Theft of laptop and city attorney’s resignation
Re: “City attorney steps down,” Feb. 28 news story.
Let’s see, we have a former judge and prosecutor, Larry Manzanares, who claims to have brokered a deal for a $1,600 laptop computer in your average parking lot. This Harvard whiz kid can’t remember how much he paid for this expensive item. He probably can’t remember anything about laws regarding “theft by receiving,” either. Naturally, the item had been recently stolen from the City and County of Denver. Anyone believing this probably served on O.J. Simpson’s jury.
Why, then, doesn’t Manzanares broker a deal with the Jefferson County prosecutor by admitting that he is a thief who wants to do the right thing, since he’s probably going to end up skating anyway?
Terry Chelius, Grand Junction
…
Why must we always assume the worst about people? Let’s look at the data. On Craigslist Wednesday, there were 988 used laptops for sale locally, and on eBay there were 45,530. Some of these laptops might be stolen, but the safe assumption is that the vast majority are legitimate. The simple truth is that folks sell their used stuff these days.
But instead of assuming the best about the man selling a used laptop, Larry Manzanares’ big sin is that he didn’t assume the worst in his fellow man. I guess that’s not a quality we want in a city official. And now we, as a city, assume the worst about a man who has devoted his professional career to serving the city in a noble and ethical fashion. Shame on all of us. Somewhere along the line, we have become a society of cynics who have a fascination with seeing a good person fall. It is a sad day when our city loses the services of such a man.
Jim Castle, Denver
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I wonder how many times former Judge Larry Manzanares admonished defendants appearing before him for using “I didn’t know it was stolen” or “I should’ve known better” as defenses when sentencing them to prison for felony theft by receiving.
K. Kyle, Sterling
Death of another young Broncos player
Re: “Stunned Broncos ponder the randomness of death,” Feb. 26 sports story.
For the second time in as many months, our community mourns the death of a 24-year-old member of the Denver Broncos football team. Again we read team players and coaches responding to these unexpected losses by saying, “This just makes you realize we don’t know how much time we have. That’s up to our maker,” and, “This was not our call. This was God’s decision.”
If the divine must be invoked to explain these sad deaths, let it be said that God created the world finite and free. Physical evil such as heart failure is the natural implication of a finite world. Moral evil such as drive-by shootings is the tragic implication of a free world. May we also take comfort and hope in the belief that the Almighty knows our pain in such losses.
Michael D. Dent, Senior Pastor, Trinity United Methodist Church, Denver
Legislation to reform Colorado sex education
Re: “Bill puts science in school sex ed,” Feb. 23 news story.
As a teen mom, this article really hit home for me. Colorado’s sex education is a joke. In my “health” class, they spent only a few days talking about sex. The information they gave us about STDs, condoms and contraception was incorrect. Abstinence-only education has been proven to be unsuccessful, and many federally funded programs have been shown to be full of incorrect information and religious doctrine. Teen pregnancy rates have dropped because of contraception. I can tell you that if I had received proper sex education, I would have had sex much later than I did. Parents aren’t doing their job by educating their kids, and it’s about time the schools did something about it. My son is my life, but being a teen mother is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to go through. I applaud those behind this bill. It’s about time.
Andrika Nelson, Centennial
Increasing the term limit for Denver’s DA
The Denver City Council is considering putting a measure on the May 1 ballot to seek voter approval to increase the term limit for the Denver district attorney from two to three. My sense is that a district attorney, in order to make the office non-political, should not have a limit on terms. Yet I support this proposal in order to equalize it with the terms for other elected officials in Denver. City Council members, the mayor and auditor can serve three terms of four years, but the DA serves only two terms.
Although the Colorado Constitution was amended to impose a two-term limit on all elected officials, a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court clarified it so that local voters can adjust term limits. Denver voters did this for mayor, council and auditor, and will soon have the opportunity to do so for district attorney.
As a member of the Denver Community Corrections Board, I see how complex the criminal justice system is, and that experience is everything. By the time a DA has hit his stride, a two-term limit ends that public service. If the voters felt a DA truly did not represent them, their recourse is to remove the DA in a primary, in the general election, or a recall.
Denver DA Mitch Morrissey, an expert on solving crimes with DNA, has done a great job so far, and if he continues that way, he should be returned for two more terms.
Paul B. Rosenthal, Denver
NASCAR track proposal
Re: “Get full value from NASCAR,” Feb. 27 editorial.
The Post’s editorial states that a “detailed cost-benefit analysis should be completed and shared with residents.” Although most would agree that any incentives should be measured against realistic economic impacts, where was this same voice for the public subsidies provided to the new Broncos stadium and Coors Field? It seems there is a bit of bias against this track, while money was thrown at other recreational outlays. Although a track will have impacts such as noise and traffic, these can be mitigated, just like the other large sporting venues in Denver. We should be able to satisfy most well-thought-out concerns while realizing the positive economic impact to the region.
Jeff Peterson, Aurora
Terror war failures
Re: “Afghan terror rattles U.S. base,” Feb. 28 editorial.
Your editorial mentioned but did not emphasize enough the failure of the Bush administration to stay in Afghanistan, kill or capture Osama bin Laden (whose al-Qaeda organization was responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks), work with the various Afghani factions to establish a more inclusive government, and totally destroy the Taliban. Dick Cheney has a lot of chutzpah threatening Pakistan because they haven’t captured or killed bin Laden and destroyed the Taliban.
Gayle Merves, Lone Tree
Down syndrome fund
Re: “Hope abounds,” Feb. 28 news story.
I welcome and applaud the Sie Foundation’s recent foray into Down syndrome research and therapies. However, I take issue with Michelle Sie Whitten’s statement, “Before we started this fund, there were no dependable, consistent educational programs for people with Down syndrome or their families in Colorado.” This is a slap in the face to the courageous families who founded The Rise School, the tireless workers at Mile High Down Syndrome Association, and the dedicated researchers at The Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. Only by working in concert will we reach our goal: the best possible outcome for our children with Down syndrome.
Barbara McCulloch, Denver
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