Dogs on patios
Re: “Patio prohibition for dogs sets up howl,” July 4 Page 1 story.
If, in fact, the patio area is to be considered a food service area, then the city should enforce these rules:
People should not be allowed to smoke (second-hand smoke). Walkers, bikers and joggers should not be allowed to be unshowered (sanitary reasons). People wearing heavy perfume should not be allowed (many people have compromised respiratory systems). Strollers should not be allowed (they could block emergency exits). Vehicles should not be allowed to zoom nearby (spewing fumes and noise). Infants using diapers should not be allowed (sanitary reasons). Children should not be allowed to scream, run around or toss food (safety). Patios should have protective overhead screens to protect against falling leaves, bird defecation and insects (sanitary reasons).
Ad infinitum.
Robert Kalin, Denver
…
From all of us who don’t bring dogs to coffee shops, I thank Denver for enforcing limitations on animals in eating areas. To the shock of dog owners, dogs carry disease, urinate on the premises and carry parasites. Imposing this filth on the rest of us, dog owners or not, at an eating establishment is not only rude, it is reckless.
Stan Hrincevich, Littleton
…
I have a question for all the outraged dog-lovers and owners in Cherry Creek North: How do you like it?
Not so much, when it’s your rights being trampled on in the name of some so-called “health issue.” Granted, dogs don’t kill people in the way that second-hand smoke is alleged to. However, the issue of citizens being allowed to do as they please is what is actually at issue here.
I don’t like your dog. I don’t like dog breath, being slobbered on or licked on. But if the coffeshop or restaurant I choose to patronize allows dogs, then I assume the responsibility for the risk when I enter. These self-annointed saviors will not stop until everything that is pleasurable to the human body and spirit is eliminated.
Ah, well. Who cares? It’s only a few basic rights that are taken away.
James G. Ayling, Denver
Changing neighborhood
City Council District 1 in northwest Denver contains more duplexes than any other district in the city. The tear- down phenomena is creating even more, tipping the balance between duplexes and single-family residences.
The special character and historic feel of Northwest Denver is rapidly being taken away from us by developers who have swooped down on our neighborhood to make a fast buck.
Meanwhile, the city is doing nothing. They claim that they are rewriting zoning code but that may take years and not even address the situation. Whenever it does happen, it will be too late.
Why are our elected officials not speaking out about the issue? Could it be that they take campaign contributions from the developers, the builders and the real estate community and do not want to offend them?
Dick Bland, Denver
Subsidies for housing
Re: “Helping workers live close; subsidies for housing,” July 2 Denver & The West story.
Denver, Arapahoe and Douglas counties are all in the same boat; there is nothing “affordable” about living near LoDo, Meridian, Inverness, DTC or any other commercial developments. Arapahoe County’s housing and community development director hit the nail right on the head by stating, “As a developer, you go where the dollars take you and they take you to commercial development and high-end residential.”
When Gates Rubber and Samsonite Luggage had thriving businesses, their employees built affordable housing in nearby rural Arapahoe County to escape Denver’s taxes, and without a grant from a government. Denver found it only appropriate to annex these homes into their tax base, as the employees were working for Denver employers. The few ostentatiously wealthy executives of Gates and Samsonite were the ones doing the commute to their affluent neighborhoods.
After Gates and William Lear (Lear Jet) joined and Samsonite was bought out by the Beatrice Foods conglomerate, both companies went global – out-of-state and overseas! Further subsidize capitalistic developers? Good one!
D. Wagner, Denver
Year of Woman
Re: “Year of Woman a hollow refrain,” July 5 Denver & The West.
Diane Carman’s column falls on deaf ears. Among the things she failed to mention:
Millions of men have been drafted into the military in this country. Not a single woman has ever been drafted.
There are all sorts of laws favoring women, including the rape shield law, which prohibits the introduction of evidence of a woman’s sex life into a rape case. There is no such protection for men. Women are definitely favored under our system of justice, exemplified by child custody awards in divorce cases.
Male taxpayers are forced to subsidize welfare programs that award women for having children they cannot afford. In Denver, the school system is turning into a giant babysitting institution.
Thirty years ago, it was argued that getting more women into the political system would result in a kinder, gentler nation. Well, there are many more women in public office now but, if anything, our political system has gotten more brutal and it certainly is less responsive to ordinary citizens.
Diane Carman needs to fast-forward from 50 years ago. Humanity faces a lot of problems today, and that includes both men and women.
Robert R. Tiernan, Denver
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