Letters to the editor

The following are letters to the editor that appeared in the Sept. 2 print edition of The Peninsula Gateway. To submit a letter, e-mail gatewayeditor@gateline.com. Please keep letters submissions to 250 words.

Yanity hasn’t provided documents of firefighters’ ‘drug problems’

I was a volunteer for the citizen’s advisory committee for Pierce County Fire District 16. For four months, we reviewed policies, procedures, operations, budget, organization and leadership in order to suggest recommendations to the board of fire commissioners of any changes we felt would benefit the fire district or the community it serves.

The following are my observations and opinions only; they do not represent the CAC or the fire district.

Commissioner Allen Yanity attended many of these meetings and expressed how he had heard from others about the fire district’s fitness levels and drug problems. He did not provide written documentation to support his allegations.

As a retired public servant, we had a saying: If it’s not in writing, it didn’t happen. So Mr. Yanity’s political platform is based on hearsay, not evidence or fact.

Courts of law will not allow hearsay as evidence, but Mr. Yanity bases his campaign on this hearsay and wants the voting public to believe it’s true without providing documentation to support his claim.

Mr. Yanity did provide one document to the CAC, a letter dated Feb. 10, 2009, which basically supported his political agenda. In it, he led us to believe the Indian Nations were going to fully fund a fire/rescue boat for the fire district.

I later asked him which tribes and what funding sources were they using, but Mr. Yanity admitted he didn’t have anything in writing.

It was determined by the CAC that a boat was not practical or a fiscally viable option for the fire district. Mr. Yanity filed with the Pierce County Auditor that he was against any lid lift levy even before the CAC had completed its recommendations to the board of commissioners.

Ronn Mayer, CAC member, Lakebay

FD 16 needs to show comparison budgets for levy lid lift proposal

Both the Gateway and Key Peninsula firefighters want to know why the recent levy lid lift failed. While the economy and the board of commissioners’ antics probably had some bearing on the defeat, I voted no because we were not given real budget numbers to see if the increase is needed.

To make an informed decision, I need to see the budgets in real dollars, both at the current levy level and after the proposed increase.

What do we get for our money now, and what will we get if we spend more?

Instead, we are told that the increase is only 22 cents. What is that, really? Is it thousands, or hundreds of thousands or more? I could probably find out that information on my own, but I shouldn’t have to.

If Fire District 16 expects us to buy its proposal, the board should give us the numbers.

Now that the levy has failed, the board has already said it will try again in November. According a Gateway story on Aug. 26, Fire Chief Tom Lique said that proves how much the funds are needed. But that doesn’t prove anything except the fire district wants more money.

Lique also said he will have to slash $190,000 from the 2010 budget, implying that services will be drastically cut. Actually, it looks like it isn’t a cut but rather money they never had.

Threats of “cuts” do not win any points with an informed voter.

If the fire district wants a yes vote in November, they’ll have to prove they need the money by showing us the true budgets in real dollars and what we will get for our money.

They could also show us how they compare to similar-sized districts in the state. Otherwise, I will continue to vote “no.”

Mark Erickson, Wauna

Downtown parking problem must be corrected and regulated

The parking in downtown Gig Harbor is ruining our local business. There are no restrictions on transit parking along the street in the Finholm district. Business owners can’t even park to unload supplies. Customers have no place to park.

Boat owners and renters park all day on the street. Tourists park and shop elsewhere. Some shop owners occupy multiple spaces.

Something must be done! Street parking in front of businesses should be marked one- or two-hour parking. But it must be enforced.

Anthony’s Restaurant parking should have some spaces marked for boat owners and renters.

We have had an exodus of businesses, and it can be attributed to a lack of parking for customers. This has to be corrected and regulated.

Jack Hubbard, Gig Harbor

Republicans oppose health care change as a matter of politics

Harry Truman became president in April 1945 and left the position in January 1953. That is a period of about 60 years ago, yet, in a Gateway story about the Republican Women hosting a health care forum, there is the quote, “why have we gone so doggone fast?”

Today, as when Truman proposed single-payer health care, Republicans oppose any change as a matter of political position without discussing significant benefits that could result for businesses and individuals.

Single-payer would remove the cost of health care from products such as cars, making them less expensive and more competitive with foreign cars.

Medical malpractice legal actions have been on the decline in Washington, perhaps in part because of a policy change in many places where errors are admitted rather than being hidden.

Could it be that “defensive medicine” is really caused by doubt on the part of the medical practitioner, the ready availability of testing not formerly available and the fact that testing will be paid for by insurers?

Does anyone really believe that there has been a proposal to murder people simply because they are old, feeble or unproductive?

Come on. Examine the history of this nation and practices that have been outlawed and tell me with a straight face that such action would get by a court challenge and be blessed by our Supreme Court.

George Robison, Gig Harbor

Government is spending my money — without my benefit

There are several things that have been bothering me, so I thought you might be able to air them for me.

The government is using my money to help other people buy new cars with no benefit to me — just for the unions who support Obama and the Democrats. I feel this is poor use of my funds, since Obama and the unions have reduced my stock and bonds in General Motors to near zero and gave it to the unions and the government.

The government is proposing to do the same thing with the major appliance industry. They will use my money for other people to buy appliances to keep the union workers employed. I am retired. How about me?

Now I hear that unions are proposing a tax on stock transactions to raise all sorts of money. This is again hitting me in the pocketbook, for trading stocks is part of my retirement income! What is this government thinking? It is my kind of dollars that are trying to keep the plants working, and now the unions are trying to reduce that.

Maybe we need a something like WWII to unite people and get the government out of our pockets.

Marsh Allen, Gig Harbor

Every strong society builds on civil rights and privileges

Health care is “a privilege, not a right,” intones one letter to the editor. It’s “a human right” asserts another.

Excepting the world’s oldest legal document, the Code of Hammurabi, human rights are not written in stone. Instead, they are hard-won products of human struggle, involving conflict, debate, battle, even war.

This is evidenced in the stories behind the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Emancipation Proclamation, Universal Public Education, Women’s Suffrage, Civil Rights Movement and Wounded Knee.

Each of these abounded in arguments that they would lead to the collapse of society, economic disaster and wrong timing, and were contrary to God’s will.

Yet every time we have made a significant step to expand civil rights and privileges in America, the result has been increased economic productivity, creativity and general well-being. It’s made us a model for the world.

Societies that have denied similar rights and freedoms have languished, stagnated or regressed on all of those counts.

Today, we have an opportunity and momentum to rectify a serious inequity that exists in our nation’s health care system. It behooves us to do so. Or should we instead change our national motto to “America, a land for the privileged?”

Alan Newberg, Bremerton

Michael Vick not alone in mistreatment of dogs

In early April, our state Legislature addressed an issue long overlooked by federal, state, regional and local lawmakers — the maltreatment of dogs by puppy mills.

This new law that goes into effect next Jan. 1 requires that breeders maintain minimum standards of care, feeding and attention essential to all dogs in order that they might thrive.

We should be proud that our delegation to the Legislature supported this long overlooked and overdue measure. It requires that dogs have adequate-sized cages and that they get nutritious food and a chance to exercise daily. It sets minimum sanitation standards. It also limits to 50 the number of breeding dogs an owner may possess.

I am proud that our 26th Legislative District delegation supported this new regulation — all except Rep. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, who did not support it.

Gerry Baldwin, Gig Harbor