knew something about history and political reality, and were willing to speak up for civility and integrity in government.
Thanks for printing a few reasonable voices,
Karen Young
Lewiston
