Letters to the editor for June 12
The mockery of community input
On June 2, the Lacey City Council made a mockery of community input. For many months a developer has been in the process of seeking a permit to build a gas station and convenience store in northeast Lacey. The proposed store and gas station would be built across the street from a children’s park and a frequented path to the local middle school.
The Lacey Municipal Code says, ”Limit such development to areas where local economic demand, local citizen acceptance and appropriate design solutions assure compatibility with the neighborhood.” There were opportunities for public comment in the form of written letters and in-person testimony before a hearing examiner.
But this project does not have “local citizen acceptance” nor is it compatible with the neighborhood. Hundreds of people have written letters, signed a petition, protested at the site and testified before the hearing examiner that they oppose this project. Virtually no one wants this market and gas station. We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and it will endanger children and alter the character of the neighborhood. But the city council approved the project anyway.
Why is public comment sought after and encouraged only in the end to say it does not matter? But it does matter lest we make a mockery of the request for community input. It should matter if we believe in democracy and self-governance. It should matter if we want to encourage and not discourage the involvement and agency of the members of our community.
Geoff Browning, Lacey
Why don’t we care about our children?
On June 1, I marched with my son and other students to the Capitol for a rally on gun safety and the very real threat to American students. And it made me seriously reflect on why we are so willing to expose our children to this risk. In 2022, we have seen 27 school shootings, with 27 deaths and 56 injuries.
According to Education Week, there have been 119 school shootings since 2018, resulting in 88 deaths and 229 injuries. The Center for Homeland Security and Defense at the Naval Postgraduate School, pulling from historical data, tells a much grimmer story with data stretching back to 1970: 2,062 shootings, 683 deaths, 1,932 injuries.
I wanted to know how these numbers compare to the rest of the world and found a report from the World Population Review, a non-partisan organization from Walnut, California. They reported that from January 2009 through May 2018, the U.S. had 288 school shootings and No. 2 was Mexico with eight school shootings. Canada had two and France was the only European nation in the top 10 with two. Think about that gap.
We are not even halfway through the year and have 27 shootings. Last year, we saw 34 shootings in total. If we break 50 shootings, will we start to care about the country’s children? If we reach 100 deaths? Until we really tackle this trend, America cannot really to claim to care about her children.
Kael Moffat, Olympia
Fishing opportunity on the Columbia River
The time to act is now if we want to recover abundant salmon runs and uphold our moral obligation to the next generation.
Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee have committed to exploring an actionable plan by July for removing dams and replacing their services. Their draft report clearly outlines those services the dams provide can be replaced with smart investments in energy, irrigation, and transportation.
Now the public comment period is underway. It’s up to us to speak up: The dams need to come out.
Tribes, communities, and families across the state are counting on Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee to lead the way to save our salmon. Anglers are too.
Doug Rees, Tumwater