Get the city’s priorities right

Last week’s horrific and violent harvesting of a child in the womb of a young mother in Longmont has once again brought us face to face with the reality that a pre-born child has no legal rights in Colorado. As a consequence, the perpetrator of this mortal crime (the baby died) will not be charged with a homicide. When are those we elect at the state Capitol going to have the courage to right this terrible wrong in our justice system? The surviving mother has lost a child who would have been born in May of this year.

We can talk all we want about a City for Champions but when is Colorado Springs and its cultural ethos going to reflect a City for Life? Only when our neighbors and elected representatives get their priorities right and transmit this statement of values to the state Legislature.

Mark R. Spengler

Colorado Springs

Include climate change in planning

Fixing potholes is a priority with Colorado Springs voters. A recent Gazette editorial points out that any impact of climate change on potholes appears dubious, and I agree with that. However, citizens also care about other city responsibilities some of which interact directly with climate change such as water supply, wildfire protection, electrical power, and planning for transportation and city growth.

Climate change is raising temperatures and reducing precipitation throughout the Southwest. These conditions will enhance wildfire risks and the city needs to plan for both further mitigation and fire fighting capabilities. The city needs to plan for the reduced availability of water; this likely will require further conservation and possibly infrastructure construction as well as negotiations with outside entities. While the city cannot independently stop worldwide carbon dioxide emissions it likely will be called on to do its part. Reductions of emissions from electric power generation involves long-lived infrastructure and we need to think about investing wisely. Likewise planning for transportation and growth can impact our future carbon dioxide emissions and involve decisions about expensive and long-term infrastructure. The city can more effectively address these challenges with elected leaders that acknowledge climate change and include that in planning along with the other needs and interests of the citizens.

Robert Jones

Colorado Springs

High cost of cheaper food

I was disappointed to read that School District 11 is cutting back on the quality of their beef products and stopping their purchases from locally sourced Ranch Foods. (Gazette March 20) There are a number of good reasons why this is a bad idea. The article states that the meat is similar but isn’t necessarily hormone- and antibiotic-free. The use of antibiotics in meat is strongly implicated in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The use of hormones in meat is banned in many parts of the world. Nor is it grass “finished.” Feedlot animals suffer such ill health from a diet that is unnatural to cattle, they die anyway if they are not butchered in time. To say the beef is “similar” is nonsense – the only “similar” thing is that it’s beef, not chicken. Grass-finished beef contains nutrients that simply are not present in conventional beef. Buying locally supports our economy which pays taxes in the community including school taxes. The benefits of staying with Ranch Foods far out weigh the savings of $50,000 a year. At 28,000 students that is less than two dollars a year per student. Chicken feed! I do think Rick Hughes should be commended for his efforts to improve the overall quality of school food, there needs to be some adjustments made so he can continue. Wellness and good behavior are strongly linked to quality foods. It’s time we realize the high cost of cheap food.

June Heimsoth

Colorado Springs

Excited about the city election

Municipal elections are just around the corner and I hope everyone votes. With a number of good candidates to choose from, we as voters have an opportunity to select representation that will be more collaborative and forward thinking. More importantly, we have an opportunity to select candidates that are more open to reassessing our local governance framework, utilizing and prioritizing internal resources to better serve the community, improving overall government efficiency, and creating a future for this community that keeps our economy strong. Choose candidates that possess the courage to question the status quo and the willingness to work together for a better government. As a local citizen, ratepayer and taxpayer, I am excited about this election. I hope you are as well.

Alan Goins

Colorado Springs

We are living in a desert

Gail Klapper’s column on the Colorado Water Plan does a great job of whetting our interest. Unfortunately, our state is facing a “gap” in the amount of water projected to be needed. Global warming will reduce our supply. Southern Colorado Basin states and Mexico may make demands that will reduce the water we can keep. Agriculture will need more water in a hotter and drier climate. Population is expected to grow rapidly. Colorado water law is antiquated and hidebound.

All of this results from the same problem: We have just overdone it! There are too many of us pumping out too much CO2. If we had half the population in this state I wouldn’t be writing this comment. One way to look at this is people want to spend $20 billion of your tax dollars so hundreds of thousands of new people can come into this state. And that’s just for water! Think of the cost of schools, roads and health.

Why don’t we Coloradans spend some time thinking about cutting back? We are living in a desert, basically, let’s respect that.

Patrick Hunter

Carbondale

What’s racist and undemocratic?

I do not understand the criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his remarks about the Arab bloc vote in Israel. President Obama and columnists such as E.J. Dionne (Gazette, March 20) are condemning those statements as racist and undemocratic.

During our election campaigns we constantly hear both political parties and their leaders trying to attract the black vote, the Hispanic vote, and most of all, the women’s vote.

Is that also racist and undemocratic?

Gary Altman

Colorado Springs