蜜柚直播

TEP guest opinion

Thank you, Daniel Dempsey, for your continued reminders of how much TEP continues to get away with as far as 蜜柚直播 is concerned. I have watched as their oversized, ugly rusted metal poles continue to go up without notice until they obscure and tower over any view of street or mountains in midtown, some on every home lot of homes along many east/west thoroughfares (see East Hendrick Drive between Campbell and 蜜柚直播 Boulevard for example). They cite the cost of undergrounding as a deterrent for doing the right thing in placing those obscene poles and numerous wires out of sight, at a cost to ratepayers. As our temperatures rise they will soon be vulnerable to the same things that have happened in California with sparking and failures. Country Club Road has been worked on recently burying something in trenches. TEP lines could do the same.

Christie Cummins

Midtown

Prioritize voter participation

I am a longtime advocate for good governance and voter participation and disagree with the Mayor and Council鈥檚 decision to hold a special election in March 2025 for Proposition 414. The proposed half-cent sales tax increase can wait for the regularly scheduled city election in November.

Special elections consistently see lower voter turnout, ensuring fewer voices are heard on critical community issues. 蜜柚直播鈥檚 last three special elections saw dismal participation: just 28% in 2017, 27% in 2022, and 24% in 2023. Asking voters to decide on this important measure with a likely very low-turnout election undermines democratic representation.

City officials claim the additional revenues are necessary, yet they are willing to incur the unnecessary cost of a special election, estimated to be a million dollars. Where else might those dollars go? Why rush this decision when waiting until November would allow more voters to weigh in and save taxpayer dollars?

For a stronger 蜜柚直播, we must prioritize governance that encourages voter engagement and fiscal responsibility.

Sarah Smallhouse

Northeast side

Condom lie hits a new low

After reading B. Dowdall鈥檚 letter regarding Biden鈥檚 made-up actions, I wondered where do these people get these from? Later today I got a message citing Trump with the claim. Again, the Liar鈥搃n鈥揅hief strikes with an ever-bigger lie.

Soon after the DC midair tragedy, I asked my wife when and how would Trump attempt to pin it on Biden? It did not take long and to my surprise (not!) he even tried to blame Obama. No tragedy will escape his attempts to profit from it. These are the acts of a person without any morals or compassion for others. I believe the term sociopath is accurate for Trump. What god would send him to deliver us from the perceived evil?

Jeff Rayner

SaddleBrooke

$50 million for Gaza condoms

In a Friday, January 31 letter captioned 鈥淭he last four years鈥� a writer criticizes the Biden Administration on numerous grounds. These included that 鈥渁t first glance there was $50 million going to Gaza for condoms鈥�.

Fact checking reveals that this claim originated with White House Press Secretary, Caroline Leavitt, at a 鈥渘ews briefing鈥� on January 29. When Ms. Leavitt was challenged by the press, she cited as grounds for this claim a Fox 蜜柚直播 article that merely quoted her own statement. Ms. Leavitt was ultimately awarded Four Pinocchios by The Washington Post for making a 鈥減reposterous鈥� claim that neither she nor the Trump State Department could factually support or document.

Moreover, to the extent that the U.S. Government distributes condoms overseas, it does so to prevent HIV/AIDS pursuant to a George W. Bush program called the U.S. President鈥檚 Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and none of this money goes to the Middle East or to Gaza.

Thomas Blackwell

Oro Valley

Who is to blame?

Donald Trump fires the Federal Aviation Administration Director, orders a freeze on air traffic control hiring, disbands the Aviation Safety Advisory Committee, and wants the retirement of most Civil Service air traffic control employees. He creates chaos in aviation safety, but when the worst happens, it鈥檚 the fault of DEI, the Democrats, or the LGBTQ community. He talks about hiring qualified people when his Cabinet picks are literal clown college. How long can the MAGA cult keep defending him?

Mary Zimmerman

SaddleBrooke

Foreign policy deja vu

America鈥檚 recently installed President has aggressively spoken of expanding our country鈥檚 influence and, in some cases even territory, in Greenland, Panama, Canada and Mexico. He has suggested America might resort to military force to pursue these goals. One can assume he believes these expansions would serve our national security and economic interests.

I think we have seen this movie before. After the Third Reich took power in Germany it espoused interests of expanding its reach in Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. It pursued those interests with military occupation and invasion. Of course, a spark was lit and WW II followed, with its attendant horrific loss of life and destruction. Germany was laid to waste.

It is said those who do not study history are bound to repeat its failures. I would hope the President would study and understand the history.

Jim Greene

Marana

Beyond the pale

DJT was elected president and can implement his policies and appoint cabinet members. While I disagree with most of his agenda and some of his cabinet picks, I expect him to follow all laws and the Constitution.

His followers are causing a backlash of his executive orders because they are affecting the most in need. His firing of the Inspector Generals didn鈥檛 follow the law and should be condemned.

His tirade against DEI and the Democrats over the horrible plane wreck was politically incorrect. His actions should upset most voters that feel that this was a time of sorrow for the families of dead and the president should have shown more compassion and empathy. But no, he took umbrage of the pilots and complain about the ATC鈥檚 lack of experience because they might be DEI hires without knowing the facts. This was a low bar even for him.

James Mclin

East side

Shame, not pride

No words exist sufficiently derogatory to describe Trump鈥檚 politicization of the recent plane/helicopter collision over the Potomac.

He turned a national tragedy into a political blame game, as he did with North Carolina flooding and California fires. He鈥檚 blaming Obama, Biden, Democrats and DEI policies, saying there are 鈥渟evere intelligence problems and psychiatric deficiencies.鈥� Speak for yourself, Donald! This portrayal is a chilling glimpse of his administration鈥檚 intent to limit opportunities for people of color and those with disabilities. 鈥淪ome jobs have to be at the highest level of genius鈥� 鈥� genius like his Cabinet choices possess? Asked how he could tie this tragedy to DEI policies, 鈥淚 have common sense鈥�. We saw his common sense when he suggested ingesting cleaning agents to combat Covid, and his idea to detonate an A-bomb into hurricanes. A recent letter praising Trump claims 鈥渨e can all be proud.鈥� No, I鈥檓 feeling extreme shame 鈥� shame for a country that elected a hateful, vindictive, compassionless person who鈥檚 the exact opposite of a leader.

Deb Klumpp

Oro Valley

For shame, Mr. Trump

Mister President, as was so pointedly asked once before during a period of fanatical conspiratorial unrest: 鈥淗ave you no sense of decency, sir?鈥� This timeless rhetorical query from the McCarthy era has found new ownership in our Disgrace-in-Chief, whose credo is no tragedy must go unexploited. His unspeakable insensitivity toward the families of the victims of the air disaster in our nation鈥檚 capital 鈥� all in service to political posturing 鈥� places the very core of his sociopathic soul on full display, unattenuated and unashamed.

Without the slightest regard for the grieving, Trump has seized the moral low ground and advanced the vindictive claim that by 鈥渁ctively recruiting workers 鈥� under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative,鈥� the FAA is fully responsible for the tragedy 鈥� possibly the most egregious act of untimely exploitation in the Trump era to date.

But most hypocritically, his brazen scapegoating of DEI initiatives occurs simultaneously with his attempt to pack our entire government with the worst kind of unqualified loyalists, hellbent on inflicting irrecoverable damage.

Robert Gavlak

Midtown

Call your senators!

Recently, there have been many well-written letters to the editor urging our senators not to vote for several of Trump鈥檚 unqualified Cabinet nominees. These are informative letters and often add to my perspective. Yet it is highly unlikely our senators are reading local newspapers. For all who are passionate and concerned enough to write a letter to the editor, please also call our senators and let them know your views. The Senate and House switchboard number is 202-224-3121. It only takes a few minutes to leave a message, and it will carry much more weight than our local letters.

Patrice Hatten

Northwest side

Re: The Last Four Years

No, I was not asleep during the last four years. I was enjoying the calm leadership of the Biden years.

Your claim that 鈥�$50 million going to Gaza for condoms鈥� was frozen. Then Trump went further stating 鈥淲e identified and stopped $50 million being sent to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas.鈥� 鈥淭hey鈥檝e used them as a method of making bombs.鈥� Really?

In reality the U.S. has a program, President鈥檚 Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which distributes condoms but not to Hamas. We support USAID which delivers condoms and contraceptives around the world to prevent the spread of HIV infection but not to Hamas.

You should be more concerned that Trump used C-17 Globemaster III military planes costing $210K for a 12-hour roundtrip flight to deport 64 immigrants to Guatemala. Biden used chartered aircraft at a cost of $103k per roundtrip flight. That鈥檚 fiscal responsibility.

Kathryn Baron

Midtown

Thank you for your service

When I was a kid, half my family worked for the U.S. Forest Service, giving me an innate understanding of the important work done by the federal government. In my Air Force career, I was fortunate enough to work with professionals from other federal agencies. I was impressed by their dedication to our country and agencies they served. Many thousands of hard-working Americans have dedicated their lives to this country as employees of the federal government. Their work has guaranteed programs we rely on that support, protect, entertain, and sustain us will be available for us. The current Presidential administration is doing everything in its power to disrespect and demoralize these Americans, pretending their work is of no value. We must not allow this to happen. Write your Senators and Congressional Representatives requesting these Americans be protected. Be more cognizant of the services you use that are run by the executive branch. Instead of insisting these Americans lose their jobs, thank them for the quiet and important work they do.

Melinda Sims

Catalina

Trump鈥檚 tariffs will raise prices

In the last few months there have been several articles on Trump鈥檚 two signature economic policies, mass deportation and tariffs, outlining how disastrous they will be both for whole industries and for individuals. Agriculture, hospitality, construction and the automotive industry will all be hard hit. Tariffs will have direct and indirect consequences for individuals 鈥� prices will increase. By a lot. It is unfortunate that more of this type of reporting wasn鈥檛 done before the election, maybe the 鈥測es, he鈥檚 an ogre, but eggs were cheaper鈥� folks would have voted against the chaos that we鈥檙e now facing.

Trump will tell you that tariffs will lower inflation and pay for tax cuts. He鈥檚 lying.

Melanie Bell

Midtown

Readiness of Project 2025

I wondered why Trump had stacks of printed, leatherbound folders ready for immediate signatures shortly after being sworn in. Project 2025 has been ready to roll since he started campaigning (while denying knowing anything about it). I think that the ink was dry on 1,000+ documents before he even won, by a small margin, the election, awaiting the spectacle, full of pomp and circumstance, of swiping a fat black pen across them. The signature chaos created by not just the volume but the legality of many of them is distracting us from real promises he made. Lower inflation? Lower food and gas prices? Lower egg prices? End the war in the Ukraine in 24 hours? Instead, retribution and threats to Americans who have done their jobs, before sorting out who and which are deserved and appropriate. It鈥檚 a shame.

Christie Cummins

Midtown