Letters to the editor for Feb. 1
Be wary of the Parents Rights Movement
Parents, educators, administrators, and school boards face a barrage of new parent groups insisting that curriculum, policies, and practices match their beliefs regardless of community norms.
Maurice T. Cunningham, former Massachusetts assistant attorney general, has exposed these so-called “Parents’ Rights” groups in his article “Merchants of Deception: Parent Props and Their Funders.” These groups are a well-funded facade for the Koch, Walton, and DeVos families, set to disrupt and destroy public education.
One example of Republicans following this movement is Senate Bill 5024, the Parents Bill of Rights. The bill language is vague and onerous. This poorly written bill will not serve the students of Washington’s public schools and seeks to harm public education.
A good bill which is opposed by conservatives is SB 5441, which promotes the adoption of school district curricula that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Educators want to provide every child an accurate and quality education, while certain politicians want to whitewash parts of our history so they can control a political narrative.
Be skeptical of the call for “parents’ rights.”
Madeline Bishop, Olympia
Promote fair taxation
I am a retired nurse living in Olympia. My income from Social Security and my pension are taxed at a standard rate. I am happy to pay the taxes I owe.
Those individuals whose income is from capital gains, i.e. the super wealthy whose capital gains are more than $250,000, should also pay their fair share of taxes.
The capital gains tax will benefit all Washingtonians and should be upheld.
Patricia L. Henry, Olympia
Feedback needed for Thurston County wireless code by Feb. 7
Thurston County is updating their code for wireless facility siting permits (cell towers, small cell facilities, etc), in part to comply with new, more industry-favorable regulatory agency guidelines. The FCC has far exceeded Congressional directives in the Telecommunications Act by, for example, authorizing industry use of our public rights of way (streets, alleys) for small cell facilities, imposing shorter permit decision timelines, and significantly lightening justification requirements.
However, the proposed Thurston County code has gone well beyond what is necessary to comply with these already-egregious limits on local decision-making. The Planning Commission moved the code forward to the County Commissioners with three planning commissioners dissenting.
The Board of County Commissioners has opened a public comment period on the wireless code, accepting written comments through noon Feb. 7, and with a public hearing in person or via Zoom at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 7.
If you would like the expansion of this technology to be accompanied by more property protection, public communication, and transparency, please let the Commissioners know.
For a more extensive discussion of code shortcomings, information on providing comment, and links to the draft code and other county documents, see https://www.thurstonsensiblewireless.com/latest-news
Dorothy Lyons, Olympia
Return Longs Pond Family Fish-in
First, I want to thank the City of Lacey Parks and Recreation, state Fish and Wildlife, Trout Unlimited, B.A.S.S., and every volunteer who has given their time and resources to keep the children’s fishing lake in Lacey operating for 28 years. Your love of kids and service to our community have given thousands of children the opportunity to not only learn how to fish, but to learn to love the outdoors.
Secondly, please bring your kids on opening day this year to Longs pond again, or for the first time, to try and catch some big trout.
When I began this effort in 1995 and these groups agreed to a partnership, our vision was to have a family day to spend together. That is still the goal, but when I was there before COVID, it had become a very different place. Parents and kids were no longer spread out around the entire lake. A net was placed along about 100 feet of shore and was full of trout. The rest of the lake seemed mostly empty. The kids were shoulder to shoulder trying to cast into this small area.
Please return to the original idea. I am sure you have your good reasons, but can’t we make the old way work? I remember it working so well. Again, I am so grateful to each of you, and thank you to all.
Jim Weber, Lacey