Online-only letters

Homeless relief

Ten-year plan doesn't solve housing crisis

I was more than a bit chagrined to read that Bill Block, the project director of the Committee to End Homelessness in King County, apparently does not know how much affordable housing has been lost in our region over the last year ["Some relief in 2007 for area's homeless," Times, Local News, July 18].

That loss continues to far outpace whatever units are built or preserved for the very poor. The Puget Sound, and Seattle in particular, is rapidly becoming a place that is increasingly inhospitable to not only impoverished and disabled citizens, but also to honest, hardworking people of modest means. There is not nearly enough safe and appropriate emergency shelter for everyone now in need. And there is certainly no way that 9,500 new units of affordable housing — the 10-year plan's goal — will make any significant difference in this tragic problem if we keep hemorrhaging the affordable housing we presently have.

I have been a social worker in downtown Seattle for more than 30 years. My job regularly brings me face to face with desperate and ailing people. I can attest that the housing crisis for indigent citizens in our city has never been worse. Unless the present equation is shifted and low-income housing loss is truly staunched, the 10-year plan will prove futile as a comprehensive solution to homelessness.

— Joe Martin, Seattle

Light-rail proposal

Sound Transit board didn't think plan through

After reading the article regarding the light-rail proposal making the fall ballot, I think that, once again, the Sound Transit board of directors has treated citizens as if they were uneducated ["Light-rail proposal may make fall ballot," Times, Local News, July 18].

Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon said, "Seattle officials earlier expected Snohomish County to underwrite rail construction from the Seattle city limits to Mountlake Terrace," according to the article. But "the new deal uses Snohomish County money only from Shoreline north."

Well, excuse me, but if you go to 145th Street and look south, you will see the Seattle city limits sign. At the same spot, look north and you will see the Shoreline city limits sign. Where is there any change in geography with this "new deal"? Also, Edmonds City Councilwoman Deanna Dawson is "confident" that dropping park-and-ride expansions will be OK as long as local bus routes are arranged differently? Please.

The Times article was right in that "some details remained murky." Those words would be the epitaph on a Sound Transit headstone.

— John Christensen, Edmonds

Medical marijuana

Laws have unwanted outcomes

If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal ["Return the pot," Times, editorial, July 21]. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents.

The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer-madness propaganda.

By raiding voter-approved medical-marijuana providers in Washington state, the very same U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that claims illicit drug use finances terrorism is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the hands of street dealers. Apparently, marijuana prohibition is more important than protecting the country from terrorism.

— Robert Sharpe, policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy, Arlington, Va.

Logging and landslides

Don't point fingers at Sutherland

What caused the flooding and landslides in Lewis County last December? Water. Lots of water.

The Seattle Times reported that "The Chehalis River's peak flood flow was more than double the previous record tracked by gauges in place since 1939" ["Logging and landslides," Times, Local News, July 13] No kidding!

In some areas, the storm dropped 20 inches of rain. And it all ran downhill, taking trees, hillsides and a lot more with it. Our farms, communities and lives were thrown into upheaval by the unprecedented combination of snow melt, rain and the flood that resulted.

Before the floodwaters receded, partisans and political opportunists began pointing fingers. Instead of working to help people and communities in need, they seized the opportunity to further their political agenda.

The worst of human nature was brought out following an act of Mother Nature. But others showed true leadership in coming to our aid.

Among them was Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland, who quickly created a program to remove the "large woody debris" from our farms. Southerland realized we could not get back to farming if there were trees and root wads covering our fields.

Sutherland had the resources to deal with the problem, and he pulled everything together to help people who had lost their homes, their animals, their equipment and their incomes.

The only finger I want to point is at Public Lands Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland, as I say "well done."

Sutherland has shown true leadership and compassion in the midst of the greatest crisis many will ever face.

— Ron Mauel, president of Lewis County Farm Bureau, Chehalis

Seattle parks levy

Coverage of tax-increase proposals biased

I have been informed by many colleagues more familiar with Seattle media than I that the line between objective journalism and editorial opinion has been blurred for so long in this city that you can no longer tell the difference. I am still naive enough to see it. Tuesday's article on the Parks and Green Spaces Levy ["Is parks levy one request too many?," Times, page one, July 22] was a textbook case of partiality masked as public service.

The headline was a question, and a question-as-headline is necessarily rhetorical. Then, rather than inform the citizens of the city that the levy had been approved by the City Council and provide balanced information on the measures and the costs, the lede introduced it to the public as little more than an unnecessary threat to their wallets.

The following front-page paragraphs then framed the levy as an unqualified competitor against the other measures citizens will vote on in November, despite not having explained in detail what the levy would do, and finally ended with Mayor Greg Nickels' opinion, which was redundant, as the preceding paragraphs were essentially a mouthpiece for the mayor's opinion anyway.

This tone continues until two-thirds of the way into the jump when, after being informed of all the reasons not to vote for the proposal, readers are finally given a hint as to what it would do.

I have not yet made up my mind as to whether or not I will support the proposal. What I do not support is being told by the front page of my local newspaper that something they won't take the time to tell me about isn't worth my consideration or my money.

Here's my advice: Next time a levy is approved by the City Council, tell me what it is, how much it will cost and what it's up against, in that order. I'll figure out what I want.

— W. Dylan Byers, Seattle

Obama vs. McCain

Military experience not necessary nor desirable

Sen. John McCain's "blistering" criticism of Sen. Barack Obama's positions on Iraq is disconcerting ["Trip yields drama, boost for Obama," Times, page one, July 22].

Obama was not "completely wrong" to oppose the war on Iraq. Everyone but McCain, it seems, now sees that the president's case for invasion was so weak that he had to lie about his motivations. That's not being right — just evil.

What's scary about McCain's frothing over Obama's having "no military experience whatsoever" is that it implies that such experience is necessary, even desirable. The last seven and a half years has shown us it is neither. The military is a tool, a blunt one at that, and the Founding Fathers wisely put its ultimate command in the hands of a civilian. The last thing we need is another fighter jock in the White House.

— Timothy Walsh, Seattle

Assisted suicide

State should adopt Oregon's law

"Where death in a bottle is easy to find" [Times, News, July 21] implicitly makes the case for I-1000, the Washington Death with Dignity Initiative, which would provide mentally competent, terminally-ill adults with the right to obtain a prescription for life-ending medications.

For 10 years, Oregon's Death with Dignity Act has been a model for the nation. Unlike the current unregulated practices in Washington, there are numerous safeguards and restrictions to prevent abuses. These include a terminal diagnosis by two physicians, two waiting periods, a written request witnessed by at least two people who attest the patient is capable and acting voluntarily, a duty to inform the patient about reasonable alternatives including hospice and a referral to a mental-health professional if either physician believes the patient is suffering from depression or other psychological disorders.

The issue is not whether some terminally-ill people will end their lives but how they will do so. The current illegal, underground, unregulated practice does not serve the public interest. The Washington State Public Health Association — the leading advocacy organization for public health in Washington State — agrees and endorsed I-1000.

The Oregon law — safe, strictly regulated and transparent — should be replicated in Washington.

— Robb Miller, executive director of Compassion & Choices of Washington, Seattle

License-plate cameras

New camera system no big deal

I'm not sure why using license-plate cameras at the Washington state ferry terminals is being viewed as such a big deal ["License-plate cameras tested at 2 ferry docks," Times, Local News, July 17].

Similar technology has been in place at all the Canadian border crossings for years, dating back to before 9/11. I see little difference between a policeman, a customs and immigration officer or a ferry worker entering license numbers into a computer and a camera snapping photos and checking lists.

The whole point of a license plate is to distinguish one vehicle from another, provide proof of legal registration, provide tax revenue and aid in deterring or fighting criminal activities. The plate and its number are there for anyone to see and write down if they want to.

The only difference between recording numbers by hand and by automated camera is the camera is cheaper, which means (in theory) it takes less of my tax money to do it.

— C. Marin Faure, Sammamish

State spending

Gregoire's investments a great service

Sunday's article on the state budgets under Gov. Christine Gregoire overlooked important contextual information about the state's economy that your readers deserve to know ["How state spending rose $8B under Gregoire," Times, page one, July 20]. Increases in state spending under Gregoire mirror the state's growth in average personal income for residents.

Unfortunately, this great economic tide did not lift all boats. There are still nearly 500,000 uninsured adults in Washington. If it were not for Gregoire, we would have seen many more uninsured children, too. Two years ago, Gregoire signed into law groundbreaking legislation to ensure that all children have access to insurance and health care by 2010.

There is abundant evidence that investing in children's health and access to primary medical and dental care pays big dividends — in decreased health-care costs and improved health and productivity. Investing state dollars to protect families and children pencils out to long-term savings, healthier residents and a more secure future. Gregoire has done Washington state a great service by making those investments.

— Thomas Trompeter, CEO of HealthPoint (formerly Community Health Centers of King County), Seattle

Burner's campaign

Article tells nothing of importance

I'm writing to address the article published July 21, titled "Burner campaign downplays high-tech tie, wealth" [Times, page one, July 21], which I find deeply troubling.

As a voter, I do not see anything here that leads me to believe this story is worth the paper it's been printed on. Where is the news? And where is the balance?

There is no benefit to voters in being told that congressional candidate Darcy Burner is working hard to make herself appear to be more like us. And there is neither benefit nor balance to comments on her efforts through interviews with strategists who are only of her political persuasion. I finished this article and thought, "so what?"

I hope your reporters aren't running out of ideas when it comes to real news stories that will keep voters informed, because an important election is right around the corner and we need to know where the candidates stand on the issues.

— Alex Justus, Beaux Arts

McKenna TV ads

Attorney general fails to see ethical dilemma

It was disturbing to read Attorney General Rob McKenna's response to the complaint filed with the Public Disclosure Commission by state Democrats: "The bottom line is no law has been violated."

As our state's highest legal entity, I would hope that he is correct — but what he aptly demonstrated with his comment is that he does not grasp the ethical dilemma his actions precipitated.

If anything else, our state's top lawyer needs to keep the office above reproach and, in this instance, McKenna has utterly failed.

— Ben Schroeter, Seattle

"Wishful Drinking"

Carrie Fisher's autobiographical show is hardly art

Today I read in disbelief The Times article "Carrie Fisher's 'Wishful Drinking' set for '09 at Seattle Repertory Theatre" [Times, Northwest Arts & Life, July 23].

Do the people of Seattle really believe that someone on the stage talking about her Hollywood parents, her marriage to a pop star and, as theater critic Misha Berson quotes the Los Angeles Times, "a Beverly Hills yard sale of juicy anecdotes" is something called real art? I pray that the city of Seattle has grown past one-trick-pony shows and that real theater can become part of the framework of a cultured society.

Did you hear that? That was William Shakespeare rolling over in his grave, wondering where the sophisticated folks went in the Northwest. When you find real theater, please let me know.

— Barry Garth Gobatie, Kirkland

Chinatown Seafair Parade

Where were the Democrats?

As with all parades, this weekend's Chinatown Seafair Parade was filled with various charity groups, political candidates, companies and unions. However, I noticed the sheer lack of presence by one Seattle staple: Democrats.

Not a single major Democratic candidate walked in the parade: not Gov. Christine Gregoire, not Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg and not congressional candidate Darcy Burner. Have Democrats become so confident they will win the vote of Chinese Americans that they no longer need to associate with them?

In stark comparison to the lack of Democrats, there was a plethora of major Republicans in attendance. Gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi, Attorney General Rob McKenna and Congressman Dave Reichert were all at the parade, and had a multitude of supporters tagging along. In particular, I noticed the broad cross-section of Seattle's diverse population marching in support of Rossi. Has the self-proclaimed all-inclusive Seattle Democratic "party of the people" become so progressive that they can no longer show up on parade day?

— Todd Brannon, Seattle