Letters to the editor for Oct. 2
Doglio fights climate change
It would seem with record fires, record hurricanes, record floods, and record smoke, the 10th Congressional District should have a representative in Congress who has made fighting climate change her priority.
I have known Beth Doglio for 30 years, much of that time as a climate activist, seeking to make life better for everyone in Washington state, our country, and our world. Climate change is not fundamentally about saving the Earth — the Earth will be just fine with hotter temperatures, more rain, more wind, more fires, more storms, etc. It is the human beings of planet Earth who are threatened, existentially, by out-of-control climate change.
Beth knows this, and in Congress, she will work with anyone and everyone to make the policy changes necessary to protect people from the devastations of climate change. She is knowledgeable, collaborative, and effective. She has boundless energy. She has empathy. She has all the qualities and priorities that we need in our next representative at this perilous time.
Please vote for Beth Doglio for Congress. Let’s make it a mandate to fight climate change.
Naki Stevens, Olympia
The Port, the poor, and Panattoni
The Olympian carried a front page story about the Port-ordered eviction of some homeless people from the New Market property in Tumwater. The Port’s executive director, Sam Gibboney, ordered the eviction using the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office after the city of Tumwater refused to participate in this act of inhumanity.
The property in question is the port’s boondoggle gift to Panattoni Development in the form of a lease option agreement. So as some poor people are displaced from public property, it is interesting to take a look at the beneficiary of our taxpayer subsidy: Carl Panattoni.
It is rather emblematic to juxtapose the desperate lack of housing for some of our citizens with the personal housing of Mr. Panattoni. A few details paint a picture:
2020: Carl buys a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida for $29 million.
2019: Carl buys a mansion in Newport Beach, California for $38 million.
2018: Carl buys a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida for $18 million.
Also, Carl owns or owned other multi-million-dollar properties in Hawaii and a Pebble Beach property valued at $79 million.
Perhaps, with our latest tax-paid subsidy, poor Carl will be able to get a residence worth over $100 million!
Walt Jorgensen, Tumwater
The FDA vaccine approval process
It is imperative the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process for COVID-19 vaccines is done correctly. Especially with anti-vaccine sentiment growing.
This is not the first time the FDA has been pressured to prematurely approve something new. Readers can Google both Dr. Frances Kelsey and thalidomide to understand what the FDA was up against in the late 1950s.
Thalidomide was considered a wonder drug. One feature was its anti-nausea properties for pregnant women. This drug developed in Europe had been approved in multiple countries but not the U.S. Dr. Kelsey, a young medical doctor with a PhD in pharmacology, held up thalidomide approval due to a lack of information regarding transmission from women to their fetuses. The U.S. company licensed to sell thalidomide put significant pressure on the FDA to approve thalidomide. Dr. Kelsey and the FDA held their ground.
Eventually the tragedy of thalidomide and babies born with deformed arms and legs became evident. Dr. Kelsey and the FDA were vindicated and Congress increased the FDA’s drug approval authority.
During my career in the food industry, I worked with the FDA regarding new ingredient approvals and food safety issues. The FDA staff I worked with were smart, dedicated, and good at giving and receiving input.
Although the FDA approval process for drugs and vaccines have differences, it is imperative the FDA remain insulated from political pressure regarding COVID-19 vaccine approval criteria. I hope Washington’s congressional delegation can help ensure this.
Steve Vernon, Olympia