Supervised-use site will bring more problems than solutions
Please, Denver — and the Colorado Assembly — we don’t need another “first” with the heroin injection site — surely soon to be followed by sites all over Denver, the suburbs and Colorado. Enough is enough; already we have all this marijuana in our midst. This is such a change in our touted lifestyle of clean, fresh and healthy that Colorado’s reputation used to be. And now to the next debilitating embarrassment?
The black market is thriving even more , since “legalization” of marijuana; huge amounts of money gained indicates many users, many drivers, invitation to flouting the law and many youth addicts for the future. We don’t need an open door to heroin and other drugs, which such sites would encourage.
This is not the Colorado I want. This “experiment” for the moneyed interests, our being the launching pad for the country, is not serving us well. Costs have exceeded benefits. This isn’t simply an every four-year, vote-the-man-out-of- office” situation. It is changing a lifestyle.
Vote “No” to injection sites that will draw even more druggies and homeless to Denver and to the rest of us. Kudos to Kevin Flynn, the lone voice on Denver City Council who (dissented).
Barbara St. John, Wheat Ridge
Role playing at the holiday table could open up dialogue
During the holidays, the potential for conflict, if not open warfare, over politics remains high.
Instead of imposing a prohibition, which is doomed to fail, change the rules. Politics may be discussed if everyone who participates takes the opposite side to their normally held view.
Members of the liberal resistance must craft arguments in favor of building the wall. Trump supporters must find reasons to support Obamacare. Fiscal conservatives must argue for increased taxes and government spending. Liberals must find reasons why government is not always the answer.
This would break people out of their bubbles and help everyone to recognize that people who hold an opposing political view may actually have a reason for believing what they believe. It would also help people focus on a problem instead of the emotions which surround it. Done right, it could even preserve peace at the dining table.
Guy Wroble, Denver
Funding the great outdoors
Re: “Loving nature to death,” Nov. 22 news story
What should be realized about the crisis facing our national parks is that they have no chance of withstanding and evolving to meet visitor demands if our National Park Service does not receive adequate federal funding. Decades of chronic underfunding by Congress has left NPS to do more with less: to handle historic crowds and aging infrastructure with resources that fall far short.
The result is a $11.6 billion deferred maintenance backlog, affecting trails, roads, historic structures, national cemeteries, and more and threatening visitor safety and enjoyment at parks nationwide. And the longer “America’s best idea” stands wanting, the heftier the price tag.
Thatap why Americans should contact their members of Congress today and urge their passage of bipartisan legislation to create reliable, dedicated funding — to maintain these places that nourish our soul, embody our heritage, and yes, even feed our Instagram accounts.
Barbara Pahl, Denver
Editor’s note: Barbara Pahl is senior vice president for field services, National Trust for Historic Preservation.
