Letters to the editor for Jan. 18

Shoutout to Warren Hendrickson

I want to give a shout out to acting Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission chair Warren Hendrickson for his address to the lawmakers during a Washington state House of Representatives Transportation Committee Jan. 9. In the beginning, all we were hearing was that his committee of the profiting aviation industry erroneously wanted a mega airport because air travelers future demands entitles them. People living in the way just have to get out. Nevermind climate change, the issue of water, or the destruction of ecosystems.

I am grateful Mr. Hendrickson and CACC are hearing us and changing their position as the body of knowledge going forward shows it’s impossible to mitigate all the considerations, constraints and obstacles of the three sites being considered in Thurston and Pierce counties. I am thrilled.

Thank you Mr. Hendrickson. Thank you neighbors and Tribe(s). Thank you to all the jurisdictions of both counties unanimously saying NO. And The Olympian for your reporting.

Jean Shaffer, Olympia

NIMBYs rally against airport growth

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I’m getting so sick and tired of the NIMBYs, including the recently formed Stop Olympia Airport Growth group, which wants to stop a minor increase in flight activity at the airport.

The Olympia Regional Airport became operational in 1928, the first hanger was built in the 1930s and the grass fields made permanent and paved in 1937. Our publicly owned regional airport is grossly under-utilized and an increase of takeoffs and landings of just over one half of 1 percent is insignificant.

And finally I find it disingenuous at best for people who bought property and/or live near the airport to complain about a facility that’s been there for nearly 100 years.

Mark O. Brown, Lacey

Another former mayor weighs in on fire proposal

This is a response to the recent letter from my fellow former mayor Pete Kmet regarding the proposed Regional Fire Authority for Olympia and Tumwater. I served as a member of the Olympia City Council and as mayor in the 1990s.

Pete downplayed the financial impact of the proposal. Actually, between property taxes and a new “fire benefit charge,” we would pay about 20% more to support city and fire services than we do under the existing system.

Further, the proposed “fire benefit charge” is structured to be regressive. That is, poorer people would pay at a higher rate than more wealthy people.

In addition, the proposal adds another layer of elected officials. Our government is already far too fragmented. We don’t need more fragmentation.

Voters have little time to consider this proposal because it was developed in little-noticed meetings, and only recently finalized.

We all need to pay careful attention to this proposal before the April 25 vote.

My personal preference would be to reject this proposal and if additional funding is actually needed, use the standard “levy lid lift” process, rather than establishing a new “fire authority” (special purpose government).

Bob Jacobs, Olympia

Sheltering to save lives

Some of you may have read a recent story about a man who broke into a school during a blizzard to save the lives of people who were stuck in the cold. Good for him and lucky for those 20 people he helped.

Let’s imagine the headline if a homeless person had broken into a school and sheltered 20 other homeless people on a cold, snowy or rainy night. Yeah. Different caption for that picture, right?

Sadly, there are people IN PRISON for doing just this: entering a building or a car to shelter themselves from the cold.

Homeless people are not the problem. The fact that they have no home — or even shelter — is the problem.

Please be kind and humane. Work on solutions that help people.

Noreen Light, Olympia