Mailbag

Forget the Last Mile of the Aviation Parkway, Please

Running the last mile of Aviation Parkway north of the tracks is still going to divert too little traffic to justify spending $120 million of nonexistent transportation funds while destroying a number of interesting old buildings. Even spending another $100,000 for consultants to look at alternatives seems like a complete waste. Could someone please just hit the delete button on this thing?

A city transportation official suggested, "Maybe its time to make it smaller and gentler." ("The Last Mile," Currents, Feb. 12) How about paring it down to a couple signs at the end of Aviation Parkway and on Broadway Boulevard that divert traffic around the downtown with an arrow pointing north on Euclid or Campbell avenues, stating "Downtown Bypass"? That should save a few bucks and still get people to where they want to go.

Doug Koppinger

Note to Danehy: Change Minds; Don't Provoke

Regarding Tom Danehy's advice to his son to "shrug off hate mail" he receives in the course of writing his column ("Columnist Commentary," Feb. 19): I can only assume that by "hate mail," he means any sort of criticism or argument. I cannot imagine a person being so persistently careless with his logic and language who retains any sort of respect for the sensibilities of people with whom he disagrees.

Yes, Tom, being a columnist means you get to have your say. It's a pity you choose to squander that opportunity to change people's minds and instead engage in the self-impressed exercise of "firing people up."

Kyle Hampton

Winterhaven Shows How Much Tucson Sucks

Chris Limberis' article ("Lawn and Order," Feb. 19) points at what a 10th-rate pile of rubbish Tucson is. The more Tucson grows, the dumber the population and the uglier the town.

When I first bought a house high up in the Tucson foothills 17 years ago, Tucson still had some charm and authenticity. Now, I see fake rocks constructed along roadways, new ugly strip centers (excuse me--"lifestyle centers," such as the soon-to-go-bankrupt consumer pile at Campbell Avenue and Sunrise Drive), orange road-construction barrels, overpriced and Californicated chi-chi restaurants, tacky new houses on top of each other, brown air and people as dumb as posts.

There is a proliferation of old people in homeowner associations, waddling around with clip boards, seeking to write down any holy homeowner CC&R rule violations, real or imagined. And the occasional bearded old fart or young testosterone-poisoned punk in a pickup has multiplied into a daily certainty on the road as he blows his horn, picks his nose and gives the finger to anyone driving less than 50 mph. Where are all these old men and young punks going in such a hurry? To do brain surgery or announce the secret for world peace? I think they are going for a beer or an appointment with their parole officer, and I say they and the majority of Tucson can go to hell.

Lack of manners, intelligence and taste dooms Tucson to being a purile hell hole on the desert, a hole for fleeing Californians and a roost of last resort for cold-bones Midwesterners.

The Tucson Weekly is too good for them.

J. Duvall

Winterhaven Folks Need to Look at Long Term

Thank you for the article about Winterhaven's water use. How convenient that the folks of Winterhaven are able to sum up so much of what is wrong in Tucson. Their logic that owning their own well gives them the right to pump water freely is so short-sighted, it's astounding. That green lawns are important for property values reeks of reckless greed.

The very willingness to pump water freely so they can make more money when they sell their homes is basically like them saying "screw you" to the rest of us. The current drought, the fact that we live in the middle of a desert, the fact that the rest of us are trying to conserve water while they just pump it freely--well, none of that matters if they stand to make a few extra bucks. Will the folks in Winterhaven and the reckless developers of the Southwest ever recognize that living and building with sustainability in mind is more important to their children, and to the future of all life, than their short-term, greed-filled financial goals?

Dennis Pepe
Owner, Green Fire Books

Props for Jaguars Piece

Thank you for the article on Arizona jaguar conservation! ("Cats on the Loose," Currents, Feb. 19) Many people do not realize the history of jaguars in this state, and I am glad to see the word spreading about their conservation efforts.

George M. Perez

Props for Batiste Piece

I enjoyed the article about The Batiste brothers ("Family Sportsmanship," Currents, Feb. 19). From the spring of '46 through '49, I attended most of the home track meets of Arizona State College at Tempe. I enjoyed them, and I was acquainted with a few team members.

In '47 and '48, I watched Joe Batiste compete in as many as five events a meet, sometimes winning as many as four. He may have been slightly past his prime at age 27 and 28 after the war, but he was still very good. The ASC team was never threatened by the UA. Meets with Southern California, which may have been the best in the country in those years, were, of course, losses. Batiste would sometimes run on the flat, especially in relays, and he was a high jumper, too, as the article mentioned. However, I still have the strongest memories of his superb hurdling.

Neil Matthew

More From the Libertarian Candidates

So it seems as though Emil Franzi ("Libertarians Just Don't Get It," Mailbag, Feb. 19) and Tom Danehy ("Columnist Commentary," Feb. 19) do not seem to be able to appreciate or even understand my opinions ("Arrest, Not Development," Opinion, Feb. 5).

That is too bad. All David Euchner and I were talking about was freedom. I have trouble viewing any act as criminal when there are no victims. It is difficult to see how college students drinking and having a good time are harming anyone else.

As Mr. Franzi suggests, the legislative branch of government may be attacked: Simply defeat the offending lawmakers in the next election. Another alternative would be to collect signatures to force a referendum. Other options exist as well.

An even faster approach would be to attack the law through the judicial branch of government: No need to wait for the next election cycle. Inform citizens of their rights as jurors. Jurors have the right and responsibility to judge not only the facts of any individual case, but also of the law itself (for more information, see www.fija.org). Another option would be to file a lawsuit and have the law thrown out on constitutional grounds.

Finally, we come to the executive branch of government. The quickest route to nullify bad laws is to impress upon the quality law-enforcement officers in our community that those laws cause more harm than good and desperately need to be ignored. Law enforcement personnel have that option.

Freedom is of no concern to County Attorney Barbara LaWall and Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. They have demonstrated that by their actions. In November, voters will get the chance to say that they have had enough. I suggest that they make the most of the opportunity. Choose a county attorney and sheriff who will work to reduce real crime, and leave those not harming others alone.

Rich McKnight
Libertarian Candidate for Pima County Sheriff