|
Excuse me a minute
I just read the July 19 Hood River News article describing the plans
to build affordable housing in the county commission’s State Street
parking lot.
While I guess I can understand the inevitable need for more housing in
our area, hence the growth, I fail to understand why downtown parking
is to be sacrificed for such a cause. Is the amount of parking area
truly not being used? If it is, where will the current users park?
Where will the occupants of the new housing and their visitors park?
I’ve learned to live with many compromises in my life and venturing
into downtown Hood River during the peak tourist season is just one of
them.
I can get by with conducting business downtown just once or twice a
month and there are a few restaurants we like to visit but in order to
do so, we find ourselves circling the city blocks for 20 minutes or
half-an-hour in hope of finding a space that someone hasn’t
half-parked in from the adjoining space.
It seems that if Hood River wants to start packing the city to the
hilt, it needs to add more parking, not take it away.
Now excuse me for a minute while I go over and bang my head on the
wall.
Dale Peck
Hood River
One-way toll
I too was surprised at the Port’s solution to the bridge “jams”.
Mr. Brian Chambers’ suggestion (Our Readers Write, July 19 ) for a
one-way toll makes sense to me; a quick, easy, cheap proposition.
One-way tolls seem to be working well in San Francisco.
David Bohlmann
Hood River
Great letters
I don’t think I’ve ever before read three great letters to the
editor all in one newspaper’s edition.
It finally happened in the July 19 Hood River News thanks to
Lorena Martinez, Brian Chambers and David Duncombe.
All provide information on both sides of an issue and good facts
and empathy on their favored solutions.
If I might add my two-bits to Ms. Martinez’s discussion of the
immigration debate, I would point out that American big business
and it’s alliances spend many dollars electing and lobbying
legislators and bureaucrats in order to be able to hire, overwork
and/or underpay illegal immigrants. Ultimately, you and I pay for
that through higher prices, etc.
If, instead, we used tax money, laws and regulations (e.g., TV
stations must devote X amount of time to campaign debates) to
finance and enable campaigns, at least we’d ALL be doing the
influencing and that’s REAL democracy at work.
Again, my sincere thanks to Brian, David and Lorena — and the Hood
River News — for opening my eyes and brain a little wider yet.
Dave Dockham
Hood River
The coming tragedy
Recent headlines used the words burn, broil, swelter and scorch to
describe the unbearable heat wave. Homeless were admitted to
air-conditioned buildings; subway riders were stranded over two
hours when a rail buckled; power failed and people died.
“An Inconvenient Truth” warns us of global warming. Are Americans
concerned? It does not seem so. Aren’t we burning; filling up
landfills; buying and wasting too much; living beyond our means;
building obscenely huge houses; driving instead of car-pooling or
walking; using big cars; not recycling and conserving water.
Americans have had too much for too long. We can’t even get people
to recycle cans. Five cents is not worth the bother. Let someone
else pick them off the roads.
Americans aren’t concerned unless it happens to them. If Al Gore
could change human nature and be seen in a smaller car, perhaps
then our society could relate to the tragedy ahead.
Sigrid Scully
Parkdale
|
