Letters to the Editor for February 4, 2020

Mayor’s contributions to making city bike-friendly appreciated

I want to express my extreme gratitude to Mayor Crowell and the supervisors with whom he worked for the wonderful things they have done to make our community more welcoming.

As a 74-year-old woman who loves to bike to the grocery store and to church and to the downtown for lunch or dinner, etc., I am blessed to find bike paths on many of our streets and pedestrian crosswalk buttons at almost every corner.

Biking with our grandkids downtown to McFadden Plaza or to the Farmers’ Market is a delight for all of us, and it wouldn’t be available without the hard work and vision of our city leaders and many other generous people in our community.

Mayor Bob, you will be greatly missed, but your legacy will live on for generations to come.

Thank you,

P.S. Biking is great exercise, gives a wonderful sense of freedom and doesn’t add carbonmolecules to the atmosphere heating up our planet.

Midge Breeden

Carson City

Trump has right to run again

I would like to take a moment to talk about President Donald J. Trump. I acknowledge that many Americans have been upset by his actions or unpopular decisions. In fact, some of his overall comments in his rallies have angered some individuals.

However, before you decide to become the judge, jury or executioner, please put yourself in the president’s shoes. What has he done that has made a very significant impact on your life? Was it positive or negative? What would you say to him if you talked face to face? Folks, he’s just another regular human being like you and me.

Imagine what the president must feel like to wake up every single morning, getting ready for his daily routine. He is putting himself out there in the public eye. Quite often, he has to spend his time and energy defending himself on social media. This is truly unfair to both him and his family.

Please understand, President Trump had every single right to run for office in 2016. Therefore, he has the right to run again for a second term.

Joshua Dealy

Carson City

Nevada should consider doing away with capital punishment

Twenty of the 50 states have abolished capital punishment, starting with Wisconsin in 1853. Here are three good reasons why Nevada should become the 21st:

1. It’s not punishment. It’s more like mercy killing. When somebody is given a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, they are routinely put on suicide watch. That’s because many convicts would prefer death to a lifelong loss of liberty. So why not just put them in jail and throw away the key? It costs less, and it lets the rest of us move on with our lives.

2. The state shouldn’t be in the business of killing its prisoners. It’s just a bad look, especially considering that in the last half century more than 165 people given the death penalty were later found to have been wrongly convicted. Taking a person’s life shouldn’t be based on proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the proof needs to be beyond all doubt, and that’s impossible.

3. We can’t afford it. Defending the average capital murder case costs taxpayers an additional $200,000 per case compared to non-capital murder cases, and there are 80 capital murder cases currently pending in Clark County alone. Those prosecutions and appeals also cost vast sums, as does maintaining the men’s and women’s death rows themselves. Surely we could put all that money to better use, especially as this state hasn’t carried out a single execution in the last 14 years.

Rich Dunn

Carson City

Eagle Valley is like no other place anywhere

Virginia Wallace (mom) left Southern California in the 1980s to enjoy the rest of her life, trying Carson City first. She stayed for the next 30 years. She had concerned neighbors she never had elsewhere, taking out her trash, checking on her. That was like no other place she lived. Virginia watched her deer come down from Kings Canyon for hours; that was like no other place. Virginia got hugs from staffers at Nugget, Gold Dust and Slot World just for sitting down to play; that was like no other place. Virginia walked in to open an account at a Savings & Loan, chatted with staff how she ran new accounts in California S&Ls for 30 years, was offered an application, and was hired at age 60 … like no other place. Virginia had to leave in 2016 only because of a stroke, and her next-door neighbors bought her home. Virginia finished her earthly journey Jan. 29, 2020, at the age of 93. On behalf of Virginia, thank you, Eagle Valley, and please keep on being like no place else.

Nancy Wallace

Loma Linda, Calif.