Letters to the Editor July 1

Cell phone use walking driving should be illegal everywhere

Cell phone usage while driving will be illegal in Nevada effective Oct. 1. I believe all states should adopt this law. We already have plenty of distractions while driving. We don't need to add cell phone usage to our bad driving habits, as it only takes a second for things to go wrong.

Many studies (Car and Driver Magazine) have proven that driving and using a cell phone are just as bad as drinking and driving.

A few years back, my mom was involved in a accident. The girl was distracted on her cell phone. She didn't realize when traffic on a highway came to a complete stop, and rear-ended my mom's car. Luckily for my mom and the passengers, no one was seriously injured, yet others have not been so lucky.

Jennifer Watkins from Las Vegas told the Senate Transportation Committee of an accident in 2004 that left her husband, Richard, with permanent brain injuries caused by a driver using his cell phone while driving.

On Jan. 19 2004, Judy Teater and her 12-year-old son Joe were driving to an after-school activity. A young lady behind the wheel was talking on her cell phone causing her to run a red light and slam into Judy's vehicle. Joe died the next day from his injuries (www.distraction.gov).

I believe a simple phone call or text isn't worth someone's life. We should work together to make cell phone usage while driving illegal across America.

Miriam Loyola

Carson City

Veteran would like to speak to Gov. Sandoval

After 14 formal attempts to get an appointment to speak to Governor Sandoval regarding the Nevada Offices of Veterans Services, a state-run agency, I have yet to receive an appointment or clear instructions as to how to speak to his scheduler.

I am looking for answers from NOVS as to why so many people tell so many conflicting stories to the same questions I have been asking for six months.

If Gov. Sandoval is truly a veteran's governor, why is a disabled American veteran, lifelong Nevada resident, unable to speak to him directly?

Chuck Lundberg

Mound House

Woman seeks help looking for friend

I have lost contact with a special friend who lived in Carson City. Her name was or is Lois Pennington. Her husband, Howard, died in 2002. I know they had children, a son probably living in the Hawaiian Islands, but no listings, and a daughter whose married name I never knew.

This couple has many friends who need closure. I did find a Lois Pennington, age 74, someplace I pulled up in my search today. If she died, so be it. However if she is alive and well, I would like to know that, too.

They resided at 33 Granite Way. When I attempted to telephone her several years back, her phone had been disconnected.

The Carson City Vital Statistics page never did tell me how I could obtain an application for a death certificate, just that I had to apply that way. I figured this was my last hope of getting information before I finally had to give up.

Thanking you in advance for your help. A reply by e-mail to lstrahlmann@gmail.com would be most welcome.

Lorraine Strahlmann

Portland, Ore.

Independent voters watching debt ceiling issue

In five weeks, our country will go into default with every man, woman and child $45,000 in the hole. 

There are only two ways to fix the budget - spending cuts and taxation. The Republicans want to cut spending and the Democrats want to raise taxes, except they don't, really. They just want the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans to start paying their fair share of taxes.

This issue is clearly off the table for the GOP as we have seen when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor walked out of the budget talks with the vice president when the subject was brought up.

Although the Democrats have been flexible negotiating for billions in spending cuts, Republicans won't budge on taxing the wealthiest of Americans, clearly revealing where their loyalties lie.

The GOP won't think about nor even discuss taxation unless it concerns tax breaks for big oil, pharmaceutical companies and corporations that send our jobs overseas for cheaper labor.

It is with unmitigated gall that Republicans are holding Medicare and Social Security hostage until they get what they want. It's a sad, tragic paradox to see all of the old folks getting their teeth kicked in by the very party they voted for.

As the Republicans play political chess with the country's future, willing to tank the economy to protect the rich, they seem to be perfectly happy driving the country over a cliff while their buddies are cringing on Wall Street. Regardless, Independent voters are watching. 

Robin Christy

Carson City