Letters to the Editor for July 16

Don’t perpetuate hospital monopoly

The article written by the editorial staff of The Olympian now dictates to the general public that there is only one hospital serving the Olympia area and beyond that should be granted exclusive rights to patient lives.

In the editorial titled “State should side with Providence St. Peter” The Olympian sites that Capital Medical Center should not be qualified to handle cardiac procedures that St. Peter should retain a monopoly on.

WRONG!

The editorial was filled with incomplete information.

There was no mention of how many cardiac cases have to be sent outside this area and the revenue going with those cases. Two cardiac surgeons are not enough given the growing population in this area.

I do know that Capital Medical Center recently upgraded its cath lab with state-of-the-art equipment and is a top notch facility.

This area needs a second hospital.

We, the paying public, should not be subjected to which hospital we need to choose to receive treatment when time is the enemy. All hospitals should be allowed to provide the same care and procedures in order to save the life of the patient.

St. Peter’s monopoly is apparent and The Olympian is perpetuating that monopoly. The end request is health care at all hospitals rather than monopoly and greed.

NORBERT HOWALD, Olympia

Comprehensive development plan needed

I encourage the city of Olympia to follow the suggestion of the Department of Ecology and initiate a comprehensive review of waterfront development.

We live above the old Reliable Steel site in a cottage on top of the bluff. Our neighborhood has no water view because of the existing greenbelt. The water sparkles through the trees. That’s where the gang of marauding garden-eating deer live, below the raucous heron roost. It’s a complicated urban environment and we all like it like that.

Up here, it feels like there’s a storm coming.

Last year seemed the opposite of planned. It was, willy-nilly, one proposal after another: Larida Passage, multiple West Bay Drive developments, some reaching all the way to the top of the bluff. We were notified about some stuff and other proposals magically appeared on the City Council agenda, only to disappear in a confused fog.

At one meeting, a developer asserted studies have shown that the existing West Bay Drive could handle all proposed build-out traffic!

It makes you wonder.

As for the cost, ask the state to pony up its share. It’s going to be hard for Ecology to pass the buck after a legislative session filled with Larida Passage spot zoning skirmishes, the call from shorelines manager Gordon White for a shoreline master plan review, the constant soapboxing from Ecology Director Jay Manning about Puget Sound water quality, and the call from state resource agencies to free the Deschutes River.

It’s time to walk the walk.

TIM D'ACCI, Olympia

Change Lacey council members

Not long ago we had a president who reminded us “It’s the economy, stupid!” Apparently some leaders didn’t see the wisdom of that idea.

Now, more than ever, we need to recognize our lives are interwoven with the ups and downs of our economic system. Now, more than ever, we have to work together to fix this busted remnant of security we thought would last forever.

Here in Lacey, we have the opportunity to listen to new ideas about how to keep our balance in this unbalanced world.

Three everyday citizens, a second- generation small business owner, a proven leader with an admirable record of service to our community, and a retired man with extensive experience in marketing and delivering goods and services to consumers, are offering to give city government back to us citizens.

This is our chance to give our voices the audience we deserve, a voice of recognition and respect from our city leaders.

The present guardians of our city’s future did what they thought was right and deserve credit for that.

Now they have chosen to refuse negotiation with some services we depend on for our safety. And they plan to charge forward on a project that has yet to prove it has adequate value to us, the citizens.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” is fine when whatever it is isn’t broken. But when it is broken, we need to fix it, and I believe Andy Ryder, Cynthia Pratt and Ron Lawson have the ideas and the leadership to put us back on the road to stability and progress.

MARGARET TAFOYA, Lacey

Jackson’s legacy already obvious

The headline said, “Too soon to resolve Michael Jackson’s legacy.”

Here goes.

Barack Obama said: “Any fool can have a baby, but it takes a special person to be a parent.” Michael Jackson was a wonderful father. That was demonstrated to the world at his memorial.

Almost as an aside, he was, by any measure you choose to use, the greatest entertainer the world has ever known.

It’s kind of got a baseball analogy. The Yankee Clipper’s record of hitting safely in 56 games is sure to stand for a long, long time. No one is going to unseat the “King of Pop” for a long, long time as well.

Legacy accomplished.

NICK BOND, Olympia