Letters to the editor for Jan. 8

Listen to our community: no new airport

The Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission (CACC) that is considering the construction of a new international airport in Thurston County talks a lot about their outreach efforts, which includes contacting 73 community-based organizations such as nonprofits and environmental justice groups.

However, only three of those groups are located in Thurston County. If the CACC’s goal is to reach those who do not have a voice in a public process, then they should contact more organizations based in the location that would be most impacted: Thurston County.

However, the bigger issue is that the CACC is not taking responsibility for doing this outreach themselves. Instead, they’re asking nonprofit leaders and volunteers who are already under-resourced to take time away from their essential work helping the homeless or working to protect our drinking water, and instead, advise the CACC on how to do outreach.

Let’s be honest: Even if the CACC were to contact every environmental group in Thurston County, is there a single one that would support paving over 3,100 acres of our rural communities, farms, and wildlife habitats so that people 25 years from now will have cheaper flights?

Not likely. So is the goal to get confirmation that environmental groups and nonprofits are opposed to a new airport? Or is the goal to just check the box for “outreach”?

There’s a difference between conducting outreach, and listening to what communities say. There’s also a difference between listening, and taking action on the feedback you’ve been given.

Jennifer Colvin, Tenino

Speak out against anti-Semitism

As members of the Christian clergy in the Olympia area, we are deeply disturbed by the rash of recent public statements and actions that have targeted the Jewish community.

We call on all elected officials who are bound to uphold the First Amendment protection of free speech, to guarantee that such valued protection does not extend to the type of anti-Semitic speech that encourages intimidation, harassment and acts of violence.

U.S. history is filled with the very discrimination, bigotry, and violence that we deplore. Before God and each other, we are committed to atoning for these sins by making restitution to the Jewish community through words and actions that express affirmation and solidarity.

In an age of growing extremism on many fronts, we call on our sisters and brothers in the Olympia area, inclusive of every faith and ethnic heritage, to hold firm to the values of acceptance, fairness and inclusivity that belong to our common heritage.

The Rev. D. Randall Faro, on behalf of the Olympia Retired Clergy Association (ORCA)

Physician Assistants need your support

Healthcare is in crisis. Who hasn’t tried to get an appointment with a primary care provider since the pandemic and found the process arduous If not impossible? The system is broken for many reasons, even though we are well-intentioned.

The fall out is chronic disease is sometimes left untreated, we find delayed diagnosis for critical illnesses, so we resort to the urgent care or emergency room. I have worked both — it is not ideal. The solutions are as complex as the problem.

One solution is increasing patient access to Physician Assistants (PAs) who work collaboratively beside our physician colleagues. Access is being denied by antiquated state laws, and the administrative burden of physician supervision put in place 50 years ago.

It’s time to change the law to reflect how we practice today. During the pandemic, the governor suspended supervision laws so PAs could move to facilities without notifying the state of a change in site. We answered the call, the same way nurses and physicians did. We were there supporting you.

The Washington Academy of Physician Assistants (WAPA) will propose a bill to reflect collaborative practice this legislative session and we need your help. This bill ensures PA collaboration and improves patient access by removing the administrative burden of supervision, improving PA employability and continuing the safe practice of medicine by all PAs.

Please contact your legislator and encourage him or her to support our bill. This is critical to the survival of the PA profession and access to care.

Eileen Ravella, Tumwater, WAPA president