Tesla owners are not your enemies
This message is for those people who have vandalized people’s Tesla vehicles. Maybe you found the car in a parking lot, or after dark in front of someone’s home. Heads up! You are hurting your fellow citizens who bought a Tesla for their own reasons, mostly environmental awareness, maybe well before this administration. They don’t know Elon Musk and are not responsible for whatever problem you have with him or DOGE. Your concerns may be valid, but the innocent person who drives a Tesla is not your enemy!
I do not drive a Tesla, but a friend of mine, a hard-working non-political person, had to have her car towed to the dealership to repair the damage you caused. It’s simple: Think before you act against your fellow citizens. What you did is a crime, the same as the felons who lit fire to Teslas at the dealership.
Cathy Wanstrath, Denver
Superintendent’s censure request should be rejected
Re: “Marrero requests director’s censure,” May 6 news story
So, the Denver Public Schools superintendent wants the Board of Education to censure one of those elected directors because he is upset by that director’s actions, comments and perceived desires.
The superintendent is a hired employee of the board. The board member is elected by the residents of his district. Since when does an employee get to demand the censure of one of his bosses? If you have what appears to be a personal grudge against your boss, you resign and go look for another job.
It would seem that Superintendent Alex Marrero is trying to emulate President Donald Trump’s tactics of eliminating people who disagree with him.
Richard (Dick) Emerson, Denver
DPS students deserve a school board and leaders who prioritize student achievement and well-being. The recent request for a censure of a board member is a distraction from these important goals. Many students are not proficient in math and reading, and significant racial and income disparities exist. Too many students experience depression, anxiety, and lack of support needed to thrive. I urge the board and DPS leaders to prioritize the students.
Sandra Stenmark, Denver
Lawmakers’ raid on our unclaimed property fund shocking
Re: “Lawmakers tap unorthodox pot of money for priorities,” May 6 news story
It is a bit surprising to read that the Colorado state legislature taps the unclaimed property trust fund for $660 million and that “not a single penny has been paid back.”
This is directly in line with U.S. presidential administrations and U.S. Congresses of both parties raiding Social Security for decades and never paying a dollar of it back.
At least in the case of the federal government, there is no requirement to balance the budget in the U.S. Constitution.
Ken Valero, Littleton
TABOR requires real reform to help Coloradans
Re: “Stop demonizing TABOR,” April 30 letter to the editor
“TABOR may need to be ‘tweaked,’ but it works” was the thesis of a recent letter defending the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, an antiquated policy that constrains the state’s ability to meet public need. TABOR created a $1.2 billion hole in this year’s budget, forcing lawmakers to cut necessary services. Next year, because of TABOR, lawmakers will again need to make cuts. This cycle undermines Colorado’s prosperity and makes us especially weak in a recession. If TABOR needs to be “tweaked,” is it indeed working?
TABOR doesn’t work because it wasn’t designed to work. TABOR was designed to keep Colorado in a state of financial stress while pacifying the public with temporary tax cuts. TABOR pits the duties of a state – maintaining infrastructure, providing public education, protecting health and safety – against each other while telling residents that adequately funding these priorities is government bloat. In the eyes of its supporters, dysfunction is the point. TABOR breaks systems and services we all use and preserves itself through the logic: Who wants to pay for something that’s broken?
Budgeting is the art of planning ahead. Rather than demanding that lawmakers “come up with ways to increase revenue intake when it’s needed,” let’s deploy the revenue the state already brings in to meet our needs. Constantly legislating and amending is inefficient. Instead, we should lift the TABOR cap and permit the state to use the dollars we’ve already paid. Let’s put Colorado on a more prosperous path through real reforms, not tweaks.
Libby Chamberlin, Boulder
Denver City Council stands up for the environment
Re: “City Council rejects $25M contract with Suncor,” May 7 news story
Kudos to the City of Denver for rejecting a contract to buy asphalt from Suncor Energy. As one of the largest polluters in Colorado, it’s great to see Denver voicing their concerns through their spending decisions. For once, the choice is people before profits instead of the usual profits-before-people concept. Thank you, Denver for standing up for environmental justice — not only for Suncor’s surrounding neighborhood but also for the Front Range.
Mariann Storck, Wheat Ridge
Fix Our Forests Act deceptively named
From national parks to national forests, Coloradans benefit from easy access to many of the finest public lands in the US. Nowadays, we are fighting just to keep them from being sold to the highest bidder. But as we work to prevent a sale to private entities, let’s not settle for a lease agreement.
If passed, the deceptively named Fix Our Forests Act would increase logging across national forests, reduce public engagement in management decisions, and erode legal safeguards — including basic endangered species protections. It functionally endorses President Donald Trump’s executive order that calls for drastically increasing logging across the country.
Everyone in Durango and southwestern Colorado knows that fires have grown in severity and frequency in recent years due to a century of mismanagement and the early impacts of climate change. The 416 fire alone burned over 50,000 acres. Across much of our western forests, the question guiding management needs to be, “How do we ensure our forests can be healthy while protecting people and property from the risk of fire?” Unfortunately, FOFA accomplishes neither of these things. Instead, it sells our forests’ natural resources for profit and removes us from having a say in the process.
The Fix Our Forests Act is a very bad answer to a very important question. Sen. Michael Bennett has been a reliable voice of reason for our public lands here in Colorado and beyond. He should oppose this bill and continue to stand for our public lands.
On behalf of our communities and public lands!
Dan King, Durango
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