Letters to the editor for April 5

Vote no on Regional Fire Authority/Prop. 1

Please vote NO on Olympia/Tumwater Proposition 1 in April.

It would require the biggest tax increase in the history of either Olympia or Tumwater. And the seven-year “Strategic Plan” for the RFA provides no new firefighters, fire engines, aid cars, or fire stations.

The RFA’s Fire Benefit Fee also charges the smallest homes at a higher rate than the largest homes. Nearly all of the $10.5 million initial Fire Benefit Charge goes for duplicative administrative expenses and for pay raises for existing highly paid employees.

Most voters do not follow the smaller agencies, like the Port or PUD, and the RFA will be in the same boat.

The “Pro” campaign has financial support from the firefighter unions (RFA’s huge salary increases), and Prop. 1 is supported by the city councils because they want to free up revenue by shifting the cost of the fire departments to a new taxing authority.

We have excellent fire departments, accountable to voters through the City Councils we elect. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Mark Mahaffey, Olympia

Downtown Olympia is better, but camps are not

Downtown Olympia is better, as described in the March 26 editorial. But the tent cities are not. The one at Interstate 5 and Sleater Kinney Road is an eyesore and getting worse.

The governor said the state was going to clean up, especially along I-5. As a minimum, either the state, county, or city needs to provide dumpsters for all the trash. Dumpster service needs to be daily, weekly, or whatever it takes to clean up the areas.

I know there’s a problem with housing. As an example, waiting for the Days Inn to be cleaned up and sanitized. But dumpsters sure would help in the meantime.

Larry Taylor, Olympia

Parents should be concerned about HB 1564

As a survivor and mother of a survivor living in Washington, I know survivors are inadequately supported. I also understand the reluctance to report sexual assaults, as is demonstrated by the 70% of survivors across the country who choose not to.

Let’s be clear: The choice of whether or not to report belongs entirely to the survivor. This does not change the fact that ALL survivors deserve care and support, regardless of the decision that they make.

A bipartisan coalition of Washington legislators is attempting to ban over-the-counter, self-collection sexual assault kits through House Bill 1564, rather than trying to understand why assaults go unreported and why so many seek alternative methods of care.

This bill’s passage will leave only the option for examination by SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) nurses, of which there is a shortage, or in some places, none at all. HB 1564 includes no funding to hire more qualified nurse examiners.

The presence of these kits at universities provides encouragement to collect and report. They normalize that sexual assault shouldn’t be tolerated.

These legislators are using political power and seeking to establish control over a vulnerable group of people, under the guise of protecting them. If legislators wanted to support survivors, they would consider legal protections for self-collection. That is what it means to support survivors. It means supporting their choice.

I stand against HB 1564 because I want my daughters to be supported if something terrible happens.

Debra Chamberlin, Olympia