3 Richland Board members should resign, and other Tri-City Herald letters to the editor | Opinion

3 on RSD board should just resign

The article in the Feb. 26 edition to the Tri-City Herald regarding the question of who will pay the legal costs of the three members of the Richland School Board is easily solved if they just resign. They ignored the legal aspects of this issue and held an unplanned vote on ignoring the science of using face masks to limit the spread of the COVID virus. We don’t need such narrow-minded people on any board in Richland.

Jim Tow, Richland

Address causes or symptoms?

Democrat politicians are constantly talking about “gun violence” but never about any other type violence. Is it violence they hate or guns?

When I reached adulthood in the 1960s, guns were readily available in department stores, hardware stores, even mail order. Outside a few big cities, no government approval was needed. Registration, if any, was minimal. Mass shootings were virtually unheard of. After JFK and RFK were assassinated, restrictions, fees, permitting requirements and punitive bureaucratic impediments to legal gun ownership proliferated. This trend continues unabated. As the regulations have proliferated, so has the incidence of mass shootings. What does this suggest about the efficacy of burdensome regulation?

If you are serious about solving a problem, do you go after the symptoms or causes?

Clearly mass shootings of strangers (especially of children) suggests a mental problem. But why so prevalent now? I suggest one reason so many people want to express their despair by mass killings, and usually ending their own lives, is politicians, especially Congress. What sort of example do they set with their lies, hatred, embracing fascism, tribalism, etc.? For whom do they legislate – the nation as a whole? Themselves? Their big campaign donors?

Brett Menaker, Kennewick

State of Union clearly fractured

My husband and I are watching the State of the Union address by President Biden. I was struck by the Democrats and Republicans only standing for their ideologies; what if both sides got together and really listened to each other without politics? Maybe they could actually get something done in a timely fashion!

Chris Gleason, Richland

Careful planning needed for roads

The Tri-City Herald ran a story about adding an overpass at Road 76. I applaud the effort that went into this project, and I believe it will help connect the city that was divided by I-182 in the 1980s, however this is another band-aid to a larger issue that needs a holistic approach.

We need to consider West Pasco traffic in a more comprehensive way of how it flows within itself, how it interacts with the rest of Pasco, and how it integrates with the rest of the region. We need to consider options from a “diverging diamond” interchange at Road 100, a westbound-only on-ramp if feasible at Argent, and upgrading Road 76, Road 68 and other arterials including an overdue stoplight at Sandifur and 76, etc.

Specifically, as it relates to the Road 76 project, some excellent comments have already been made about other connecting and adjacent streets needing upgraded like Chapel Hill to support the added traffic flow while alleviating pedestrian and bicycle anxiety when this new overpass is completed.

We need vision, planning, and leadership to solve this problem.

Charles Grimm, Pasco

Letters Policy

The Tri-City Herald welcomes letters up to 200 words, and the best way to submit them is through our website. The Herald reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length, and letter writers are limited to one letter published every 30 days. We will run letters from candidates if they are writing about issues, but not if they are soliciting votes.