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Letters to the editor, April 20, 2007
We've trashed the joint
"Our planet's immune system is trying to get rid of people. The earth is in terrible danger now; human beings, past and present, have trashed the joint. I know of very few people who are dreaming of a world for their grandchildren." These are scary words from Kurt Vonnegut.
This Earth Day, global warming should be our main concern.
Wisconsin's global warming emissions increased 25 percent between 1990 and 2005, according to the Citizen Utility Board. We should follow California's lead and urge Wisconsin legislators as well as our national leaders to follow the Kyoto accords.
One less touted means to conserve energy is eating close to home.
The World Watch Institute states that "In the United States, food typically travels 1500 to 2000 miles from farm to plate, 25 percent farther than in 1980."
Even a corn-growing state like Iowa finds most sweet corn on grocery store shelves during the harvest is from out of state.
I'm amazed when I order a restaurant salad in August and it comes with a pink hothouse tomato, rather than a locally grown red one.
Racine has a marvelous farmer's market every Saturday from May through October on the corner of Erie and State, and another at the mall, where you can buy freshly picked vegetables grown close to home. Wherever you shop, pay attention to the distance food travels, and choose the closer; a California wine over the Australian for example.
This Earth Day, let's all make at least one permanent lifestyle change to save the earth for our grandchildren.
Connie Hohlfeld Molbeck
Caledonia
Costs that affect us all
This is about two different costs of living that certainly affects me, but can also have an effect on most people's wallets.
This first cost most of the Racine public is probably not aware of, that is an inspection fee is charged by the City of Racine when they come to inspect a commercial building. This "user fee" is charged over and above what that property owner pays in property taxes for that location.
I was always under the impression that the reason we pay property taxes was to cover the expense of services that would pertain to the fair share for any particular address.
It seems that this "user fee" for fire inspections of commercial properties is nothing more than "double taxation."
A "user fee" that is charged by a government is just a different term for the word tax. So why aren't these costs covered by one property tax? Why do they charge extra for something that they demand to be done (inspection)?
It's not like I asked them to come and inspect, they demand it, and charge plenty for the "privilege" of letting them inspect my property.
To "rub salt in this wound" they charged $100 per industrial space (small spaces for beginning businesses). They inspected 11 such areas. It took them less than one hour to complete the inspection of all 11 areas combined.
So their total charges came to $1,100 for less than one hour on the property (more like 50 minutes). Don't get me wrong, I admire and respect our firefighters for their dedication and hard work.
What I'm objecting to is an extra fee (above the property tax) of what amounts to about $1,320 per hour of work, or $22 per minute. I know that the firefighters aren't getting those kinds of wages, not even the city administrator is.
I don't personally know anyone who earns that kind of wage. So why on earth is the city being this heavy-handed? I know life isn't fair, but the public always wonders why the prices of goods and services keep going up. This is one of the reasons. How can a business be expected to absorb exorbitant fees like these, especially when the inspection is forced?
Another cost to us all is the price of gasoline. I've seen all different kinds of excuses for the price to rise every time it does. I don't know if we should believe all of them, some of them, or none of them.
But you would think that whatever the reasons that are actually true, that in our day and age, those real reasons (whatever they are) could be solved and "put to rest" once and for all.
Because when the price of gas and diesel fuel go up, it hurts everyone, not just vacationers.
John Longo
3112 4 Mile Road
Tanning dangers
I was extremely dismayed to read your article "Teens Tanning for Prom" by Paul Sloth. My daughter Jaime was a tanning bed addict as a teen because she thought it made her "look good". She died last month from melanoma cancer, and she didn't look so good, with scars all over her body from surgeries, bald from chemo treatments and brain radiation, and skeleton-thin from the cancer eating away her young body.
Not quite the look she had been going after when using the tanning beds. I know she would tell your readers to be smarter than she was and stay away from the tanning beds. Like the young teen in your article, Jaime never thought her "killer" tan would hurt her - and she never thought melanoma would murder her in her 20s but they did. It's just not worth the risk.
Donna Regen
Allen TX
Respect volunteers
I found the following in an old Ann Landers column. It is in regard to National Volunteers Week which is the third week in April. I'm sure all the wonderful people giving of their time will enjoy this:
"Many will be shocked to find when the day of judgment nears that there's a special place in heaven set aside for volunteers. Furnished with big recliners, satin couches and footstools where there's no committee chairman, no group leaders or carpools, no eager team that needs a coach, no bazaar and no bake sales. There will be nothing to staple, not one thing to fold or mail. Telephone lists will be outlawed, but a finger snap will bring cool drinks and gourmet dinners and treats fit for a king. You ask, 'Who'll serve these privileged few and work for all they're worth? Why, all those who reaped the benefits and not once volunteered on earth.'"
I am a happy 24-year volunteer with Orphaned Kanines and it sure is time well spent.
Phyllis Haas, 76
Racine
Save Stewart-McBride Park
I am writing to draw attention to Mount Pleasant and eastern Racine County residents that Stewart-McBride Park is in jeopardy. This concerns everyone who has used, is using the park or plans on using the park in the future, because the Mount Pleasant Village Board was planning on selling the whole park even though it has a 50-year trust. This trust stated that it stays a park for that long and only 19 years have passed. They just won't get away from not taking any of the park (it's under a trust).
Now they are talking about taking away the ball diamond west of the police station and extending Storybook Drive through the park to the road beside Barnes and Noble Booksellers. That means about half the track will go, too. They want to put stop and go lights at Storybook Drive and an extra-wide road through the park for a fire station behind the park and behind Barnes and Noble. What is wrong with the present station for a substation?
They want to build a big station and village hall north of Highway 20 on 90th Street. They want us to use Sturtevant's parks and Racine's parks while they build another park by the new buildings which could take years. Meanwhile, they take two ballparks out of Stewart-McBride leaving only one, take away the track and training area for the Racine Police Department, what else will they do? They will have about 4 1/2 acres east of this road where part of one diamond is
that will be restricted for what? Why not move the road east to the side of the park and leave the park whole? I brought up at a group meeting about the safety of our children from child snatchers and they say they will put up a fence. On both sides of the road? Will this help?
Everyone, please come to this meeting that is open to the public for discussion of what is going to happen. It is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, at the Mount Pleasant Village Hall, on the corner of highways 31 and 11.
Ronald Hansen
6415 Durand Ave.
Dispose of household waste
Over the years, I have read various figures for the number of pounds of household hazardous waste the average family produces and it definitely is not zero. But that is what one might assume from the very low turnout at last month's Household Hazardous Waste collection in Racine. Maybe people just didn't read the ads or note the public announcements. Or maybe people are getting rid of this material in an illegal or unsafe manner.
The City of Racine operates a Household Hazardous Waste site on Loni Lane near Sam's Club, west of S. Green Bay Road and north of Durand Avenue on the 3rd Saturday of each month from March through October. That means the site will be open to City of Racine and Village of Sturtevant residents this Saturday, April 21 between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to properly dispose of your hazardous materials in a safe and legal way.
Hazardous materials include solvent-containing products such as oil-based paints, paint strippers and thinners, varnishes; polishes or spot removers containing organic solvents, carburetor cleaners, degreasers and many automotive fluids; weed killers, insecticides, pool chemicals and rat poisons. For a complete list of materials which should be disposed of through this program, see the City of Racine's website, http://www.cityofracine.org/Depts/Wastewater.
HHW should not be thrown down the toilet or disguised in the regular trash collection where they can escape into our environment or drinking water.
John W. Berge
1529 Crabapple Drive, Racine
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| Letters to the editor, April 20, 2007 |
