Readers react to stateās abortion legislation
Re: āColorado guarantees the right to abortion,ā April 5 news story
On Tuesday, I read The Post¶¶Ņõap front-page story that showed a picture of Gov. Jared Polis and a large group of elated supporters celebrating the signing of Coloradoās latest abortion ārightsā bill.
I wondered how many of those people in the picture, including the governor, stopped to think where they would be today if their birth mother had decided to have an abortion?
Hmm . . . well, I guess that¶¶Ņõap splitting hairs.
Bob Lowry, Highlands Ranch
I open The Denver Post and there is a large picture of people so full of joy that it spills over. Why are they that happy? Because they now have the right to murder tiny fetuses full of life that they do not want even though they made them.
The beginning of precious life is not to be taken for granted — ask the thousands of couples who are unable to experience that joy.
The beginning of life is a miracle, no matter how you look at it. That huge picture of those hate-filled smiling faces on your front page is offensive and painful.
Mary Ann Lueckel, Broomfield
By signing the abortion rights bill, Gov. Jared Polis recognizes a womanās right to choose. This subject has been a political football for years and I sincerely believe the government has no place in this discussion. Women have a right to determine what happens to their bodies.
Abortion should not be considered as birth control; however, there are circumstances when abortion is necessary. Women seeking this type of care are provided with counseling before a procedure, and all alternative options are presented. Ultimately armed with knowledge, it is up to the woman to decide.
With Roe vs. Wade, gone are the desperate back-alley coat-hanger procedures that left women physically and emotionally scarred.
Thank you, governor, for standing up for women.
Elaine Little, Denver
Keep DST, but make it a shorter span
Re: āStandard or daylight saving time? Let voters decide,ā April 3 commentary
Adjusting to the time change isnāt so much about the lost and gained hour of sleep on the dates that the clocks are moved as it is about acclimating to the lost hour of morning light in the spring and the lost hour of evening light in the fall. This is frustrating to some and unhealthy for others. While the obvious solution would be to no longer make the change, agreeing to which time to stay on might be easier said than done — even with a vote. There are as many pros as cons for both times.
Enter a compromise. If we wait until late April to go on daylight saving time (DST), the shock wonāt be as bad. By then weāve naturally gained enough morning light to avoid another full hour of darkness. It¶¶Ņõap the same thing if we go off DST in early October. There will still be enough evening light that we wonāt plunge into total darkness.
Iām old enough to remember Colorado using all of these scenarios (including no change at all). The shorter duration of DST was the best.
Pat Scott, Denver
After reading Krista Kaferās opinion, I believe we need a third option, not just daylight saving or standard time year-round.
I remember back in the 1970s, daylight saving time (DST) didnāt start till last Sunday in April and there was little complaint about waking up in the dark like there is now with the change in early March.
I think many people enjoy the late sunsets in summer with DST, and very few people would like the sunrise so delayed. Hopefully our leaders and voters will get us back to an April start date for DST.
Charles Rau, Fraser
City must get a handle on pubic transportation safety
Re: āSeeking safety, enforcement on public transportation,ā April 3 letter to the editor
I read the letters concerning safety enforcement on public transportation with great interest. The only problem with the first letter is that he understated the issue with the homeless and security related to public transportation.
I flew to St. Petersburg, Fla., early in the morning one day last month, and when I got off the W Line at the bus terminal, the entire area was covered in trash, including pizza boxes, blankets, and whatever. Drug use was prevalent everywhere, and I saw only one security person in the entire underground bus terminal.
Contrast this to St. Pete. I road my daughterās bike to the pier in downtown St. Pete several times and did not see one single homeless person or any indication of drug use. If I was homeless, Iād much rather be in St. Pete in the winter than freezing on the streets in Denver.
So how can St. Pete deal with the problem and Denver canāt seem to get out of its own way when it comes to this issue.
By the way, when I returned on April 1 during the day, there was no security guard on either the A Line or W Line. No one even checked my ticket. And donāt expect to find a bathroom at the bus terminal. The only one they have is boarded up. The one security guard that I did see suggested that I use the bathroom at Whole Foods. Good Luck!
Don Hardcastle, Golden
A functioning transit system is indeed key to our future
Re: āNo, RTD is not the key to solving our urban problems,ā April 3 commentary
In his commentary, Vincent Carroll attempts to discredit emerging ideas in Denver and in the U.S. — proposals that question the veracity of long-standing transportation and land-use policies. These proposals are growing in popularity as Americans recognize how low-density zoning has created a housing affordability crisis and how automobile-focused transportation policy has made everyone dependent on the price of gasoline.
Carrollās argument ignores how these policies have shaped the outcomes we see today. Falling ridership at RTD is a logical consequence of a legislature that refuses to progressively fund the agency and instead plans to spend $5 billion widening highways with a small token of it going to transit and bike paths.
Consumer preferences for purchasing automobiles is an obvious conclusion, given that Colorado has been built only to be accessible by automobile.
Carroll attempts to paint existing regressive policies as progressive and so uses the failings of the current system as evidence against unrealized proposals. For example, current policy places high-density multifamily housing on dangerous arterial roads and highways. These developments do not represent the substantial increase in density that is proposed to help relieve housing prices. A majority of the state is still zoned as low-density sprawl.
The drawbacks of sprawl are not only environmental but also social and economic. Building more sprawl for the theoretical benefit of low-cost housing is already the policy on the books. It is not a solution to our problems; it is ensuring that they will continue and get worse.
Evan Derby, Denver
While I agree with Vincent Carroll that housing availability and pricing should be our top priority, if we hope to hold onto our population, I say that Denverās intelligent and future-minded city planning should not be dismissed as a continuing goal.
A functioning public transportation system is key to having a livable city. Congested freeways are not an option, whether the cars be gas-powered or electric.
I moved here from Monterey, Calif., where a typical commute could be managed in 15 minutes or less. Coming to Denver, I was shocked to find out that a comparable commute could take up to an hour, depending on traffic conditions. When a snarled Interstate 25 extended my work drive to an hour, I decided to switch to RTD.
Carroll has apparently not ridden the light rail from Lone Tree at rush hour, which, pre-COVID, was standing-room-only. Then and now, many bus riders are young people. I can relate, having ridden city buses throughout my high school and college years. At the present cost of used cars and gas, this makes sense.
Riders will take public transportation if the trip can be made with reasonable time and effort. My limit is an hour for regular trips. A transit card and the new app make fares and scheduling a breeze.
Iām back on the bus, and I invite others to join me. It¶¶Ņõap relaxing and saves on gas.
Keep up the smart planning, Denver!
Frances Rossi, Denver
Stop fentanyl at the border
Re: āRamp up the war on fentanyl,ā April 3 editorial
The Daily Camera editorial published in The Denver Post leaves out a significant part of the fentanyl problem: drugs and drug dealers pouring across our out-of-control southern border.
With thousands of undocumented immigrants in an unchecked stream flowing to all parts of the United States as a result of inadequate federal legislation and an overwhelmed Border Patrol, the United States has fentanyl deaths that are not only caused by our own people but also by Mexican drug cartels who have successfully used our porous border to inject massive amounts of fentanyl into mainstream America.
Getting control of the border between the U.S. and Mexico would not eliminate deaths caused by fentanyl, but it would be a major step in reducing them.
John Dellinger, Aurora
Four easy ways to reform HOAs
Re: ā āTip of the icebergā,ā April 3 news story
The Green Valley Ranch āforeclosures gone wildā calamity brings out the worse in our legislative process and exemplifies the distrust citizens have with their elected officials. Legislative efforts to implement recommendations in numerous statesā studies on HOA and property management reform have been ignored, watered down in any bill passed, or killed when proposed.
Distrust in legislatorās actions is even more suspect when reform bills would not cost HOAs, homeowners or taxpayers a nickel but rather save them tens of millions in legal and operational costs.
HOA reform mostly focuses on āaccountabilityā and āenforcementā of state HOA laws and HOA governing documents and oversight of the nearly $2 billion a year property management industry that in reality runs and manages nearly every HOA.
Four no-cost-to-taxpayer HOA initiatives would resolve 95% of HOA homeowner complaints: implement an out-of-court dispute resolution process within the state HOA office; meaningfully license property managers; rein in legal fees costs; and implement HOA foreclosure reform.
Abusive HOA practices are not isolated but widespread, very costly to HOAs and homeowners, and worst of all, well-known to legislators and Realtors who can do something about it but avoid pursuing reform.
Stan Hrincevich, Littleton
Editorās note: Hrincevich is president of the Colorado HOA Forum
Refund missed PERA payment, plus interest
We live in a beautiful and fun state with, for the most part, conscientious lawmakers.
House Bill 1029 is an opportunity for our state legislators and governor to show how much they value
the more than 630,000 members
in the stateās Colorado Public Employeesā Retirement Association (PERA).
The General Assembly created the public pension plan for state employees, public teachers, college and university employees, state troopers and judges in 1931.
In 2020, these employees and their employers continued to make required contributions, but the General Assembly believing COVID-19 would cause a budget shortfall cut its $225 million direct contribution to PERA.
That shortfall did not happen, but the state did not restore the cut.
This legislative session Reps. Shannon Bird and Shane Sandridge with Sens. Chris Kolker and Kevin Priola presented the bipartisan bill to pay the missed contribution plus the calculated loss of investment returns for $303.57 million.
If this bill is not passed, the state will continue to fall behind in its commitment to pay for PERA out of the general fund.
State legislators and Gov. Jared Polis, HB 1029 ensures that you will honor your commitments and shows your appreciation for the state employees that work hard for our state and serve all of you well.
Irene Martinez Jordan, Denver
Is U.N. failing its mission?
Re: āZelenskyy says war crimes committed,ā April 6 news story
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the U.N. Security Council this week, telling it to do its duty under its charter or disband as being useless as a world peacekeeping organization. In effect, he asked for the same action it took in June 1950, when Communist North Korea invaded South Korea: authorizing member states to send their militaries to defend South Korea.
Democrat President Harry S. Truman did just that and committed U.S. forces to fight the invaders. American soldiers, sailors and airmen made up the greater portion of that outside contribution. I and many other recent high school graduates became that contingent. Some of us died or were wounded, including some of my classmates.
Truman, however, would not allow the commander of the U.N. force, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, to do a complete job and defeat the Communist Chinese who had entered the war to aid the North Koreans. Truman, like President Joe Biden today, was worried about starting World War III. North Korea and Communist China remain today as evil forces in the world. Will we not learn from history?
Stan S. McWhinnie, Denver
Carbon management
Re: āColorado must employ carbon capture technology,ā April 1 commentary
I agree with Sarah Jensen that carbon capture can play a critical role in meeting our net-zero goals. Economic incentives could help establish commercial-scale projects in Colorado, such as the Coyote Clean Power Project on the Southern Ute reservation, designed with a cleaner natural gas burning process and sequestration of CO2 emissions.
However, Jensen was wrong to claim that critics rule out CCUS technologies because those solutions donāt āfeel good.ā The oil and gas industry has an established history of putting business expansion over safety of its products. These are facts: (1) Carbon management is part of the clean energy transition. (2) We need guardrails around our use of oil and gas.
The ātrust but verifyā guardrail will help mitigate methane leakage. Industry is stepping up after the Environmental Defense Fund deployed a methane detection system and made leakage data publicly available.
CO2 emissions require a different approach. They are a ubiquitous byproduct of even the most well-maintained fossil fuel power generation. The first few CCUS projects may get funded through grants or credits, but we canāt afford to subsidize economy-wide deployment.
We need a market signal that decarbonizes our energy. Phase in a fee on carbon emissions, with a rebate for applications that sequester carbon. Return the proceeds to citizens in per-capita monthly dividends to offset higher prices. Add a border carbon adjustment that turns clean carbon management into a competitive advantage in the global marketplace.
Kathy Fackler, Durango
Financial literacy in class
I believe we should increase financial literacy education in Denver schools. As a student going into business, I am lucky to have learned a share of financial literacy, but I know countless peers who donāt even know what a Roth IRA is. Our youths need to be better-equipped for their financial future. This has been a prevalent issue for years, but there has been no effort to change the curriculum.
Catrina Pham, Highlands Ranch
Stop dependence on oil and gas
We are all horrified by the evidence of Russian atrocities in Ukraine (and before them, in Chechnya, Ossetia and Syria). Calls for prosecution and further sanctions are instant, but the processes are slow and results doubtful.
Perhaps, coinciding with the release of the United Nationsā study on global warming, thereās a silver lining to our revulsion. The world has another more compelling reason to wean itself off Russian oil, coal and natural gas. And, while weāre at it, Arabian and Venezuelan oil. Humanityās addiction to fossil
fuels is making our planet unlivable and stokes such atrocities by insulating bad actors from consequences. It¶¶Ņõap time to make massive investments in clean energy, partly to remove our dependence on oppressive regimes and partly to save our skins. The U.N. study says we have three years to avoid the worst aspects of global warming. If not now, when?
Ralph Taylor, Centennial
A small crowd with false claim
Re: āElection deniers spread conspiracy theories,ā April 6 news story
Would The Denver Post devote a third of a page to an article that 200 people had rallied on the steps of the state Capitol to tell Coloradans that the moon landings never happened or that the world is flat? If not, then why do you continue to give āoxygenā to people who are determined to undermine confidence in our electoral system?
If you believed it was necessary to cover this story, it could have been done far more succinctly: āAbout 200 people gathered for three hours on the steps of the state Capitol to spread the lie that the electoral system in Colorado is rigged and corrupt. At least one of the speakers is under indictment for election tampering.ā End of story.
Guy Wroble, Denver
The Monforts have no choice
Re: āRockiesā battle cry for 2022? Donāt finish last,ā April 3 sports story
Your sportswriters seem to enjoy blaming the Montforts, owners of the Rockies baseball team, for the fact the team rarely makes the playoffs. It was the players union that refused to allow any type of salary cap in the recent contract negotiations with the owners.
Without that, teams with deeper pockets than our owners have will continue to field rosters of highly priced all-stars that would be hard to beat. Small wonder then that the we see the same teams year after year in the playoffs. I feel it is somewhat unfair to blame the Monforts for that result.
Tom Brady, Wheat Ridge
Help parents help their children
Re: āState panel sees signs of promise at school,ā April 2 news story
Another important factor in attaining educational improvements for children in Adams 14 is parental education. Not every parent knows how to maximize the educational potential of their children.
Creating a staff of specialists who work with āat riskā parents to create a home study and monitoring environment would increase the childās studying skills, resulting in better academic achievement. Let¶¶Ņõap spend time and money on educating parents so we can avoid more āat riskā students.
Curt Anderson, Broomfield
Award to protesters too high
Re: ā$14 million award to protesters in Denver: Will verdict resonate,ā April 2 news story
The George Floyd fiasco spawned many demonstrations. I do not deny that the Denver police used excessive force in dealing with protesters. The huge financial awards, however, are outrageous.
The mistreated protesters were engaging in some type of conduct that drew police attention and are getting six- and seven-figure rewards for that. So naturally that will encourage others to do the same because the risk/reward is very favorable.
Another spinoff is that the police will be further handcuffed in their ability to maintain order in such volatile situations. During the protest, I am sure that most police officers exercised great restraint and good judgment in dealing with unruly protesters. Cheers to them.
Bob Bamford, Aurora
HOAs in Colorado need more regulation
Re: āGreen Valley Ranch foreclosures spotlight Coloradoās lack of HOA regulation,ā April 3 news story
Isnāt it interesting that our Colorado legislature can push an abortion bill through in no time but they canāt push through a good bill for controlling HOAs in Colorado.
These HOAs are out of control and the time to stop this is now, not sometime down the road.
It is time to vote the Democrats out of control in this state and put real
senators and congressmen in control of this state. People who care about the working people in this state. Not people who are trying to implement East Coast or West Coast ideas.
Ralph Zrubek, Windsor
Joe Garcia should be a finalist for CU president
Re: āSchool nears end of search,ā April 2 news story
I have read an announcement from a Colorado Chicano advocacy group that former Lt. Gov. Joseph Garcia is not on the list of five finalists for the CU presidency. The Post has an article online that CU officials have not disclosed the finalists, notwithstanding their pledge for transparency in the selection process. After enduring a disappointing tenure with former president, Mark Kennedy, the University of Colorado is in dire need for strong leadership and commitment to diversity.
Garcia has had resounding success in Coloradoās higher education system, including exceptional leadership as president at Pikes Peak Community College and CSU Pueblo, as executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, and currently as chancellor of the Colorado Community College System.
He is truly a Coloradan at heart, obtaining his bachelorās degree at the University of Colorado, and serving for many years as lieutenant governor. He brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and people skills that can put the University of Colorado back on the list of superior universities.
The CU Board of Regents has to take steps to strongly consider Garcia as the right person to lead the university, and to lead it now.
H. Rene Ramirez, Aurora
Wars, endless wars
I am an octogenarian and have seen a great deal in my time on earth. I was brought up during World War ll and was led to believe the world would be at peace following that conflict. That thought didnāt pan out after World War l, so why should it work in 1945? Oops! There goes the Korean conflict, the Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Kosovo and Somalia.
Donāt forget Iraq and Afghanistan. These are only some of the conflicts with direct United States involvement. While all this was occurring, the rest of the world was not idly sitting by and watching. There has been turmoil involving many nations since 1945. India/Pakistan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, China, Tibet/Taiwan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and the Middle East involving Egypt, Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
Let us not forget Russia and Chechnya, Crimea and 10 years in Afghanistan.
What about the current madness perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine?
I can give you a slew of reasons and rationalizations for all this bad behavior and cover the spectrum of psychology, politics, religion and prejudice, but this has already been done ad nauseam. Why would one think mankind would suddenly learn from the past? It hasnāt thus far.
Many years ago, Anthony Newley co-wrote and starred in a play whose title he repeated on stage whenever life became chaotic and frustrating: āStop the World — I Want to Get off.ā
If only it was that easy.
Harvey Micklin, Broomfield
Enough with all the damaging balloon releases
Re: āHow balloons blew up, and took on another life,ā April 2 feature story
The writer described how balloons were invented in 1824 and their popularity has, well, ballooned from a toy to elaborate displays and releases.
Only the two final paragraphs mention the dangers balloons pose for the environment and animals everywhere. She labels balloon releases as āphotogenic littering.ā
In truth, those beautiful balloons will
burst, and particles will fall to earth, where they can kill any animal who mistakes them for food.
The particles pollute our oceans and streams. Tiny bits mix with the soil of gardens and farms producing our food.
Too much plastic, mylar, and latex is already choking our planet. Instead of adding more balloon pollution, blow clouds of bubbles, fly flags, hang streamers, let school children raise their voices in song. Please, no more balloon releases.
Doris Cruze, Centennial
O.K., the baseball lockout has ended and soon fans will pack stadiums for opening day. As usual, the Rockies will be releasing thousands of black and purple balloons to celebrate the day.
So once again I just want to say, every released balloon becomes another personās trash.
Thomas Olkowski, Littleton
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