Roads shouldn't be governed by survival of the fittest

I heartily disagree with the state Court of Appeals and The Seattle Times ["Court right to reject Seattle traffic law," Opinion, editorial, Aug. 21] that a traffic infraction cannot turn into a crime.

It seems to me that turning illegally into the path of an oncoming vehicle -- whether bicycle or car -- and killing that other person demonstrates a certain "reckless manner" and "disregard for the safety of others."

The issue has nothing to do with the "tensions created by traffic congestion" or with "competition for road space" or with "sharing limited space." Drivers need to avoid killing other people whether the roads are crowded or not!

Driving is not a contact sport or a blood sport governed by the law of the jungle: survival of the fittest. If drivers are not held accountable for criminal actions, or criminal outcomes, then we are all at the mercy of the legions of drivers who commit traffic infractions through carelessness, thoughtlessness, stupidity, irresponsibility and incompetence.

-- Dale Flynn, Shoreline

Judge had duty to uphold state law

A motorist should be held accountable for the injury or death of a pedestrian or cyclist. I understand the anger at the overturning of the Seattle law.

However, the anger is directed in the wrong direction. The Seattle ordinance conflicted with state law, and judges have a duty to determine what the letter of the law is. The judge overturned the Seattle law because it was against state law.

The judge can't change the law and neither can The Times.

What really needs to be done is to change the state law so careless motorists are held accountable for their carelessness. Those angry about the court's decision should write to their state legislators urging a change in the law.

-- Bob Fleming, Seattle

Civilized debates come without guns

David Sirota echoes ["First Amendment trumps Second Amendment," Opinion, syndicated columnist, Aug. 23] my personal alarm concerning the guns appearing at public meetings.

His Thomas Jefferson quote about watering the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants -- that makes my blood run cold.

This madness has got to stop. There are means for civilized people to solve problems, and guns are not among them.

-- Mary S. Mitchell, Seattle

Firearms demonstrators well within their rights

David Sirota, thank you for telling the truth.

And the truth is you and your elitist colleagues hide behind your First Amendment rights to attack our Second Amendment rights. Just remember, as Thomas Jefferson said, "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

Law-abiding gun owners are fed up with elitists like you who think they are above all others and use their positions to spread fear and disinformation to attack our Second Amendment rights. In fact, the publishing of arrogant and ignorant statements such as yours are the reason these protesters are carrying firearms.

While I don't necessarily agree with protesters carrying firearms at demonstrations, I understand why they are doing it, and I support their right to do so. It was journalists like you who fired the first shot by attacking our rights. It was politicians like Janet Napolitano, who as the head of the Department of Homeland Security disseminated an official report labeling supporters of the Second Amendment as "potential right-wing extremists/domestic terrorists."

How many attacks do you think a person will tolerate before he or she starts fighting back? These people are making a statement that they are not going to take it any more. Instead of continuing your mindless attacks on our rights, why don't you just start realizing there are people out there that do not have the same opinion as you, and their rights matter just as much as your rights.

I was both surprised and extremely pleased to see President Obama say these people are within their rights. He recognizes and understands why these people are making their statement in such a bold manner.

Obama is displaying a level head by not escalating this further. You, on the other hand, are trying to incite a riot.

-- Neil Foster, Renton

Cyclists, pedestrians not just collateral damage in accidents

Is the life of a bicyclist or pedestrian worth no more than the life of a deer shot out of hunting season?

That appears to be the opinion of The Seattle Times in its Aug. 21 editorial ["Court right to reject Seattle traffic law," Opinion]. Per The Times and the Court of Appeals, drivers who kill or injure cyclists or pedestrians are at most guilty of traffic violations. Let the motorist pay a few hundred dollars to the city treasury and take his SUV back out on the road.

According to The Times, any death or injury is just an unfortunate result of "the increased competition for road space." Has the Times decided that the unfettered competition championed by its business columnists is an ideal policy for traffic as well?

Cyclists and pedestrians beware. You are potential collateral damage in the competitive road economy, and The Times says that's how it should be.

-- Ray Redd, Lynnwood

Court rejected accountability from motorists

Perhaps the Court of Appeals ruling isn't anti-cyclist ["Court rejects city traffic law," NWTuesday, Aug. 18]. But it sends an awfully disturbing message to the cycling community.

When I read the Motor Vehicle Laws and got my driver's license, I was sobered to learn that I would be held accountable for any damage I did with the several-thousand-pound vehicle I was being allowed to operate. Perhaps the court has rejected accountability for motor-vehicle operators by their ruling in this case, too.

The Times cited the defense attorney's earnest claim that his client had not failed to do anything that was asked of him. But he left one thing out: The motorist failed to observe the traffic law. He failed to yield the right of way to the cyclist, who subsequently died.

I learned of the circumstances of this case only through reading Times' accounts and opinions of it. Nonetheless, it now seems that all noble promises made by the Department of Licensing about traffic laws being equally enforced for all users of the roads are false, and those who take to the streets on bicycles had better ride as if every car on the road is out to do them serious bodily harm.

That certainly fits my experience of commuting to work on a bicycle. And it fits the facts of this case.

-- William Imhof, Seattle

Gun toters just intimidating health-care discussions

Recently there has been a disturbing overlap between freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. What is the purpose of having machine guns, assault rifles and holstered handguns at playgrounds and town meetings? Where will this stop? Isn't the sole purpose to intimidate others, especially when many are shouting and suppressing those with polite and legitimate questions?

Gun toters intimidate those without guns. It's that simple. Why should guns be necessary at public forums on health care? Does the right to bear arms mean unarmed attendees should stay home out of fear, or alternatively, arm themselves for potential confrontations? What about the right to feel safe and secure when engaging in civil discourse about political matters affecting us all?

Police must hire more security for these events, even though the average non-gun toting person bears the economic burden.

Emotions have run high at the town meetings. What if somebody fires a shot in the crowd, creating panic and potentially a massacre?

Once again, the National Rifle Association has gone too far. Truly, it does not represent Middle America -- only the fringe.

-- Mark Litchman, Olympia

Protesters not trained to have weapons safely in a crowd

As a retired police officer, I was troubled by the sight of openly armed civilians at political rallies. But not for the obvious reasons.

I realize that each had a right to be armed, but from the images that I saw on television, none of those armed appeared to have the situational awareness that being armed in a crowd requires.

With the exception of one man, those that were portrayed wore holsters that were designed for concealment rather than secure weapon retention. Most had their hands holding other items like signs and microphones, making any attempt to prevent someone more sinisterly motivated from disarming them unsuccessful.

Being armed in a crowd, one must be constantly vigilant to protect the weapon from others. None of those that I saw were mentally prepared for such a misadventure.
Shame on them for being so cavalier with the safety of others.

-- Jerry Kempe, Shoreline

Trying to drown out free speech with fear

Why are the people bringing guns to political rallies not being charged with domestic terrorism?

It is obvious their only intention is to intimidate those of us who want a responsible dialogue. If liberals had done this they'd be hauled off to jail in a hot second. Of course, that's why we are liberals. We actually believe in free speech -- not drowning it out.
We believe in democracy, not mob rule. And we live according to certain moral credos such as, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

That's the difference.

-- Rob Moitoza, Seattle

Time for a reset in race relations

In his guest column ["Race relations, the unwritten rules -- from Cambridge to Seattle," Opinion, August 17], Jefferey P. Robinson recounts racial injustices from 40 years ago and describes how his parents taught him to keep his eyes down, his hands in plain view and respond with "yes sir" and "no sir" whenever confronted by police.

He labels police as "racist, insulting and demeaning," and claims Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley only arrested Henry Louis Gates Jr. because Gates had embarrassed Crowley by "raising his voice to protest unfair treatment."

President Obama has repeatedly called for a reset with various foreign powers.

I propose we reset race relations in our country. If it happened 40 years ago, let it go. Drop the mindset that every cop and every white guy is a bigot and hates you because of the color of your skin. It just isn't true.

And don't pretend you have to treat a cop with respect and keep your hands in plain view just because you are black. It's common sense and common courtesy. Cops shouldn't have to take all the verbal abuse and grief any citizen chooses to dish out.

-- John Hafen, Woodinville

Lessons in police encounters with Bob Dylan

Jefferey P. Robinson very angrily writes about the arrest of Harvard University professor of African studies Henry Louis Gates Jr. by Cambridge police for erratic and offensive behavior.

I'd like to compare Gates' actions with behavior of another guy who was recently arrested by police --Bob Dylan ["You're Bob Dylan? NJ police want to see some ID," seattletimes.com, Entertainment, Aug. 14]. He was picked up by two young policemen who received an anonymous phone call placed by a white woman -- just like in the Gates incident.

The caller informed police that a white guy was roaming the streets of a minority district in wee hours. Both policemen had never head of Dylan and couldn't tell him from Adam. Dylan didn't have an ID on him.

But being reasonable folks, the policemen agreed to accompany an alleged Dylan to a baseball stadium when he was to sing with Willie Nelson in few hours. A whole troupe identified the singer at the stadium, and Bob Dylan and the policemen happily parted.
End of story.

Another very famous singer Jim Croce used to sing, "You don't spit in the wind," unless one intentionally wants to get oneself wet.

Apparently, Gates needs this down-to-Earth but valuable advice. If Gates would like to send me a beer for service -- I prefer Belgian dark.

-- Michael Velikin, Kenmore

Nickels' tenure not all about mistakes

Editor, The Times:

Mayor Greg Nickels' challengers should be careful of exploiting his frank admissions ["Will vote signal a call for change?" page one, August 2] of having made "some mistakes" in his almost eight years in office, conveniently forgetting the many remarkable positive programs he spearheaded.

Community leaders must make a lot of tough decisions, often under great pressure. No matter how thoughtful and dedicated, even the best leaders are bound to make some mistakes. More important than making mistakes is whether we learned from them.

Nickels surely has done a lot of learning. Those aspiring to become our next mayor are well advised not to harp on the few mistakes made by him. It is easy for challengers to criticize the incumbent. Let them show us how they will do a better job.

-- Wolfgang Mack, Seattle

Nickels disregards safety, pushes personal initiatives

Is Seattle safer now than in 2002? Absolutely not. Since April, I am aware of at least eight break-ins in my Seward Park neighborhood -- two of them at my home and another at my son's home while my granddaughter occupied a bedroom.

Before 2002, I was not aware of any break-ins in Seward Park. The tragedy of the South Seattle woman killed by an intruder ["South Park anxious after fatal home break-in," NWThursday, July 23] underlines that Mayor Greg Nickels is not working to protect the citizens of Seattle.

I think the citizens of Seattle have had enough of Nickels' style of city management. Instead of supporting an adequate police force, he advocates projects to make Seattle green with more trees.

Instead of supporting increased police protection, he maintains an inept transportation manager on his staff. Instead of working for a safer Seattle, "his Honor" spends his time tying up traffic with his numerous bicycle trails for the use of bicyclists who disobey traffic laws and who gather illegally in mass to obstruct traffic with no legal consequences.

Nickels works only for his self-serving initiatives at the expense of initiatives to support the safety and well-being of Seattle citizens. Personally, I'm tired of paying millions for nickel management.

-- Ruben F. Owen, Seattle

McGinn's tunnel opposition is right on the money

Candidate Mike McGinn's opposition to the Seattle waterfront tunnel ["McGinn: 'He's the guy who's against the tunnel,'." page one, July 22] is right on the money and right on time. Let's not be taken in by another trendy marketing campaign.

We are all being railroaded into a plan that might well be the biggest marketing sham in recent Seattle history. First, the $4.2 billion price tag cannot be taken seriously; real costs will work out to be vastly greater, likely double or possibly even more.

Highly unstable subterranean soils are right in the tunnel's pathway, which is moreover immediately adjacent to tidal zones. Potential seismic activity like what damaged the existing viaduct -- raises risks even higher.

Second, that the tunnel idea is even on the table -- at the very time we are in unprecedented state budget and economic crisis -- speaks volumes about the utter indifference of 13 proponents to the real suffering many Seattle families are now enduring. And let's not forget the totality of state budgetary shortfall is not yet even known.

A vastly more sensible and less expensive approach is a replacement of the existing viaduct with a kinder, gentler greener design that nonetheless utilizes the existing footprint, as proposed by the Balanced Needs Concept.

McGinn is right as rain to put the Alaskan Way Viaduct issue as the central focus of his mayoral campaign.

-- Ross R. Atkinson, Mountlake Terrace

Don't punish those who take action

I think that getting fired because of doing something noble and decent is an absolute outrage. What Jim Nicholson did ["Bank teller foils holdup, nabs suspect -- loses job," page one, August 1] was dangerous and careless, but he responded to not only the man in front of him, but he also stood up and battled the ongoing sense of terror, violence and horror our country has been completely saturated with.

I believe Nicholson's efforts were heroic, and Key Bank should have promoted him rather than throwing him out onto the streets for doing what was right and good.

Shouldn't we as humans be empowered to stop injustice and immorality when we are provided an opportunity? Or have we become so liberal, blasé and indifferent that even crime is a slightly taboo occurrence and a fact of normal everyday life.

I would be delighted with an opportunity to do as Nicholson did -- grab someone doing something blatantly wrong and illegal and be a part of the system that removes one more predator off the streets. I don't want these people living among me, and obviously Nicholson doesn't either.

Key Bank, on the other hand, seems to want to passively sit by and regard the incident as just "one of those things" and let police, with mountains of similar cases, lose it in the shuffle.

Key Bank's response to Nicholson's actions made a declaration to every would-be criminal and pathological crook that they are welcome to walk on in and rob the place. After all, their employees have been trained to stand idly by.

Well, I guess this is one bank that has found a way to offer a truly free service!

-- Jennifer Wiese, Kent

For criminals, Key bank might as well have valet parking

When you mandate compliance to the actions of urban terrorists, you give free rein to those who would take by force whatever they want and encourage further anti-social behavior and societal decay.

Since that is Key Bank's corporate policy, I suggest a new advertising campaign: "At Key Bank, you show us the gun, and we'll give you the keys!"

It could be accompanied by a nifty program of reserving a parking space at the front door of each branch for robbers or, where a space is not available, offering valet "heist and flee" parking service.

By its actions, firing a brave clerk who captured a thug, Key Bank has announced to thieves everywhere that it's doors and vaults are open for crooks. Does any sane person really want to entrust their money or valuables in a place like that?
The people of Seattle should withdraw all accounts from Key Bank and move them someplace safer.

-- S. Roy Stone, Henrico, Va.

For bank, firing employee means more risk of robbery

What a mistake by the bank! Jim Nicholson is a great employee and conscientious citizen. If he is not appreciated there, I say he should move on to better things.

But what kind of idiots are running that bank? They have just opened themselves up for so many more robberies of so many other branches. We had an all-night store that was robbed, and they also said in the paper that they do not resist.

It was hit three more times that month, no weapons ever showed. Duh! They are going to miss Nicholson, and the bank deserves what headaches it gets over his firing and any future robberies that occur.

-- Doreen Powers, Pocono Mountains, Penn.

Shove was clearly case of police brutality

I am very angry about the lack of prosecution ["No charges in slamming case," NWSaturday, August 1] against the police officer who brutally attacked Christopher Harris, the young man currently in a coma after being thrown into a wall by this policeman.

This is totally unacceptable. The surveillance video of the incident shows it is clearly police brutality; the victim did not even have a weapon. The officer could have caught this man easily and applied handcuffs without a problem.

If this is "standard police procedure," as the news report stated, we are all in big trouble!

-- Carol Meyer, Seattle

All too often, police escape consequences for their actions

Police misconduct is rampant in this country, as indicated recently by the devastating injuries to Christopher Harris by a sheriff's deputy. In this case, an officer was cleared after dealing a paralyzing blow to Christopher Harris against a concrete wall.

The county prosecutor said the officer could not be prosecuted because he had done it without malice, held a good-faith belief that the act was justifiable and used a standard takedown procedure.

A police spokesman referred to it as a tragic accident. A video of the incident demonstrates the assault was completely unnecessary and that the violence of the police assault was beyond all reason.

Rarely are police officers held accountable for questionable killings, torture, beatings, profiling and denial of civil rights.

Even before a police-misconduct issue is investigated, police organizations circle the wagons to deny any wrongdoing and complain they have a dangerous job, are underpaid and unappreciated.

This all may be true, and yes we should do something about it. However, none of this justifies the police using their special power to kill, injure or deny people their fundamental rights.

This happens largely to the poor and minorities now, but others in society will be next as the police problem escalates. It could even happen to college professors!

-- Malcolm D. McPhee, Sequim

In a kiss, a violation of trust

Thank you for publishing the story ["Civilian panel backs move to suspend police officer," NWFriday, July 31] about Officer Rob Mahoney's suspension for kissing an Explorer.

As a former Seattle Police Explorer, all I can say is shame on Mahoney, and thank you to Heather Newstrom for having the courage to speak up.

Even if Heather was 18 years old, it was still a terrible thing for an officer to take advantage of his position and do something like that. The kids in the Explorer program trust and look up to the officers. The parents trust the officers to supervise their children on ride-alongs -- and even overnight training activities.

This is yet another example of the deep-rooted problems with the Seattle Police Department, and I hope the sergeant in charge of the Explorer Program takes the initiative to sweep it clean.

What a shame for all the kids who thought these officers were going to teach them to be good cops.

-- Erin Wenzel, Seattle

Another beer summit, this time for fired teller

Key Bank should reinstate the employee they fired ["Bank teller foils holdup, nabs suspect -- loses job," page one, August 1] for chasing down the bank robber. The public's reaction is going to be on the side of the fired bank employee's. That way they could all --even the bank robber -- end up having a beer with the President Obama.

-- L. Wayne Shoupe, Seattle

For fired teller, a cash reward instead

I just read in my newspaper, The State in Columbia, S.C., about the Seattle bank teller who ran down and held a bank robber until police arrived -- and then was fired from his job.

If that had happened here, people would be at the bank withdrawing their money. There would be a rush equal to the 1929 bank rush that began the Great Depression.

I think the teller should at least get the reward offered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for assisting in the arrest of bank robbers. And maybe the Seattle Police Department could use him.

-- Douglas Brazell, Columbia, S.C.

A week off, not termination, for catching bank robber

Key Bank should be ashamed for firing the employee who chased and caught a bank robber.

I don't care what kind of policy the bank has; maybe a warning and a week off would be a better solution. But to fire someone as brave and responsible as that person in these economic times is nothing short of disgraceful.

I urge others who feel the same way to speak up, and let this bank know they did the wrong thing. I live in Tucson, Ariz., and bank robberies here are common occurrences, partly because people know they can get away with them.

Congratulations to the bank teller, who has my respect.

-- Buck Brower, Tucson, Ariz

Teller has a future in police work

I found Jim Nicholson's story heroic, and thank goodness he is safe. It's sort of funny because evidently he did the same thing at other retail jobs.

I don't know if anyone has contacted him or encouraged him to join the police. But we would love to have him here in San Antonio, Texas. Someone with that much determination and drive is a huge asset.

Encourage Nicholson to join the police. He won't ever get fired in that profession as long as he is doing his job.

-- Michelle Willingham, San Antonio, Texas

With compliance encouraged, robbing a bank is too easy

As much as Key Bank, Seattle Police and the FBI don't agree with Jim Nicholson's response to a bank robbery by chasing the culprit, it disturbs me that we are reacting disapprovingly against people who try to stop crimes as those who commit them.

After having dealt with the frustration thieves cause at work myself, I can only say that if someone were to demand money from me under the lame threat of a verbal ransom he would find himself eating pavement, too.

According to the article, Washington is among the top 10 states in bank robberies. With policies like those Nicholson violated now commonplace, should it shock anyone? The reason the robber didn't carry a weapon was probably because he expected compliance, like he was supposed to get.

Now that Key Bank has one less employee on their payroll, perhaps they can use that extra cash to hire some armed security guards to protect their assets, so unarmed people like Nicholson don't feel pressured to themselves.

-- T.J. Martinell, Bellevue

Gates let his temper get the best of him

I applaud columnist Jerry Large for writing the truth ["Trust: Handle with care," NWThursday, column, July 30]. I am a former police officer and have been in countless situations that are similar to the Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley incident in Cambridge, Mass.

I truly in my heart from all I have read and heard believe Gates accelerated this issue, and his deep fiery anger from whatever boiled over. If he would have been calm, done what he was asked, it would have been a simple matter.

I fervently feel there is no need for a Beer Fest, especially with President Obama serving up the ale. Obama should have never engaged in this issue. He is quickly losing his stature in so many ways; I find it hard to believe how he is handling so many issues.

-- Ron Sapp, Mukilteo

With a little composure, situation would have been resolved

In response to Leonard Pitts Jr.'s July 26 syndicated column, "Sometimes they just don't see you," about Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s arrest: Let's forget about what color the parties involved in the case were, for just a minute.

A neighbor does the good Neighborhood Watch thing when she calls 911 because it appears someone in forcing the door open at a neighbor's house. She saw him, from the back, but not his color, nor would that have mattered.

Then consider a police officer's work; they get called to respond to a breaking and entering call. Police deal with people who really are breaking and entering with ill intent who are possibly armed. They approach prepared for the worst, cautious and probably unavoidably pumping with adrenaline.

An officer would have no idea of Gates' illustrious credentials nor did his color matter in this incident. They found him belligerent when he was righteously indignant about being confronted in his residence, and he was probably unavoidably pumping adrenaline as well.

Difficult as it may be, when confronted by police for breaking into your own house, all through a gross misunderstanding of identity, it would be best to rein in the adrenaline and calmly answer their questions and explain yourself, even if you don't think you owe them anything.

My biker-jacketed white teenage son was frequently stopped and questioned by the police when he was busing to and from a night job. He had the good sense to calmly answer their questions.

Had Gates shown that kind of composure, he might not have been detained.

-- Ann Chessman, Everett

In arrest, officer looking out for his safety

In Leonard Pitts Jr.'s syndicated column, he laments that Henry Louis Gates Jr. is "a man who did the things African Americans are always advised to do only to discover in the end, none of it saved him." I ask, from what?

Police officers have standard procedures that are followed to ensure they stay alive, and Sgt. James Crowley followed them. Gates pushed the envelope of civility by yelling, playing the race card and implying the officer was confronting him because he was black.

Pitts didn't mention Gate's home had been previously burglarized or that it is standard procedure for an officer to follow a suspect into a house when he says he needs to get his ID so that he doesn't return with a gun and kill the officer.

What else can you expect from scholars who perpetuate racism in America by theorizing it to death? Maybe Pitts and Gates should consider getting a real job and quit living to race bait and race baiting to live.

-- David P. Meyering, Arlington

Straightening out the details in Gates arrest

It is extraordinary how mangled the facts of Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s arrest have become. This remains true even for those who purport to have read the publicly available Cambridge Police Department arrest report.

First, Gates was not arrested in the residence but outside of it. He was not in any sense "yanked from his house."

Second, the residence is not Gates', but Harvard University's, which allows him to use as the place rent free. It is not in any sense his private property.

Third, Gates was not arrested for trespassing on the property or for mouthing off to Sgt. James Crowley. The public disturbance charge was explained in the report as a response to Gates' tirade outside the residence that had caused passers-by to congregate on the sidewalk.

Fourth, the charges were dropped not because they were false or illegitimate (Crowley would have been reprimanded otherwise) but because creating a public disturbance is a discretionary offense. At what point is the public legitimately disturbed by a man shouting racial epithets at a police officer in its hearing?

Fifth, the Cambridge Police Department, not the prosecutor, dropped the charges for unknown reasons, but discretionary offense charges are routinely dropped. Such a decision does not imply that the initial charge was in any way illegitimate.

A sensitive issue of this kind requires intelligent handling -- by all of us. We will never achieve any kind of teachable moment if we insist on a basic misrepresentation of the facts at hand.

-- J.E. Elliott, Seattle

A failure in defusing a hostile situation

When a police officer arrives on scene, that officer, under color of authority, assumes responsibility to control the situation appropriately. Appropriately.

For Sgt. James Crowley to claim it was Henry Louis Gates Jr. -- the reportedly disabled, elderly resident -- not Crowley himself, who was in control of the situation is embarrassingly and patently false and self-serving.

Second, this inadvertently concedes the point that the law-enforcement officer in charge on scene felt somehow so overwhelmed by the nuances or complexities of the situation that he felt he had no choice but to bury the homeowner beneath the full weight of his authority, rather than exercise basic de-escalation skills -- on himself as well as Gates.
Charges against Gates were dismissed because law enforcement recognized them as unjustified and possibly actionable.

Crowley had discretion on scene as to how to handle the misunderstanding, and, indeed, to quote President Obama's original statement, handled it "stupidly."

In a variation on the maxim of Maslow's Hammer: "I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail."

-- Will Fidleman, East Olympia

Judges may not have clairvoyance, but do need common sense

Editor, The Times:

The revelation that our justice system had an opportunity to keep the public safe from at least one potential danger and decided not to is both disturbing and incredibly sad ["South Park slaying suspect caught," NWSaturday, July 25]. The King County Prosecutor's Office apparently did everything that it could to put Isaiah M.K. Kalebu behind bars at least for a short period of time. Prosecutors felt, and rightly so, that Kalebu was a danger to public safety.

King County Superior Court Judge Brian Gain didn't see it that way, and Teresa Butz lost her life and her partner was seriously hurt as a result.

No one is suggesting that judges should have clairvoyance, but a little common sense wouldn't hurt. It seems to me that there were all sorts of reasons to at least hold Kalebu for mental evaluation.

While no judge can foresee murder, the danger to public safety was apparently quite evident. I wonder what was evident to Gain?

-- Phil Bate, Lynnwood

Make it a policy to always print judges' names

Thank you for naming the judge who declined to place the alleged slayer in custody on a different offense six days before the suspect killed a woman and injured another.

Print and TV reporters frequently use phrases like "the court ordered" or "the judge said" in reporting legal actions but omit the names of the judges. This omission does voters a disservice. Without the names we have little information on which to base votes for or against judges, except the sometimes questionable ratings of the Municipal League.

I strongly recommend that The Times establish a policy of naming judges and court commissioners in articles about their actions, except in rare extraordinary situations.

By doing so you will provide a valuable service to your subscribers.

-- Harry Petersen, Bellevue

Remember South Park slaying when electing judges

It is no surprise that Isaiah M.K. Kalebu, the suspect in the South Park murder, has a history of mental illness and run-ins with the police. It's also sadly no surprise that the courts and the mental-health system are still failing to protect us.

Kalebu's aunt recently filed for a protection order; he had threatened and assaulted her. Kalebu may have responded by burning his aunt's house, killing her and a tenant --he's a suspect in that murder, not yet charged.

Kalebu is also awaiting trial for threatening to kill his mother. A Western State Hospital psychologist found he "did not have the capacity to rationally understand" that case against him. Then Kalebu failed to attend a court hearing. Later, when he finally did appear in court, the prosecutor naturally asked Superior Court Judge Brian Gain to place Kalebu in jail custody because of the aforementioned facts. Gain outrageously and tragically refused to order that he be held. Kalebu was allowed to remain free.

This decision was unbelievable and indefensible. Six days later, he brutally stabbed two women, murdering one, Teresa Butz.

Kalebu clearly should have been placed in jail. This murder was preventable. And who will be the next victim? When are the citizens of this state going to get the protection we deserve?

At the least we can do one thing: Remember this the next time Gain runs for Superior Court judge. By placing the "rights" of an obviously dangerous, mentally ill criminal above the rights of us citizens, he failed to protect us all.

-- Doug Hjellen, Mill Creek

Three missed opportunities to prevent South Park slaying

I read with dismay ["Video, DNA trail led police to suspect," page one, July 26] about murder suspect Isaiah M. K. Kalebu.

In the space of less than a week, King County Superior Court Judge Brian Gain had three opportunities to keep this murder suspect and arsonist off the streets. In all three he denied motions that would have kept Kalebu behind bars.

Four days after the last opportunity on July 10, Kalebu was linked to the attacks of two women in South Park. One of them was killed.

What could this judge have been thinking? Yes, a suspect is innocent until proven guilty. But in this case the suspect had a long history of violence and even his mother was afraid of him and didn't want to be around him.

I hope Judge Gain thinks long and hard about this case and the opportunities he squandered to prevent a horrific crime.

-- Dick Malloy, Seattle

Gates incident an example of oversensitivity to race

Sgt. James Crowley seems to have followed proper procedures ["Was arrest of Harvard scholar act of racism?" News, July 21]. Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested for his hostile and verbal actions, which are common to law-enforcement work and security.
I worked security for one of the major casinos in Las Vegas, and we dealt with the general public on a daily basis.

The problem is whenever I would check a black person while I was posted in the hotel elevators to make sure they were guests in the hotel, the black person usually got offended and hostile and would tell me I was checking them because of race.

I am a minority of Asian decent. I had to explain to them what we do and why. They even sometimes threatened me by asking for my name and employee number so they could complain to my superiors.

This is what blacks need to change or else such incidents at Harvard will be not only embarrassing to both parties and the nation but will cause division between blacks and other ethnic groups.

Also, President Obama made a mistake by originally defending Gates in an interview; he should have just said no comment.

-- Tom Lasam, Seattle

Harvard professor has chip on his shoulder

Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. has to admit that forcing one's way into a house looks suspicious no matter what color, age or sex the perpetrator is. My son and I have had to at times break into our house by forcing open a window and climbing through that.

While doing that, I was very aware someone might see me and wonder what was going on, and I don't think I would have been so surprised to have the police notified by an onlooker.

Gates should spend more time getting to know his neighbors, be appreciative of others looking after his property and spend less time nursing the giant chip on his shoulder.

-- Elizabeth Erickson, Seattle

Officer should have just asked for some mail

Having just read the entire arrest report of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. written by arresting officer Sgt. James Crowley, I concur Sergeant Crowley acted "stupidly," as originally characterized by President Obama.

Crowley's misconduct was by omission. He wrote that Gates produced his Harvard employee ID. Crowley doesn't question the authenticity of that ID, but it isn't clear, from the report, if Gate's home address was on the ID. My assumption is that it wasn't.

Be that as it may be, it's Crowley's lack of follow-up that put him in the wrong. Nowhere in his report does he state he asked Gates for a piece of mail that showed his name and his residential address on it. If it's not in his report, it didn't happen.

It's both common sense and law enforcement 101 to make such a request in this scenario. I suspect Crowley failed to ask because his temper got the best of him.

Realizing Gates wasn't going to genuflect or embrace his lower posterior and that Gates wouldn't shut up, Crowley arrested him.

Absent arrest and transport to jail, Gates and every other American have a First Amendment right to shout and be rude in their home and on their private property.

Crowley's refusal to apologize and his public criticism of Obama's remarks are manifestations of his contempt for civilian control and civilian rule, in a democratic republic.

The fact that Crowley didn't arrest Gates for burglary or trespass and the local prosecutor rejected the disorderly conduct charge shows Crowley's professional misconduct.

-- Steven L. Kendall, Seattle

No excuse for troopers who killed seagulls

Editor, The Times:

There is no excuse for the two state troopers killing young seagulls in their nest at the Seattle ferry dock ["Troopers: Trying to clear gulls from area," NWWednesday, July 22]. The article describes a violent episode of beating these young birds to death with batons. If the gulls were a nuisance as it was alleged, these law-enforcement officers should have let the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife handle the problem.

Fish and Wildlife officials would have come up with a better solution, since they protect wildlife from harm. Protected species or not, this method of killing was far from humane. It is rewarding to have laws in place to ensure this incident will not go unpunished.

It is wrong that some animals also seem victims of "racial profiling" -- people thinking it's OK to get rid of them in such a way just because they are only birds.

If this incident helps educate anyone on humane killing methods and on protecting species, then these baby gulls will not have died in vain.

-- Claudine Erlandson, Shoreline

Could the troopers exterminate in my neighborhood?

I invite the troopers and their batons to Lake Washington to try to clear the hundreds of geese from the area. Please.

-- Diane Dambacher, Seattle

Beating obnoxious birds is not the answer

Regardless of the fact that seagulls are considered protected wildlife under Washington state law or whether these birds were in fact a nuisance, the bottom line is that one doesn't resolve the problem by beating the animals to death with a baton.

Consequently, it should be deemed a crime punishable by law. It bothers me greatly that the troopers did what they did, and it sure makes me wonder what was going through their minds when they did it.

-- Barbara Gust, Lynnwood

Time, money being wasted because of tattling

One of the first things children learn about developing social awareness and trust is not to tattle.

The supervisor of the two State Patrol troopers, who inadvertently may have killed two immature seagulls while destroying a nest, tattled on them. And as a result, the Department of Fish and Wildlife is obligated to engage the prosecuting attorney who is now obligated to attempt to file criminal charges. Meanwhile, maybe the FBI will have to get into it, and the two officers are on paid leave.

All of this is wasting our taxpayer dollars because we have a supervisor incapable of standing up for their men and instead tattled on the officers.

This supervisor needs to be advanced to where his or her decisions cannot cause all of this grief and wastefulness. Two immature seagulls are not worth all of this, endangered or not.

The troopers should be commended for being proactive and effectively getting rid of a disturbance hampering ferry safety and security operations.

-- Norman Brueske, Bellevue

Punish the supervisor, not the troopers

Give these State Patrol troopers $5 each for coffee, and put them back to work.
Then, when state and federal government have a spare minute or two, cancel the protected species designation on all seagulls, including the young.

Talk about a situation that has been completely blown out of proportion. This is insane. Fire the trooper's supervisor, who has a propensity to see a red flag and a falling sky from the vantage point of a bird's nest, and anyone else who doesn't have anything more productive to do.

-- Hal Edwards, Edmonds

Want safer roads? An in-car breathalyzer is better than cellphone ban

The Times needs to tone down the cellphone-ban rhetoric ["Washington's timid cellphone ban," Opinion, column, July 2]. This problem is not the scourge you make it out to be.

If The Times was so concerned with safer roads, it would argue for interlock breathalyzer devices mandatory to license vehicles. With no exceptions, drinking and driving would cease overnight. Or better yet, let's get rid of vehicles, and ride the light rail. That way we won't have to subsidize it for decades.

This cellphone bill is ironic in a state that exports death machines daily. Maybe we should make sure the pilots who fly the drones who bomb the women and children are using their hands-free device, too.

-- Jon Weerts, Kent

Bad drivers, not cellphones, are the problem

Editorial writer Joni Balter advocates a complete statewide ban on cellphone usage while on public highways. She supports legislation that would prohibit all of the rural citizens working east of the Cascades use of a cellphone unless they have a hands-free device in the drivers ear.

I know personally dozens of people that can drive defensively using legal communication devices -- not hands free --in their vehicles and are much safer drivers per mile than your average aggressive commuter late for work without a cellphone. These drivers have driven for years and millions of miles in trucks moving at highway speeds using citizens band radios. Do you advocate a ban on those, too?

Why not go a step further and take the cupholders out of the cars and make it illegal to install a CD player? Why not make it illegal for a driver under 21 to have passengers? Most accidents are caused by young people driving too fast. That is why insurance rates for male drivers younger than 25 are higher than any other age group.

Your ideas address the symptom but not the cause. It is the poor driving habits of careless drivers that need to be punished harshly. Careless driving is a serious offense and should be enforced to the fullest extent if an accident occurs. We have enough laws. The cellphone itself is not the problem.

-- Tim Anderegg, Manchester

Why is the cellphone ban so hard for lawmakers?

I moved here not too long ago from Colorado, where they can pull you over for talking or using a cellphone. I see a lot of letters to the editor about not being able to enforce the cellphone ban here.

Perhaps it would help if the state would remove the signs to call 1-800-HERO if drivers see someone using the commuter lane while riding solo.

Lets face it: Lawmakers need to get a wake-up call. If they can't resolve a small issue like this one, then it's no wonder our state government is so messed up.

-- Simon Gunnoe, Federal Way

It's time to move on from snowstorm blunders

For about six months now, much has been said about the Seattle Department of Transportation's (SDOT) performance during the December 2008 snowstorms. Even as the summer sun breaks through to give us these beautiful Seattle days, it is right to check the overall emergency preparedness in the event of any natural disaster. Both Mayor Greg Nickels and SDOT Director Grace Crunican are making the necessary changes to improve response in the future. I take them at their word.

What began as a critique of the city's snow response has evolved into a vicious, unrelenting and unfair attack on the city's decision to hire an outside consultant to investigate allegations of bias within SDOT's Street Maintenance Division.

Instead of attacking city leadership on this issue, we should applaud Nickels' and Crunican's decision to aggressively investigate and resolve complaints of discrimination within SDOT's work force. Ignoring these complaints does nothing to address employee concerns or lower the city's overall liability. In fact, it achieves the exact opposite. The decision to investigate each and every complaint, whether ultimately sustained or not, demonstrates a strong commitment to justice. And for that I wish to personally offer my appreciation and support to Nickels and Crunican.

I think it's time we enjoyed a little more of the sunshine, not only in this great environment, but also within City Hall, where the mayor is trying to shine a little independent light on what happened and ensure the city has done the right thing -- especially whenever discrimination is charged.

-- James Kelly, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle president and CEO, Seattle

It shouldn't be hard to pick up a shovel and fight fires

Regarding your article ["Fewer inmates to fight fires due to budget," NWMonday, June 29] that because of legislative budget cuts the Department of Natural Resources will have fewer inmate work crews trained to fight fires this year: What a bunch of bureaucratic bologna this is!

Just how much training do the inmates need to wrap their hands around a shovel, rake or mattock? I don't propose placing these folks in any sort of danger where a trained firefighter should be doing the work, but there is plenty of behind the scenes tasks they could do. My wife recalls the times when, while driving in the West during the summer months, you could be taken out of your automobile and enlisted to fight fires.

What kind of training did those folks get? This is the kind of nonsense that has gotten this state in the budget nightmare in which we are all suffering.

-- John Earhart, Seattle

Guards, not killer, should be memorialized

In an article titled "Museum shooter had history of hate" [Close Up, June 12], I saw two photos of the Holocaust Museum shooter: a small photo as James von Brunn appeared recently and a larger photo of him as a younger man holding up a cookbook cover he illustrated, where we could all admire his art abilities and his youthful good looks.

But there was no photo of the security guard who sacrificed his life for the protection of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Nor were there pictures of the other two armed security guards who heroically fired back, wounding von Brunn and likely saving the lives of many people who were in the museum at the time.

This felt so wrong to me. While the text of the article explains the event clearly, the photos memorialize the killer, while the man who stood for goodness and loyalty gets no visual for us to remember him by, nor do the other guards who brought the killer down before he did even more damage.

The guards' photos deserve to be seen and stored in our visual memories -- not the neo-Nazi and his book-cover illustrations.

-- Annette Peizer, Seattle

More background checks would prevent violence

This is in response to the letter to the editor by Larry Clemens ["Don't make new laws, enforce existing ones," Northwest Voices, June 12], in which he says we need enforcement of existing gun laws rather than new ones.

Although felons are, as he says, prohibited from having guns, that prohibition alone is not, in fact, adequate. It's like an honor code for felons. Sure, if James von Brunn ["Suspect in shooting linked to neo-Nazis," front page, June 11] was observed with a weapon, he would have been arrested. But do felons make a point of letting the police know they have the prohibited weaponry before using it? Enforcement is often, by necessity, after the fact -- and is too late for those shot.

The law requires gun dealers to do background checks. So how did the Holocaust Museum shooter get his gun? The fact is that we do not have laws that require all sellers to do background checks. Felons go to those sellers.

On this one point alone (and there are many others), the law is currently inadequate to reduce gun violence. This "enforce existing laws" argument only protects those who wish the option to initiate force -- and the gun industry, which must be afraid that if such people are denied guns, their sales will suffer.

-- Judi Edwards, Bremerton

Rethink the Mercer Mess

I was overjoyed to hear that West Marine is suing the city over their plans to "fix" the Mercer mess. This is the first good news I've heard in months and I hope that other business in the area join them.

Don't get me wrong. The Mercer Street interchange with Interstate 5 desperately needs fixing but the mayor's and City Council's plans are not it. The city claims that only about 39,000 cars use Mercer Street daily. I think they are only counting the morning commute out of town because that number seems very low.

Even if they are correct and they succeed in their plan, the capacity of eastbound Mercer will be cut in half. Where will those 20,000 cars per day go? To other onramps that are already backed up as bad or worse than on Mercer?

What Mercer street needs is, first, active traffic control for all the lights from Dexter to the east, and from Denny to Westlake, possibly live police officers. Second, reroute the on/offramps to and from Mercer on I-5 to the right-hand lane. Third, repave the road with freeway-thickness concrete, not asphalt. Forth, put some trees along sides of the road for people to look at -- not in the center.

I know the city wants to make Mercer pretty, but the cost is much too high. If they succeed, it will choke downtown in its own traffic. People are already avoiding the city center because they waste too much time getting there and back. This will make it many times worse.

Please urge our City Council to step back and rethink its half-baked plan and adopt a realistic one.

-- Tom Kesterson, Seattle

Bus message inappropriate

As a recent visitor to your city for a series of business meetings, I absolutely loved the culture, cuisine and beauty Seattle has to offer.

What a dynamic, energizing place!

One sizable disappointment, though, was the blatant political message I saw on the side of a city bus while I sipped coffee at a local cafe.

The message was "End the Siege of Gaza" and it was blazoned on the bus full of morning commuters.

For what I'm guessing is a quasi-public entity to allow one of its vehicles to be used as a "vehicle" for such volatile and subjective rhetoric is in very poor taste.

Next time, they should stick to cellphone and restaurant ads.

-- Patrick O'Connor, Indianapolis, Ind.

Stop the bike assaults

The article "Attacks on bicycle commuters spur rider-awareness campaign" [Local News, March 11] worries me. The real campaign should be to stop the assaults, rather than to spur our awareness.

If people are wearing hockey masks and determined to assault people as they come out of the tunnel, it doesn't really matter how aware we are; eventually, more people will get robbed or hurt. After all, there aren't too many places to exit the tunnel other than at the ends of it.

-- Paul Backstrom, Kirkland

Learn from your mistakes

Landslides will continue.

While the worst of the winter storms may be behind us, we should take this time to reflect on the ways these disasters could be prevented. On July 13, The Seattle Times reported reasons for the landslides in Lewis County that caused 3,000 residents to live without clean tap water for three months ["Landslides," page one]. The article stated that the slides could have been prevented if the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) actually did its job and surveyed slide risks.

DNR would have found that many sites Weyerhaeuser was clear-cutting were at an extreme risk of causing a landslide. They didn't learn from their mistakes. Here we are again, a year later, with similar problems, including flooding, landslides and more than $100 million in public and private property damage.

Why did DNR not respond to such an oversight? I have one hypothesis: It is because state forest-trust lands have provided more than $4.5 billion in trust revenue since 1970. This money pays for schools, hospitals and other public services.

Point blank: We need the money and Weyerhaeuser gives it. However, the risks should be weighed.

Will the damage clear-cutting caused really be outweighed by monetary benefits? I think not, but the state seems to think differently.

-- Cassandra Little, Seattle

Front-page irony

The Jan. 15 plane crash-landing on the Hudson River was wonderful in so many ways ["Miracle on the Hudson," page one].

Firstly, because no one was killed. Secondly, because it showcased the best qualities of everyone: pilot, passengers and rescuers. Thirdly, because the timing of the drama totally eclipsed what would have been the leading national headline: "President Bush's farewell speech."

The print and TV news naturally focused on the more interesting drama of the crash, where we could see ordinary Americans at their best, in sharp contrast to the departing president, who has to be one of the worst examples of leadership and American citizenship in this country.

At least one TV commentator encapsulated the irony well when he said something to the effect that the crash scenario demonstrates how great Americans truly are despite their terrible president.

It was "good riddance" in the best sense of the phrase.

-- Tandy Cook, Redmond

Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times

Seattle City Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen, left, and Tim Burgess listen to Seattle Department of Transportation Director Grace Crunican answer questions during a meeting to review the city's reaction to the recent snowstorm.

The snowball rolls downhill

Editor, The Times:

Seattle's machinations over last month's winter weather continue to make headlines ["City roads chief gets icy reception," Times, News, Jan. 6]. Your readers, however, should be wondering whether Seattle's elected officials are taking a reasoned approach or whether The Times is stirring the pot. Along with tales of the most recent national financial rip-off, attempts at a bailout and congressional political infighting, it would be encouraging to know we're a bit more rational.

We should be asking what level of snow and ice "response" is appropriate and affordable.

Mayor Greg Nickels' decision to renew use of salt during such storms seemed abrupt. Would it have made much difference for these storms? The City Council's investigation, reported in The Times, appears to be an attempt to place blame for an act of God. Didn't other jurisdictions in the region witness the same storms with similar difficulties? Isn't Spokane, with more experience with these conditions, still buried?

The storms were sensational in a devastating way, coming at an inopportune time for the holiday season. But, if they were an anomaly and we're unwilling to spend the money for "a plow on every street," elected officials should simply make sure city staff is asking, "What did we learn and how can we improve our response next time?"

-- Martin Nizlek, Bellevue

Low-salt diet preferred

With temperatures dropping again, it's as good of time as any to tell Mayor Greg Nickels (and the rest of Seattle) that using salt on the road is a bad idea. It's corrosive.

You saw how dirty your car looked after driving through the snow. Imagine that instead of a mixture of dirt and sand, it is salt, slowly eating away the finish on your car. There is no way you are going to wash your car in this weather, so that salt will be encrusted for some time, exposing areas that will begin to rust when the snow does melt.

The effectiveness of the current plows has been extensively debated, but what about salt? Rock salt lowers the freezing point of water only1-3 degrees. With the temperatures we had during our winter storm, this solution would be only partially effective

-- Micki Ream, Seattle

Slip-sliding away:
post-storm bike hazards

In the wake of recent snowstorms, the city of Seattle scattered sand on the streets. This has created hazardous conditions for cyclists. The loose sand presents a braking problem, particularly on steep hills for bicycle commuters.

On some roads, the loose sand together with debris that emerged from the snow covers the right shoulder, leaving cyclists little choice but to go out into the center or the right-hand side of the lane, increasing the chances of a possible collision with an oncoming car.

If the city has made a mess, it should to clean it up. We should call on our public officials to sweep the streets clean for the New Year.

-- Ruth Wilson, Seattle

Steve Ringman/ The Seattle Times

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels answered criticisms regarding the city's handling of the recent snow storms.

Editor, The Times:

The mayor's admission that "mistakes" had been made handling of the snowstorm doesn't really mean much ["Licking political wounds, Nickels revises salt policy," Times, page one, Jan. 1].

Thousands of people missed work for a week because the streets were too risky to tempt. Sand works OK in really cold weather but now we have dirty sand beaches along the street median and gutters.

This shock-and-avoidance reaction the city uses for major snow removal only illustrates the real cause of the problem: Seattle misappropriates and underfunds its basic street maintenance and repair.

This major city has miles of residential streets with no sidewalks and only ditches for drainage. Money is wasted adding traffic-intersection islands when the rest of the planet uses stop signs. Curb-cuts at crosswalks are constantly being relocated a few feet while street curbs are being moved out to eliminate badly needed public parking spaces.

Most residential streets never get a monthly street cleaner along its debris-filled gutters because the city doesn't do that.

And then there's our wonderful hamster-wheel traffic-light system. It's time to abandon the historic technology and get all major traffic signals throughout town linked to a computer-controlled traffic-management system. Hitting a red light every couple blocks will finally become a thing of the past. Imagine what it would do for rush hour.

It's always amazed me how badly Seattle city streets are maintained. After the snowstorm, it became even more apparent that many streets are nothing but potholes; simply patching them again is no fix.

We need leaders who recognize that basic transportation needs are a priority and come before any new grand projects short on funding.

--David Wright, Seattle

Be better than the cat

Seattle has become like my cat -- meowey-whining to "make it stop raining" or snowing, or change whatever weather she doesn't like ["Seattle City Council wannabes will need to stick to the basics," Joni Balter, editorial column, Jan. 1]. She assumes I'm all-powerful and that I can fix it. I don't expect her to know better -- but you would think Seattleites would.

Seattle has snow like we had in December once in about every 40 years. I'm a 44-year-old native and I don't remember anything like it. So why should I want our city government to stock up on salt and snowplows and emergency equipment so they can deal with that kind of event? It's a complete waste of city money. The equipment will be obsolete before it will be needed again.

The city should use the money for other things -- that is, real problems.

Seattle doesn't use salt because it harms the health of Puget Sound. Sure, Seattleites can be "green" all day (when it involves shopping at REI or attending a fancy auction-bash to benefit environmental causes), but god forbid that environmentalism should involve personal sacrifice. To heck with the environment if it might involve me missing a day of work or having to walk to the grocery store.

Next time it snows I sure hope the people of Seattle can do better than my cat. But my hopes aren't all that high.

-- Isabel D'Ambrosia, Seattle

Life goes on

We live in rural New England and visit family in Shoreline every January. Although there is much here that we admire and love, this winter's snowstorm -- or rather the aftermath, has made us appreciate our dreary, cold New England winters.

In our small Western Massachusetts town, property owners must shovel their sidewalks in a timely manner or face steep fines. Although our winters are long and admittedly bitter, people still walk and even bike into the town center, pushing their carts and umbrella strollers, shop, stand at cleared bus stops and meet for coffee to complain about the weather.

The towns don't use salt; no one is allowed to use chains. Instead, everyone abides by a few simple common agreements to get us through the winter together: Keep $20 snow shovels handy near your walks and garage; shovel early and often; move your car for the plows or expect to be ticketed and towed.

-- Mia Kim and Michael Sullivan, Northampton, Mass.

Keep the salt on the dinner table

Stand firm, Mayor Greg Nickels. Don't let the sniveling unprepared Seattle city folk sway your commitment to "not using salt" on Seattle streets.

Any person living in the Greater Seattle environs with at least one good eye and one good ear should have been prepared for the recent snowstorm. The newspapers, radio and TV stations gave all of us early and fair warning on what to expect.

If we were not prepared it was not your fault. There is no need to heed their plaintive cry to salt the streets. I am sure none of the complainants are willing to pay more city taxes in order to meet their demands. Stand firm sir, you salty dog, do not let the grouchy and grousers pour salt in your wounds.

By the way, I was stuck in the snow for three days -- no complaints from me. It was my fault.

-- LeRoy Loiselle, Seattle

Hats off to you

When we make the list of lifesaving heroes of our recent stormy weather, Metro Access and Hopelink deserve to be at the top.

In good weather, almost half of Northwest Kidney Centers' 1,100 dialysis patients arrive for treatment via one of these services that provide transportation for those who cannot drive or ride the bus.

Patients come three times a week for dialysis treatments that clean impurities from their blood, remove extra fluid and balance minerals. Normal kidneys do that job for most of us 24/7. Missing even a single dialysis appointment can be life-threatening, which makes the transit system a vital link.

When snow and ice packed the roads these past two weeks, transportation became even more important to our lifesaving mission. Road conditions discouraged most drivers. However, Access and Hopelink responded with creativity in their quest to transport our patients every single day of the week to their greatly needed treatments.

They braved the snow from 6 a.m. until late in the evening, juggled schedules nonstop, and transported hundreds of patients for life-sustaining dialysis under trying conditions.

On behalf of our patients who have placed their lives in our hands, our hats are off to Metro Access and Hopelink.

-- Joyce Jackson, Seattle

Did you think of this?

Rep. Roger Goodman's idea of requiring those with DUIs to use the Ignition-Interlock Device to start their car is ridiculous ["New DUI law: Suspects can stay licensed," News, Dec. 30]. How easy is it to hand the device to a friend or relative and have them blow in it? Duh.

-- Bob Lalande, Tacoma

Leave the kids alone

While asthma sufferers are forced to go "green," the corporate polluters that are a major cause of the asthma epidemic are free to continue to cause sickness, environmental degradation and climate change ["Asthma sufferers must go 'green' on inhalers this week," News, Dec. 28].

Perhaps some of the billions of dollars that U.S. automakers received from the public trough should go to the 6.8 million children who have asthma so that they too can buy pollution rights and continue to use their lifesaving resuscitators, which cause as little as .5 percent of all ozone depletion.

This would be especially just since many of the children whose families will not be able to afford the new "green" inhaler, which costs twice as much as the older device, live near freeways and other highly polluted areas.

Reducing ozone depletion is a very commendable endeavor, but let's not do it on the backs of the victims of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has failed to do its job and has instead opted to protect the profit margins of major polluters.

-- Suzanne Oelke, Seattle

Please be more selfish

Let's get this straight. You whiners in King County think that you can make better decisions about which streets to plow in a snowstorm so you can do your own traveling ["Mayor Nickels gives city 'B' grade for snow response," News, Dec. 24].

First, plow my street, then plow my street that goes to another street; that would help maybe another 100 cars or so. Then plow another street to get to the major arterial road that services tens of thousands of cars each day.

I think the traffic backup on the first few roads that were plowed will probably stop the plows from getting to the road that matters the most. You want all the roads plowed for your pleasure? How much in property taxes can you really afford?

Do your neighbors a favor and hire your own plow. What part of "unbridled selfishness" don't you understand?

Thanks for your good work, government officials. Job well done.

-- Ron Highfill, Lacey

Heed this warning

I've been listening to criticism about the city not handling the snow/ice properly. While these comments may be justified, I also issue a challenge to retailers, apartment-building management companies and homeowners: How many of you picked up a shovel to clear your sections of pavement or employed someone to do it?

We all need to take responsibility for keeping pedestrians safe, and we can avoid the dangers associated with snow turning to ice.

Here's my second challenge, once road travel is restored: Retailers and apartment-building managers need to buy shovels and salt, line up shovelers and establish a plan for clearing pavements and for keeping them clear. Do it now before the next storm hits. Homeowners need to buy a shovel, and arrange in advance which elderly neighbor's sidewalk you will clear and keep clear.

-- Ellia Ryan, Seattle

Let the punishment fit the crime

The Dec. 27 story was much appreciated, as I had been wondering what, if any, consequences would follow this student's dangerous actions ["4-day jail sentence for Wenatchee teen in peanut-butter smearing," News].

I'm glad Judge Nancy Harmon realized the importance of some needed consequences to Joshua Hickson for his actions that could have led to life-threatening reactions in his fellow student.

Peanut allergies are no joke, and as a certificated school nurse, I'm constantly educating students, staff and families about emergency measures that are often necessary with exposure. We have Epi-Pens and other emergency medications at school, and write individual health plans for allergic students to keep them safe at school.

School nurses also notify school-bus drivers, food-service employees and playground staff about life-threatening allergies.

I hope this four-day jail sentence also includes some allergy/health information from Hickson's school nurse. Congratulations to Police Officer Steve Evitt for his awareness of peanut allergies.

-- Mary Myers, Kent

Santa still came

Editor, The Times:

Watching the immense challenges that package-delivery organizations like UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service have endured with this holiday season should make all of us very grateful -- grateful that we have such dedicated, hardworking members of our community who have somehow gotten many of our packages to us ["Mother Nature plays havoc with speedy holiday deliveries," Times, News, Dec. 24].

For those of us who have some packages that were not delivered in time for Christmas Day, we are better off for being reminded of all of the years these packages made it on time, and we will gladly have a second celebration when the packages do arrive.

Please consider the efforts of others on our behalf; they are a gift we need to appreciate more often.

-- Tom Zylstra, Bellevue

Mornings as usual

I'd like to thank those who report for, write, print and deliver The Seattle Times. My husband and I have been enjoying the paper even more than usual, as we stay home and feel connected to the city and the world.

Most days it's been hard to believe that when we open our front door, the paper has been waiting for us. Thank you to The Times' staff, who have overcome obstacles to get to work and produce the newspaper.

-- Jan Schwert, Seattle

I'm still warm

Private citizens kept me from being stuck in the freezing cold at 2 a.m. They've pushed us, dug us out and told us what roads were "passable." I've spent more time pushing cars out of the snow this last week than I have Christmas shopping.

To the people who showed up out of nowhere in their four-wheel-drive truck with a shovel and an able body, thank you. To the pedestrian who pushed us out of the parking lot where the snowplow had buried us, thank you. To the people in line who were patient and waited, joked and raised spirits while everyone was waiting for chains, thank you. To the plow workers who are forgoing time with their families during the holiday season, thank you.

To the cities and other "decision makers," you should be ashamed.

-- Valarie Fletcher, Lynnwood

Give thanks

I'm tired of all the griping.

How about a heartfelt hurray for the hardworking crews who worked 12-hour shifts to clear our roads during this record snowfall?

These crews have had to contend with jaywalkers, drivers cutting in front of them, and inconsiderate folks who left their abandoned cars in the middle of the street. Why do some people insist on their right to drive a car in all weather?

You can be darn sure snowplow crews would rather be home with their families than working around the clock to shovel snow and slush.

Let's give a heartfelt "thank you" to those who did the most thankless of jobs.

-- Patricia Saunders, Seattle

I give him a "G"

Editor, The Times:

So Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels gives Seattle a "B" for its handling of the snow emergency ["Mayor Nickels gives city 'B' grade for snow response," Times, News, Dec. 24].

How nice of him to admit the obvious -- that Seattle had three snowstorms, and maybe they should take a look at the "salt-free" decision that was made.

I'm sure all of the citizens who were stranded will weigh in and render their own grade for Nickels on his leadership, or lack thereof.

How about an "F" as in failure? Or is that shooting too high?

-- Denny Andrews, Bellevue

Show us the money

So, Mayor Greg Nickels thinks the city did pretty well? I must disagree strongly with his grade. He seems to have plenty of money to harass legal gun owners, and put solar panels on a stadium roof, but not enough to keep the roads safe for those of us who pay taxes.

I hope the people of Seattle will wake up.

-- Larry Clemens, Poulsbo

Not just for garbage

The mayor may have issued Seattle a "B" but I give the planners and engineers an "F."
This was not a case in which we needed more plows; Seattle needs removable plow blades.

And on what vehicles do we mount them you ask? Garbage Trucks.

Heavy bumpers, dual wheels and experienced drivers are a practical, cost-effective solution to our lack of snow plows. The refuse collectors are idle when there is a snowstorm, so let's put them to work.

If a grunt soldier can up-armor a Humvee in a war zone using scraps from a junk heap, then we can certainly modify the chassis assemblies on a garbage truck to accept a plow blade in our modern, heated, well-equipped maintenance shops.

-- Craig Parsley, Seattle

Should have done it

I am very disappointed with the city's planning and response to this snow. No one except those with very well-equipped vehicles, or the insane or desperate, can drive to work, school, the doctor's office or grocery store.

Bus routes are shut down and unavailable to the rest of us. This has resulted in what will be at least two weeks of lost productivity to businesses, lost income to many workers and, especially bad this holiday season, lost revenues to retailers, who were counting on end-of-year sales to cushion some of the effects of the recession. Lost jobs will be an inevitable result.

If snow weather of this magnitude is a once-in-a-decade event, perhaps we can afford a once-in-a-decade salting. And if all of the income and productivity lost were added up, surely it would pay for real snowplows.

-- Michele Kellett, Seattle

More marbles, please

If Mayor Greg Nickels grades Seattle's response to the snow a "B," I ask: What is an "F"?
Perhaps the streets disappearing, not in snow, but a nuclear war waged directly over Seattle.

Get Nickles a new pack of marbles because he has obviously lost those he had.

-- Bill Kyle, Seattle

Go somewhere else

Wednesday's Seattle Times quoted Mayor Greg Nickels as giving the city a grade "B" for the city's response to snow. Having previously lived in regions with far greater snow challenges, I have personally witnessed Seattle's response to its relatively modest snows for 20 years now.

It has always been poor, but I have never before seen a response as shockingly inept as it was for this most recent storm.

Nickels, it is difficult to know if you are really this ignorant or simply politicking. If the latter, I understand. If the former, please, may I suggest that you take a winter vacation somewhere else -- anywhere else -- and get yourself a clue?

If you don't want to blow the city's budget on our "rare" snow storms, that's fine, but learn to accept your "F" when your occasional reality check finally come.

-- Jeremy Seigel, Seattle

A win win

If Mayor Greg Nickels showed the same vigor for having the streets plowed that he has for having homeless camps bulldozed, the streets would have been cleared of snow days ago.

Let's let people have a place to live and employ those bulldozers to clear the snow.

-- Greta Hassakis, Seattle

Is this cumulative?

So if a mayor who's flunking out gives the city a "B" for snow and ice response, what grade is the city really getting?

Is there such a thing as F-minus-minus?

-- Jef Jaisun, Seattle

What's more important?

Hearing that Mayor Greg Nickels gives the city of Seattle a "B" for its response to the recent weather makes me chuckle.

Driving downtown the other night from Bellevue for a play, I am surprised we made it back without our car getting hit when sliding down a hill. The city's response in regard to taking care of the ice deserves an "F."

The roads are not safe, and it is the city's job to make them that way. Saying that salt is bad for the environment is a pathetic response to not take care of the roads.

At a time when holiday shopping is coming to an end and more people are on the roads, the city needed to realize the safety and lives of those on the roads is far more important than the environment.

-- Robby Bernicchi, Bellevue

What's that smell?

As long as you are ranting about Mayor Ecology, don't forget there is solid waste that hasn't been collected for two-plus weeks.

Not only are they unable to get to side streets, they can't even make it to flat "secondary arterials." Even the recorded messages are hours late. Way to go, Mayor Greg Nickels.

-- Mike Wayte, Seattle

So 30 years ago

Amid all of the snow and ice and the many opinions from letter writers, it appears that there is an issue about putting salt on the streets to melt the ice.

One issue that comes up quite often is that salt will ruin the cars. This is always based on the writer's experience "back East." I am also from back East, having spent over half of my life there and they do use salt on the roads.

Before the mid-1970s, the cars took it pretty hard, and were often a heap of rusted junk in a few years. But about the mid 70s, the car manufacturers changed their metal-plating processes.

Today, there is simply not an issue with rust on cars in locales where they use salt. So Seattle should get with it and do what is safe and economical by using salt on those occasions where ice and snow are an issue.

-- Richard Gidner, Renton

Time for a breath

Take a deep breath. This is not a snow city; our lives are rarely impacted by the inconvenience.

Here are a few things we can all appreciate about winter in Seattle: a full range of health-care workers who made it to work; DOT [Department of Transportation] workers working multiple 12-hour days in a row; bus drivers, who don't get much practice driving in conditions like these, yet do very well nonetheless; postal workers and delivery drivers, who manage to do a decent job despite the conditions and in the face of your foul mood; and all of the people who make it to work and serve us without complaining.

-- Carrie Bowman, Seattle

An open eye

I applaud Dr. Marc Stern's decision to resign rather than violate his professional ethics by supervising the administration of an execution ["Washington prison doctor quits over death penalty," News, Dec. 25].

As stated in your story, "the American Medical Association and Society of Correctional Physicians oppose physician involvement in executions." This indicates that no doctor with professional and ethical integrity can supervise state-sponsored executions whether legally sanctioned or not.

While many doctors might have just followed orders and turned a blind eye toward their own professional standards out of cowardice or apathy, Stern has demonstrated exemplary courage by doing the right thing.

I only regret that we no longer have Stern working for the state of Washington. Our society needs people of strong principle to be in positions of responsibility.

-- Aaron Tovo, Excelsior, Minn.

How fitting

Heck of a job, Seattle Mayor Nickels-and-Dimes ["Seattle's no-salt policy for snowy roads has even plows spinning wheels," editorial, Dec. 23].

-- Chuck Hastings, Federal Way

We're number one

The debate of sand versus salt misses entirely what should be the first consideration in times of an emergency: public safety.

The city's obsessive preoccupation with questionable serious damage to the environment while cars are crashing and people are falling borders on criminal negligence.

Let us hope that in future emergencies the city will recognize what should be its primary responsibility.

-- Roy Richards, Seattle

Draw the line

Thank you for you sensible editorial about the no-salt policy of the city of Seattle.

The city's hard line on salt has been terrible for the people, businesses and for the other governmental agencies.

I am a strong environmentalist, but the no-salt policy is going way to far. Environmental policy should look at both the risk to the environment and the risk for human activity. In this case, the environmental risk was minimal and the risk to human activity was large.

It doesn't help the environment to have to use replacement parts for the many vehicles that have been damaged. It is also damaging to the environment to implement extreme policies that make the environmental cause and its adherents look like idiots.

The city of Seattle has many good environmental practices and policies -- our recycling program is among the best in the nation -- the impact on humans is positive, and the risk to humans is minimal. Or hazardous-waste-collection program is excellent; it both reduces risk to the environment and to the humans who are able to get rid of their hazardous waste.

Mayor Greg Nickels and the City Council need to require any environmental policy or program to pass the test of reasonableness before implementing it. The no-salt policy doesn't pass such a test.

-- Elisabeth Sohlberg, Seattle

A giant red flag

I'm getting a taste for what it feels like to live in a city that has its head under a blanket -- and I don't mean a blanket of snow.

The roads are impassable and the city continues to throw out lame excuses for why it won't take charge and fix the problem. The snow has revealed the utter incompetence of public services to manage in any kind of crisis. I hope it will serve as warning to all of us that the house needs to be put in order.

-- Kate Golden, Seattle

Stuck in the slush

While I wholeheartedly support the environment, what part of the economic crisis and citizen safety does our city not understand? We don't salt our roads due to "environmental concerns." If we were Minnesota and it snowed every week of the winter I might buy this inane argument. But we have the type of weather we're seeing right now what, twice in a decade?

And so, our city government buries its head in sand and de-icer during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and by not salting our roads puts civilians' lives at risk and may have tipped some retailers in to bankruptcy.

I have a rear-wheel drive vehicle and was advised not to drive. Therefore, I did not buy Christmas presents this year; my money stays in my pocket rather than help our ailing economy.

Thanks, Seattle.

Signed, "stir crazy," because my road has been rubber plowed.

-- Rick Jacobs, Bellevue

Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times

One of the many cars stuck in the snow and slush over the past week.

When in Rome

Editor, The Times:

If the Romans could salt Carthage, why can't Mayor Greg Nickels salt Seattle ["Sand on roads worse than salt, environmentalists say," Times, News, Dec. 24]? Whatever happened to the concept of the "greater good for the greater number?"

The argument of salt going into the Sound is ludicrously oxymoronic; there is salt in the Sound.

And if you own a business, an apartment or house, a coffee shop, a restaurant, a concert hall, you are obligated to clean those sidewalks adjacent to your property, so people aren't breaking their asses, elbows and pelvi on your mis-account because of snow/ice/snow buildup.

Not everyone has the luxury of being a weather shut-in.

The church is nearby, but the roads are icy; the tavern is farther away, but I shall walk very carefully.

-- Fred Ketteman, Seattle

Make it work

What is the city thinking? So we are saving the environment by not letting salt run into Puget Sound. The Sound is saltwater and has a lot less salinity than the ocean due to the freshwater runoff.

Ask the guys at Bangor who submerge in the Sound; they will tell you. Salt probably will be the most benign thing we will ever dump into the Sound, ever.

The consequences of this policy are devastating. Emergency/fire crews cannot respond, mail is not delivered, garbage is not picked up, people cannot get to work, buses don't run, caregivers cannot get to those they care for and people cannot shop.

This policy has to change. The mayor and City Council's job is to make our city work.

-- Chris Warner, Seattle

We are not salmon

Former Mayor Paul Schell lost his job because of his gross misjudgement of WTO [World Trade Organization]; Mayor Greg Nickels might see his job in jeopardy for putting the welfare of Puget Sound salmon above the need of the people of the community he leads to be able to move about.

-- Wight Reade, Seattle

Chill out

I applaud the city's policy of not using salt on the roads.

The East Coast has already made a mess of a lot of their local environments, but maybe we will be able to avoid that outcome. Salt is not only harmful to the Sound, but it also damages the soil's ability to grow plants. It is also corrosive to everything metal, including your car.

We have very little and infrequent snow in this area and I think most residents can manage to survive a few inconveniences in their daily lives once every five or 10 years. Take a break and try to remember why you are here on Earth.

-- Elizabeth Erickson, Seattle

Makes total sense

Let me get this straight: the city of Seattle refuses to use salt on the roads for fear that it might pollute Puget Sound, which is a body of saltwater.

-- Dick Dickinson, Seattle

Lean on each other

I applaud the city of Seattle's choice not to use salt on our roadways. We do not need to add to the burden of the Puget Sound ecosystem, upon which we all rely, for our transient convenience.

Everyone with a passing knowledge of Seattle weather knows that we get snow almost every year and heavy snow every 10 years or so. This weather is no surprise and we have had days of warnings.

A reasonable person will have prepared for this with, at a minimum, tire chains, a full tank of gas and a few days worth of extra food. A well-prepared person will have an all-wheel-drive vehicle because they are not only better on snow but also on wet pavement, which we get a few times per year, too.

We live in an urban environment and also within neighborhoods, so with a little extra effort and concern for our neighbors, we should all be able to feed and care for ourselves and each other.

Perhaps this is an inconvenience, but tolerable. The snow is not going to stay and things will be back to normal soon. No need to panic.

This inconvenience has everyone in a tizzy and calling for greater expenditures for snow plows, chemical and salt for the roads. What we should be doing is helping each other to get through this. Shop locally instead of driving to Costco or a mall. Car pool to work.

We certainly do not need to poison the environment to mitigate a minor, transient inconvenience.

-- David Gill, Seattle

Don't sacrifice your car

In your front-page story you attempt to minimize the environmental impacts from the use of salt on the roads, and it is considerable.

I am less concerned with the environment as I am with the condition of my car. Salt will rot a car's body and undercarriage in an incredibly fast and destructive manner.

Ask anyone who lives where salt is used on the roads.

Cars thus rendered old and useless before their time quickly become piles of junk in wrecking yards, where even the parts cannot be recycled. There's your environmental impact.

Most years, we have no snow and usually in the years when we do it is gone in a day or two. I for one won't care how bare the streets will become from the use of salt. I won't be driving my car on any road thus treated until it is thoroughly washed away.

-- Marshall Dunlap, Kent

Be warned

Our recent small snowstorm has unveiled how weak and fragile our city's infrastructure systems are. Yes, the recent winter storms that came through our region are very unusual and have caused major chaos for the area. But compared with the other larger cities in the East Coast in which I've lived, this event is not that big of a deal for the winter season.

I agree with all of the contributing writers and the stories regarding all of the issues we are faced with. This storm is not considered a "real emergency," but what if the city were faced with real natural disasters, or a "real emergency?" We have only one freeway [Interstate 5] to get in and out of the city.

Not using salt to de-ice the road? What about sand that will end up in our water and drainage systems that will cause serious damage to the systems?

Seattle, we all need to re-evaluate and adjust our infrastructure and be prepared for real emergencies that can be devastating to our livelihoods.

And to all the city officials and the mayor, shame on all of you.

-- Joseph Woo, Mercer Island

Sending the bill to you

Seattle's snow-removal policies have now incapacitated our city for seven days. To think that using salt in this one incident is going to cause any type of measurable harm is nothing short of lunacy.

The lack of leadership and willingness to be flexible during "The December Storm" staggers the mind.
Shall we bill you, Mayor Greg Nickels, for the lost wages, accidents and lack of retail sales that have resulted from your inability to make an intelligent decision that would protect our city and offer basic services?

I am talking about some reasonable thinking in this one extraordinary situation.

It is a shame that our leadership has not shown the ability to step up and demonstrate "extraordinary" thinking in this case. The price tag on this to our city is rising as we speak.

-- Janet Engel, Seattle

Calling all authorities

For 18 years, I have been using Metro as my main means of transportation. For 18 years, I have yet to see a planned, organized response to winter snows. It seems it is always improvised from year to year with nobody taking the time or effort to learn from the past.

King County Executive Ron Sims is supposed to be the head of Metro. In all of his time in office he has shown no leadership in planning for these sorts of disasters. It is clear that the current series of days of collapsing bus service falls on him and his lack of leadership.

I would hope that somebody in Metro would call a conference of appropriate authorities, including riders, and plan for different response levels to Seattle winter storms.

This plan would include reallocation of resources, a way of educating the public of those plans, and finding a means to keep riders informed of the situation.

But given the level of customer service on fair-weather days, I doubt it will ever happen until somebody replaces Sims and shows some appropriate leadership.

-- Don Carter, Seattle

Courtney Blethen/ The Seattle Times

Pedestrians take over Denny Street on Capitol Hill. The street has been closed to vehicles all week due to dangerous snowy and icy conditions.

What's a few kids?

Editor, The Times:

I'm a little tired of all of the letters scolding Mayor Greg Nickels for not putting salt on the road during this severe weather ["Seattle refuses to use salt; roads 'snow packed' by design," Times, News, Dec. 23].
So a few buses filled with kids might go off a bridge.

Don't people realize that the salt on the roads might get into Puget Sound and pollute the saltwater with salt?

I drove in severe weather for most of my adult life in Alaska before I moved here. The mayor is teaching these city folks how to be independent and protect the environment at the same time. No salt on the roads means no salt polluting our green parks and being ingested by the helpless birds and fishes in our local area.

Nothing could make a granola-eating tree-hugger like me happier.

If I need traction I always keep a couple of dead spotted owls in my trunk. You just throw them under the tires when you get stuck. Nothing gets better traction than a spotted owl, not even chains.

-- Dennis Doucette, Auburn

SUVs make a comeback

I just wanted to thank the Seattle government for their stand on not using salt on the roads during this terrible snowstorm. It is absolutely awful to think that salty runoff could possibly make its way to the Puget Sound, which last I checked was comprised of saltwater.

But, honestly, Seattle's use of sand instead of salt cleared the roads of all traffic, allowing my 6,000 pound, 15 mpg, 4-wheel-drive truck traffic-less transportation for a solid four days.

Finally, my tax dollars hard at work to relieve congestion.

In addition, I am glad that Seattle has finally put its foot down and decided full-heartedly to support the promotion of oversized, overweighted gas hogs.

-- John Foster, Bothell

I don't get it

The Times revealed that Seattle is not salting our icy and dangerous streets for fear that the salt will ultimately leach into Puget Sound. Isn't the sound already a saltwater body of water. Am I missing something?

-- Martin Paup, Seattle

The benefit is greater

The first question to be asked about the decision not to use salt on the roads it simple: Did anyone determine the amount of salt to be used would be sufficient to have any measurable environmental effect on Puget Sound?

Puget Sound is large and deep, with strong tides assuring rapid mixing. Was there any calculation of salt concentration of runoff water showing a higher concentration than that of the Sound?

Road salt contains calcium, which is also a component of seawater, integral to the formation of crustacean shells. Road salt is mildly corrosive, but as snow is rare here, it will quickly be washed away from cars and structures once typical rains resume.

Salt has long been routinely used for melting. Whatever problems, it has been almost universally concluded that the benefit is greater.

The consequences are not trivial and are beyond the obvious impassibility of streets and unnecessary property damage. People are missing work and income. This past week is crucial for many retailers and the lost business causes genuine hardship to both business and employees. Can anyone in City Hall show evidence of equal benefit from this absurdity?

-- Bronston Kenney, Shoreline

Sidewalks are for people, not snow

Tuesday's story about the messy condition of Seattle's roadways overlooks the condition of the sidewalks.
I have it on the authority of the chairman of the City Council, Richard Conlin, that there is a code requirement that sidewalks be cleared of snow by property owners, who otherwise can be fined.

However, the requirement is ignored by many property owners with impunity.

-- Anita Warmflash, Seattle

Blatant disregard

The complete inattention and indifference that the cities of Olympia and Lacey have shown toward the enabling of transportation around the city streets during this freak snowstorm is utterly unbelievable.

No roads have been scraped, people are ruining their bodies and vehicles trying to drive on clots of snow and ice mixed with slush that are six or more inches deep.

Driving on these roads is like driving on the rocky bottoms of river beds. Do you know we have had no trash pick up?

What about the fact that this is an emergency? What about renting backhoes and tractors and clearing the ice-rocks from the city and neighborhood streets?

What about asking the neighboring cities for help?

Why is it OK to just wait until it warms up? I am reminded of the tales of governmental disregard in New Orleans during/after the flooding of Hurricane Katrina.

What about people who need an ambulance? What about the large elderly population in Olympia? Why is it acceptable to make them navigate river-rock roads?

Never have I seen such an inept, blatant disregard for citizens and their well-being.

-- Carolyn Foster, Lacey

Never again

The abominable response by the city of Seattle to this winter's unusual storm is about as responsible as the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. Not only is it foolish and inept, it's arrogant.

Those of us who've lived other places where snow and ice are handled competently have been appalled by the manner in which a major U.S. city has been paralyzed for a week because of Mayor Greg Nickels' ridiculous attitude about possible solutions.

This is not to say that we are not concerned about environmental matters. But Seattle's knee-jerk response has been way out of balance considering the situation.

Since these storms do not happen often here, let's try something different. Let's say for the first week of a major storm like this one, we can use salt for the roads and we can use decent blades on the plows -- blades that will actually clear the roadway.

That won't be enough to do any significant harm to the environment and it won't cause rust on our cars. After that, we go back to the current methods.

But we never again leave the city in the paralysis in which it's been this past week.

-- Molly Cook, Langley

Do more than this

If it's economics, say so.

If it's poor emergency management, apologize, but don't pull the "green card" with total disregard for public safety.

"By design," two charter buses narrowly escape a crash onto Interstate 5. Vehicles spin out, businesses are temporarily shut down. Hundreds of cars sit idling in snarled traffic.

The storms crippled the entire region. Where are the state Department of Transportation snowplows?
Thanks to city and county employees for their hard work under challenging conditions. But this was not an unexpected storm.

We shouldn't see young soldiers stuck at the bus station, or a mother and her children sleeping on the floor at Sea-Tac Airport for days. Airlines had no choice but to cancel flights when they couldn't get new supplies of de-icing material delivered. What a blow to their financial stability in these times.

The mess in Seattle can't be "by design." Alex Wiggins [chief of staff for the Seattle Department of Transportation], please say you did all you could do.

-- Anne Varga, North Bend

Let's get salty

I'm all for not dumping toxic crud into Puget Sound, so as not to screw up the lives of salmon, clams, orcas and so forth. But Seattle's policy of just packing down the snow on city streets into ice confines the city's human folks to their caves until the weather seriously warms up.

How about using sea salt on Seattle streets? It would make Puget Sound a few hundredths of a percent more salty.

-- Chuck Hastings, Federal Way

Take the hint

I ventured into Seattle [Tuesday] for a business meeting and sought to escape at 2 p.m. via Mercer Street to the freeway. I have never seen a street in worse condition. It literally felt like moving east in a boat.
Drops off ice mounds in some case were 8 to 10 inches.

I'd say a better plan is warranted for clearing Seattle's streets.

I drove home to Lynnwood, and there was ice here and there, but on the major arterials there was pavement under the tires. Is the region's premier city clueless or just poorly led?

-- Bill Kirlin-Hackett, Lynnwood

Do more research

I am disappointed at Susan Kelleher's investigative reporting concerning Seattle's refusal to use salt on its roads. Kelleher fails to describe fully the principles, conversations and reasons that begot Seattle's current policy.

Moreover, she primarily compares Seattle's response to urban areas that are not near large, ecologically sensitive bodies of water. Those cities do not have to consider the impacts of salt on Puget Sound.

Denver's complaint about sand causing problems is true for them; however, its impacts in Seattle may be different due to variances -- for example, in municipal infrastructure and snow type. The use of salt and de-icer by WSDOT [Washington State Department of Transportation] does not baptize their effects in waterways.

To be sure, Seattle's response to this snow has not been effective; policy changes must certainly arise. Nonetheless, rashly adopting a policy to use whatever chemical or salt "works" in the short-term would supplant a wiser principle of considering the long-term effects of everything we do.

-- Daniel Escher, Bellingham

Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times

A Metro driver peers around his stranded bus while passengers begin to unload Monday. The bus' southbound route on Lake City Way at Northeast 85th Street stalls near the Maple Leaf area. This bus lost traction despite the chains.

It's about health
and safety

Editor, The Times:

As a local University of Washington physician, I am not prone to tirades. But, I am so angry at Mayor Greg Nickels and his lack of leadership in the face of what amounts to a snow emergency ["Seattle refuses to use salt; roads 'snow packed' by design," Times, News, Dec. 23].

His legacy should be reflected in his complete and utter failure to lead the city at such a paralyzing moment.

It's not simply an inconvenience issue. This is a health and safety issue.

When I see the number of selfless, hardworking health-care employees risking their lives and property to try to get to work to help save the lives of others, it makes me seethe at his complete and absolute ineptitude to clear a street.

Nickels had a golden opportunity to keep this city moving. That moment is long gone and in my eyes he will forever be the mayor who could not plow the streets -- in front of the local hospitals on First Hill, let alone downtown.

Plowing the streets is not a complicated concept. His leadership here has been utterly abysmal.

-- Eric Stern, Seattle

Our NaCl is better than yours

Mayor Greg Nickels has shirked his sworn duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Seattle.

The inmates running the asylum of Seattle City Hall would prefer to have kids get hit by sliding cars, massive property damage to vehicles and city property, and the huge loss in sales revenue the week before Christmas rather than let salt get into Puget Sound.

Salt, the stuff that they take out of saltwater.

Isn't Puget Sound saltwater?

I guess we need a $1 billion salt-extraction facility so that we can get "native" Puget Sound salt since our NaCl is different from the NaCl used in every other big city on the planet.

Nickles needs to look at the picture of that bus that almost killed everyone aboard and change this insane policy.

-- Apollo Fuhriman, Bothell

No action required

I know it doesn't snow here very often and that's why there are only 27 plows. Quaint, isn't it?

Come on, this isn't exactly rocket science. You go out and buy a few hundred plow blades and stick 'em in a few warehouses around the region. If there's going to be a lot of snow, you stick the blades on garbage trucks and push the snow off to the side of the arterial roads and streets. I'm sure the garbage-hauling companies could be persuaded to earn some extra cash doing it.

It costs too much, you say? Even if it only happens once every decade or so, how much does it cost to shut down Puget Sound for a week?

How many stores lost how much business? How many restaurants are closed?

What about emergency services that aren't delivered? A lot of people are going to lose a lot of money this week, and a few might lose more than just money.

Hey, forget I ever mentioned it. Or better yet, remember that I mentioned it and spend the next 20 years debating it. That's how we do things here, right?

-- Charles Pluckhahn, Seattle

The new half-pipe

The current Seattle snow raises the obvious question: Can Seattle be trusted with a new elevated viaduct? It might just be a tribute to our school system -- how we Seattle drivers see snow and need to test the laws of physics. An SUV in motion will remain in motion, unless acted upon by a bus.

That being said, isn't an elevated viaduct just one big ski jump? As a citizen strictly opposed to dangling buses, I say stick to the surface option.

-- Frank Lufkin, Seattle

Here comes the Schwinn

Having grown up in the unforgiving terrain of upstate New York, I was raised amid snow storms, ice storms and blizzards. At least two times every year, cars were buried, power went out and schools were closed.

Which is why its interesting that the first time I saw chains that were intended to be wrapped around car tires was when I moved to Seattle in 2002.

When and if it snowed, would there not be the logical (and lifesaving) salting of the roads or adequate plowing?

What I was told blew my mind: There was sand, not salt. Salt, I was told, was harmful to the roads and to wildlife, should they ingest the remnants of it maybe once a year. Even the accepted sand, according to your story, is now frowned upon because of a "dusting" factor that affects air quality.

And the plows that Seattle uses to clear the streets have rubber blades to minimize street damage? Why don't you just send out a little girl on a Schwinn with a broomstick? It would be just as effective.

I am now in Manhattan, where I can jog down the street the morning after a blizzard, knowing the ice has been salted away for my safety and my neighbors' safety.

I have nothing but respect for Seattle's pioneering attitude toward aggressively respecting the environment and wildlife. It's part of what makes it such a unique and beautiful place to be. But at what price?

I received numerous phone calls and e-mails from friends in Seattle this past week who were literally trapped -- couldn't go to work and go holiday shopping to contribute to the fledgling economy.

I saw news footage of car wrecks with people injured and trapped. While you were spinning, did you stop and silently thank your city's government that at least the wildlife won't have to ingest a minute amount of salt?

What's more important, human life and the economy or the small possibility of one salting a year having an unsubstantiated effect on the environment?

It doesn't have to be this way. We get a lot more snow here and get through it painlessly with the help of adequate, non-rubberized street plows and, the most crucial element, salt.

You can go to work, you don't need chains on your tires and no one has to die.

Prioritize.

-- Kathleen Laux, Manhattan, N.Y.

Get real

Based on a weather forecast that predicted snow, possibly as early as 3 p.m., the Seattle Public Schools shut down last Wednesday.

SPS officials say they were acting with excess caution. However, they acted in the face of a rapidly retreating forecast and foolishly caused us to have three snow days instead of two.

The problem for parents is that although SPS can panic and unnecessarily cancel school, other workplaces are generally less skittish. Parents cannot take a "dry-pavement snow day" without consequences, leaving parents to scramble to find safe child-care options. SPS needs to work more closely with weather forecasters to understand what the real risks are. It also needs to work with its transportation vendors to provide safer options for winter bus service.

What about chaining those buses, training drivers for winter driving, and working out alternative snow-bus routes ahead of the storms?

These lowland winter storms are not rare anymore, and SPS, the city of Seattle and all of us need to stop acting like we live in San Diego and start learning to deal with the reality of life in a northern climate.

-- Kathleen Barry, Seattle

Dunce cap for Alaska Airlines

At a time when Seattle is having severe weather problems, Alaska Airlines chose to quit communicating with their longtime customers about flight availability and flight cancellations. I was shocked to receive their phone message today that their lines were busy and if I wanted to communicate with them I needed to go to their Web site or send a flight cancellation to customer service.

My flight was available today for check-in at 11 a.m., so I printed my boarding pass and drove three hours to reach the Boise airport -- arriving five hours early. I was informed that my flight was canceled and that the earliest flight I could expect to possibly be confirmed was the next day at 9:30 p.m.

Alaska has my phone number and it would have been so much better if they had thought to hire some phone representatives to call their to let them know there were weather-related delays.

-- Cheri Watson, Hailey, Idaho

Common sense, anyone?

Here we are, under a lot of snow and ice. But we had plenty of warning. One of the weather services advised of an impending storm "of notable and historic" proportion.

Wouldn't you think that the ferry system could have stockpiled enough fuel? That Alaska Airlines could have purchased extra de-icer? That Amtrak could have been prepared to deal with the inevitable ice?

Instead, we are faced with idle ferries, trains that can't go anywhere, and a major chunk of air service out of commission -- wonderful examples of how much we can depend on public transportation when it really counts.

One would think that each of these agencies would have enough foresight to have emergency checklists, and people assigned to act on these checklists.

God help us if we need a new series of laws in order to compensate for what appears to have been a total lack of simple common sense.

-- Richard Karnes, Mercer Island

Paying it forward

On Monday the 22nd, after spending two frozen hours at a bus stop on First Avenue, a kind Samaritan stopped to ask if anyone needed a ride to West Seattle. My husband gladly accepted the offer. It turned out that the Samaritan had been the recipient of a similar gift the previous Friday and wanted to return the favor.

This person had been rescued by a Vashon Islander and the person they rescued on that wintry Monday was another Islander. The Samaritan lived two blocks from the ferry and gave my husband a ride all the way to the dock.

My thanks to my Island neighbor, whoever you are, for the kind act that paid forward in a most unexpected way and to the West Seattle Samaritan for being a great Santa's elf.

Bless you both. Have a merry Christmas and a great New Year.

-- Karen Pruett, Seattle

Jim Bates / The Seattle Times

Police responded to a Community Transit bus that had slid to the side of the road while trying to exit Interstate 405.

Thanks to you

Editor, The Times:

While the rest of us hunker down in our homes I'd like to take time to send a big shout-out of thanks to all the folks that have to be out in this weather: police, firemen, hospital workers, water and power workers who are keeping the lights on and the water flowing during this snowy weather ["Region hunkers down for week of snow, cold," Times, page one, Dec. 22].

At times, these are very thankless jobs, but I know I speak for most when I say "thank you."

-- Scott Penrose, Bothell

There is money to be made

The city supposedly owns 27 snow plows. I have yet to see one or evidence of one anywhere in downtown, Capitol Hill or Queen Anne. The mayor's Web page says they were used on major arterials but Queen Anne Avenue and Broadway Avenue were not plowed. Highway 99 is clear, but isn't that cared for by the state?

The forecast on Thursday called for a week of subfreezing temperatures to follow. Given that forecast, it was essential to plow the snow Thursday before it had a chance to freeze into the ice we have now.

If cost was a reason for not plowing, consider the cost to retailers and sales-tax revenue lost for having the city shut down for a week. I hope the city will learn and have a better response next time.

-- Paul Fichter, Seattle

Slipping and sliding

To my delight and sincere appreciation, there were two deliveries yesterday and today that have made the days seem normal. My Seattle Times was on the doorstep and the mail was in its mailbox at the top of the driveway.

This morning, our mail carrier even walked down our driveway to the house to deliver a package.
A big thank you to our Times carrier and the USPS for perseverance and fortitude in this slippery, slidy time. I wish them all a nice hot cup of cocoa at the end of their route.

--Marty Byrne, Lake Forest Park

Betty Udesen / The Seattle Times

A Washington State ferry approaches the ferry dock in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island. Residents have complained about occasional Border Patrol checks in Anacortes when they ride the ferries to the Washington mainland.

Keep it at the border

In a story in The Seattle Times, Chief John Bates of the Border Patrol indicated the policy regarding checkpoints will not change ["Border Patrol expansion is causing conflict in Washington," News, Dec. 14]. He stated he wants to keep the lines of communication with the community open. He also believes once residents get used to the Border Patrol's checkpoints, we will feel they are just fine.

The Border Patrol belongs at the border. There, they can search and detain any individual with probable cause. The checkpoint policy, which stops thousands of individuals on a fishing expedition with no specific target, is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. It devalues the American sense of personal freedom so many of our troops have fought to protect.

If an individual is suspected of wrongdoing, the Border Patrol has all the assistance it needs to pursue and capture the individual. The checkpoints do not make us safer, but they do alter the nature of this country we love.

-- Dennis Daneau, Port Townsend

Alan Berner / The Seattle Times

Seattle police investigate the scene of a shooting at Seattle Center during Northwest Folklife Festival. The incident occured just north of the International Fountain and next to the Fountain Lawn Stage.

You can't take this away from me

Editor, The Times:

Does Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels really believe that an executive order banning law-abiding citizens from carrying their legally obtained and carried firearms onto city property will prevent a gun-related incident from happening ["Mayor's firearms proposal draws fire at hearing," Times, News, Dec. 17]?

If he looked at who uses guns in an illegal manner, he would not likely find the legally licensed holders creating the problems, but rather the criminals who don't care about the rules.

According to The Seattle Times, "The man accused of opening fire at Seattle's Northwest Folklife Festival, wounding three people, had obtained a concealed-weapon permit from the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office even though federal and state laws should have prevented him from having one." Even though the records were not public, he was a documented mental patient. His background check apparently didn't reveal this fact.

Preventing the legal carrying of a legally obtained firearm seems to be another attempt to take away my constitutional right to protect myself, my property and others threatened by those who will ignore this ludicrous posturing by Nickels.

-- Jerry Thorsell, Lacey

One naive step for mankind

Mayor Greg Nickels recently suggested that Seattle should enact a ban on guns. Although the proponents of this idea claim it as a solution for violence, one look at Washington, D. C., suggests otherwise. The city enacted a gun ban and not only was it overturned, but deaths increased in the area by a large margin.

This ban will not work. Criminals will continue to get the guns. Most of them have already broken the law once; another law will not keep them from getting more guns.

Guns in the hands of good citizens will prevent many more deaths than they cause. An armed citizen has the ability to stop a criminal from killing unarmed citizens. Criminals will continue to be criminals and this gun ban is a naive step, assuming that it will keep criminals from getting guns illegally.

-- Jeremiah Surface, Kirkland

Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times

Downtown Seattle is caught in a deep freeze, but snow thus far has mostly stayed in the mountains -- witness the snow-dusted Olympics.

Develop some intuition

Editor, The Times:

On Monday, June 5, 1944, Capt. J.M. Stagg, head of the meteorological committee for the D-Day invasion at Normandy, told Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower that he would have a two-day window in which to land troops in German-occupied France. Stagg performed this miracle of weather prediction without the aid of satellites, weather buoys or Doppler radar. He did so with pencil, paper, maps, barometers and intuition ["Snow on its way; commute may be messy," News, Dec. 17].

If, in 1944, the Allied Invasion Force could make the greatest weather-based decision of the modern era using such primitive predicting methods, then why can't all of the combined technology of the National Weather Service and local broadcast meteorologists determine whether or not it's going to snow in Seattle with any confidence?

Can you imagine if Stagg had been changing his predictions every five hours before D-Day?

Now consider all of the wasted resources keeping hundreds of road crews on standby overnight in Seattle/King County awaiting the Wednesday-morning storm that never arrived.

Humbug.

Had this current crop of well-meaning scientists been advising Eisenhower, WWII would have ending sometime around the start of the Korean War.

The Puget Sound Convergence Zone is not an excuse for botched predications. The British Isles have their own anomalies, the most frustrating being the "Icelandic Low," which wreaks havoc on prediction models given that the jet stream will frequently split in two over the Channel.

The difference between Stagg and the current NWS can be summed up in one word: intuition.

-- Craig Parsley, Seattle

How convenient

Kudos to the Seattle Public Schools for launching its new school-messenger auto-call system. Many of us got too many calls and calls too early on Dec. 15, the initial day of the service.

However that slight inconvenience is outweighed by the district's effort to develop an emergency-information system.

I can figure out if school is late or closed due to weather in the morning before I go to work. In the midst of my workday it is reassuring to know that I will be informed about a school emergency.

All you whiners give the district a break; they are looking out for you too.

-- Barbara Bender, Seattle

Remember alcohol prohibition?

Drug prohibition is a cure worse than the disease ["It's time to end the war on drugs,"Neal Peirce syndicated columnist, Dec. 14]. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun each other down in drive-by shootings, nor do consumers go blind drinking unregulated bathtub gin. While U.S. politicians ignore the drug war's historical precedent, European countries are embracing harm reduction, a public-health alternative based on the principle that both drug abuse and prohibition have the potential to cause harm.

Examples of harm reduction include needle-exchange programs to stop the spread of HIV, marijuana regulation aimed at separating the hard and soft-drug markets, and treatment alternatives that do not require incarceration as a prerequisite. Unfortunately, fear of appearing "soft on crime" compels many U.S. politicians to support a failed drug war that ultimately subsidizes organized crime.

-- Robert Sharpe, Arlington, Va.

Three strikes, you're in

What great news about Stevan Dozier, three-striker, being recommended for clemency by the Clemency Board ["Board recommends clemency for three-times offender," News, Dec. 12].

The three-strikes law was sold as removing the "worst of the worst" from society. But many people don't understand how the severity of crimes are defined in Washington state. There are 16 levels of severity. At the top is level 16: aggravated murder. That's the severity level of the 48 murders committed by the Green River Killer who was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Robbery 2, which are Dozier's three crimes are a level 4. Other crimes at level 4 are posing as a licensed insurance agent and influencing the outcome of a sporting event. And, if you commit three Robbery 2's, you get the same sentence as the Green River Killer.

What's wrong with this picture? Today we saw evidence that people do care about fairness in sentencing.

-- Lea Zengage, Seattle

Soon we will see

The Seattle Times' story about the trial of a King County deputy who allegedly beat a person while in handcuffs gave me confidence in the print media to seek justice on the side of righteousness, again ["Civil-rights trial will pit deputy against deputy," News, Dec. 6].

I remember how The Seattle Times tried to help Tami Silicio on April 18, 2004, after she took photos of 22 coffins with American flags on them, on a homebound cargo plane from Iraq.
She lost her job over the photo.

I hope many people will save the fine report written by Mike Carter and take note of what the sheriff does about it. We will soon learn who is really in control of the King County sheriff deputies. It would be nice to know how many stand behind the defendant for his actions, and what happens to the judge, jury and witnesses against the defendant, if the verdict is guilty.

-- W. Saunders, Everett

Find a solution

Well, we have the predictable response from Seattle's police chief: "Too many guns on the street" ["Word on the street: Seattle violence is rising," News, Nov. 26]. He says nothing about broken families, drugs, a gang culture enabled by the music industry, or lack of respect for human life.

I'm thankful that most people are intelligent enough to realize that the causes of violence are not so simple, and that easy answers and labels just detract from the search for real solutions.

-- Larry Clemens, Poulsbo

Quit having babies

Leonard Pitts Jr. ignores a root cause of frustration with the "problem child" in Nebraska ["Nebraska's abandonment law shows deep need," syndicated columnist, Nov. 30]. Population control has been rejected by the current government largely because it's not in the interest of corporations' desire to pay low wages. The more overpopulation, the more job applicants and the lower the wages.

If every woman on Earth were restricted to one child each for the next 20 or 25 years, world population would stabilize and begin declining. In the following generation, each woman could bear one or two children and population would continue to decline slightly. This would eventually solve poverty, hunger, war, much suffering, the economy and environmental degradation.

The disregard for population control is only one of the high crimes the President George W. Bush administration must be held accountable for.

-- Marc Smason, Seattle

Alan Berner / The Seattle Times

Police crime tape keeps bystanders at bay near the scene of last Saturday's shooting at Westfield Southcenter.

Something must be done

It is really important that events like this be covered by the media ["Recently released from detention, shooting victim wanted to help others," News, Nov. 24]. Gang violence has been escalating at an alarming rate in Seattle and the surrounding areas, and it has been hard to watch its effects on those I know.

It is important for readers to understand that Daiquan Jones's story is in no way unique. Many of Seattle's teens have recently been lost in the same sort of senseless violence. Students at Garfield High School have recently been hit very hard by a shooting that resulted in the death of a fellow student, an event that is only one part of the rising crime rate in the area. The student, like Daiquan, was not even old enough to see R-rated films, and yet was shot out of what I suspect was gang-related anger.

Despite what was said by those interviewed at Southcenter mall after the murder of Daiquan, I believe the Seattle area is become less and less safe, not only for our youth, but for everybody.

-- Graham Threlkeld-Guy, Seattle

What is more important?

As a young, single and socially active female in Seattle, I am concerned with the heightened crime rates our city is experiencing.

My concerns stem from the recent shootings on Capitol Hill, the increasing level of drug traffic and violence in Belltown and the string of shootings that occurred last weekend.

With budget cuts looming, I am worried that not only will police and safety budgets be slashed but that social after-school programs that provide a safe and secure place for children will lose their funding as well.

Every day, I await a notification from Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels or Gov. Christine Gregoire that there's an action plan to combat the skyrocketing crime rates.

I'm still waiting.

If this isn't a priority for our government officials then I welcome them informing me what is more important than the safety of Seattle residents.

-- Anne Luce, Seattle

Alan Berner / The Seattle Times

Police crime tape keeps bystanders at bay near the scene of last Saturday's shooting at Westfield Southcenter.

Time for a compromise

As Jack Olsen so eloquently put it, "give a boy a gun." The right to bear arms has been lost in the translation ["Southcenter opens after shooting leaves one dead," News, Nov. 23]. How about a compromise? Ban handguns, concealed or not, and allow rifles only. That way we can see it coming and get out of your murderous ways a little sooner.

Instead of threats to North Korea, how about situating American-owned prisons there and banishing for 10 years Americans who violate the handgun law. That would create employment opportunities for the impoverished nation, and lower the cost and burden of housing prisoners here. Besides, who would want to escape there? Might be worse outside the wall.

-- David Gloor, Seattle

Push it to the Legislature

Shooting incidents, random and/or premeditated, seem to happen nearly every day. The same arguments come up every time: People demand stronger gun laws, while the gun lobby says the laws we have are adequate -- if they were only enforced.

In order for the general public to see and learn how the Second Amendment works in real life, it should be a requirement that what is known about every shooting incident is made public.

If we have the weapon, the following should be made public: make and type of gun; in whose name it is registered, who bought it and who used it; who sold it to the present registered owner and when; whether it was purchased through a store, trade show, catalog or other; where and how it was stored; the reason given by the registered owner in the application for the need to own a gun, and the situation around the incident.

If the weapon is not found, publish what we can find out: type of bullet, caliber and what type of weapon was used

If this information is published for every incident, the public would learn a lot about the effectiveness of current gun laws and enforcements.

We should then be able to determine if the laws are adequate and, if they are enforced properly, who should own a gun; does the registered owner properly take care of and control the gun; did the seller properly process the applications to purchase the gun; are the laws adequate with regard to what type of guns should be available to the general public; are there any patterns in gun misuse, and should guns clearly designed for combat be made available to the public.

Statistics are available to describe how serious this situation is but if this information is properly published after every incident, an informed public opinion could be formed and possibly influence the Legislature to develop proper gun laws that could protect the general public from gun misuse.

-- Johannes Christoffersen, Bellevue

Let's continue the change

I was at the Southcenter Mall with my family watching a movie when the theater went into lockdown mode because of a shooting.

At the time, we were unaware of the details, and because we were on the top floor, we were oblivious to the chaos and horror going on two floors below us.

The parking lot was gridlocked for hours, and only until we arrived home did I realize that one young man had been killed and one seriously injured.

What disturbs me is the number of racist comments that I've been seeing since this incident has happened.

There have been comments within discussion forums regarding Southcenter being a "ghetto mall" and a place for "gangbangers," and how this was typical of black people.

It just reminds me of the same kind of hatred that I witnessed not so long ago as I was watching those Gov. Sarah Palin rallies, where bigots were coming out of the woodwork, saying President-elect Barack Obama was a terrorist because his middle name was Hussein.

This is 2008 and we've just elected an African-American president so I'd like to think we've come a long way when it comes to race. But comments like this from small-minded people remind me that we still have a long way to go when it comes to understanding each other cross-culturally and stopping the stereotypes.

-- Meg Tapucol-Provo, Des Moines

Not a joke

After Megan Meier's death in the MySpace hoax, it is sad to read about another suicide involving the Internet ["Man's suicide involves drugs -- and a webcam," Nation & World, Nov. 22].

With the Internet as the medium and audience, knowing how to help someone who is thinking about suicide becomes much more complicated; the possibility of being known across the World Wide Web would appeal to many individuals who might see it as means to give a spiteful goodbye, gain posthumous notoriety or as a last-ditch effort to reach out for help.

The Internet is a public space for communicating on a global scale, but it has detached us emotionally from the information we express and receive. I wonder if any of those who had watched Abraham Biggs's suicide unfold feel anything emotionally right now toward his family.

It now becomes just another suicide in the news and another reminder to be mindful about what you say. Internet users need to see the Web as a communication of the interpersonal, not just something you see, or on which you read and comment.

-- Keouthdam Kim, Seattle

Anybody out there?

"Pirates seize oil tanker -- largest payload ever" [page one, Nov. 18]. Where the hell is the U.S. Navy?

-- Dale Van Pelt, Seattle

Thomas James Hurst / The Seattle Times

Property owned by West Marine, a longtime marine-supply business located on Mercer Street, is being condemned by the city, part of a long-range plan to widen and beautify the Street.

We must do better

Editor, The Times:

I am of the opinion that fixing the "Mercer mess" is a very questionable use of resources ["Council bets hopes on federal stimulus plan for Mercer," Times, News, Nov. 18].

Surely, we can see the handwriting on the wall. Lines at food banks are increasingly lengthy.
Homeless, including families with children, are scattered around our city, living in filth and danger.

Community health clinics are strapped for resources and losing ground every year. In every age range, folks are suffering.

How can we decide to leave potholes and bridges in disrepair and consider, even for a moment, fixing the "Mercer mess"? How can we ignore the needs of our people?

Our mayor pushes to make Seattle a "world-class" city.

I prefer a city that honors its citizens by providing housing, transportation, health care and other human services. That would make Seattle a world-class city -- not pandering to developers (and a mayor) who may want an easier route to South Lake Union and its amenities.

Wake up. We can and must do better.

-- Nancy Bryant, Seattle

Not so average

I appreciate that you have published a positive story during the economic downturn ["Average King County family 'pretty solid,'." News, Nov. 18].

However, you have neglected to emphasize an important detail that sets the Bentler family ahead of many that are not so "solid." They purchased their home eight years ago for about half of what it's worth today. Incomes have certainly not doubled in eight years.

Do you think the Bentler's could have afforded a $300,000 home eight years ago with their income? Not a chance.

Today, many two-income professional families starting their careers are priced out of owning such a "modest" home.

My wife and I make about $57,000 and we have a young child and a dog, much like the Bentlers. We live in an apartment because we cannot afford the mortgage payment required for today's home prices. Too many families live in communities where home prices are way out of alignment with incomes.

A rise in foreclosures and sluggish home sales are a symptom of this misalignment. A price correction in the housing market is badly needed. Who will they sell homes to if a whole generation of young professionals cannot buy them?

-- Glenn Kohler, Olympia

Let's be real

Since Oct. 31, 12 people have died from youth violence ["Seattle to spend more on homeless; garbage, water, parking rates to rise," News, Nov. 18].

For decades, suburbanites have had the nonchalant attitude, "this will not happen in my neighborhood." This attitude led adults to believe the deviant and criminal behavior of the youth will not negatively impact the upper echelon of society.

We have raised a generation of children with no awareness of self and who are unloving, uninvolved and uncaring. We call them misguided youth; you can only be misguided if you received improper guidance. We looked down upon the youth in disgust with their sagging clothes, crooked baseball caps and revealing clothing. I remember my days of the AJ jeans, cross colors, white T-shirts, khaki pants, the Kangol and the NWA blasting from my boom box on the back of the bus.

But today it is time to get off the fence, stop whining about how much things will cost, what programs we need to establish, what label to use and most important stop living in blind fear. What we should do -- at no cost -- when you see young men in their sagging clothing or young women in their revealing clothing, stop and look them in the eyes, say "Hello, how are you today?" -- instead of turning your head and looking down at the ground.

We should always show the youth with our words, deeds and a positive visions how great an asset to society they can become.

I grew up around pimps, drug dealers, hustlers and gang bangers. I needed a reality check and these young people need one as well.

We must show them what life looks like if they continue on their destructive path. Show them the lifeless bodies of the young people who have died from violence. They do not need to see those nonthreatening, prom-dance photos that we see in the media.

We need to show the courtroom photos of the bereaved parents passing out, screaming and yelling because of the eternal pain, deep sorrow and emptiness they suffer. Show them there is no glamour when a jury discloses their verdict and a judge's sentencing is real.

Show them the photos of children in their orange jumpsuits in chains at Echo Glen and the lonely, haunting and cold jail cells of Maple Lane with a community toilet and shower.

If all else fails, show them videos of McNeil Island or Monroe penitentiaries. Explain to them the staggering number of their high-school friends they thought were cool who are now or will become jobless, homeless, addicted or incarcerated.

The game is still the same; it is only fiercer.

-- Elder Wyatt, Seattle

Now more than ever

Today, you reported that Seattle will finance youth-violence prevention and social services for the homeless population on a two-year budget approval.

This is interesting because I recently began outreaching to the homeless population in San Francisco, and was wondering how Seattle, where I am originally from, helps the homeless. As a community member, I feel extremely optimistic that during this recession, the city still recognizes the importance of selflessness for others in greater need and is not going through budget cuts for social programs that are vital to our community.

What people don't realize is that because we are in a recession, more people will need to access food banks and other social services and that change takes time. Sure, we don't want to pay more for utilities or parking meters, but it's just like gas prices; we complained about how high they got but still drove anyway because we had to.

One thing that could really make a difference is better education about homelessness. I know many people who are quite ignorant about issues surrounding homelessness and as a result don't understand the need for funding of important programs.

-- Karen Hong, San Francisco, Calif.

Don't trump our rights

Metropolitan King County Council members Julia Patterson and Bob Ferguson have taken a principled and distinguished stand in opposing the labor agreement with the King County sheriff's deputies ["Deputies could face civilian oversight," News, Nov. 12].

Contracts with public-employee unions should not undermine an American citizen's 4th Amendment right to due process. These contracts should not undermine the community's right to establish and vigilantly maintain effective police-oversight commissions.

Police powers of arrest, detainment and use of physical harm are extremely potent. Anyone who finds himself detained by the police is in for a trying and expensive ordeal, even if innocent. Once arrested, the judicial system is costly and the nature of the charge can cast a wide shadow of societal ostracism.

Even if there were no history of police malfeasance, our public servants, i.e., the Metropolitan King County Council, have a duty to each King County resident to insure those we hire to protect us are not using their immense authority in less than the professional manner expected of them.

Citizens should not forget there are times when police officers and deputies have lied to protect themselves from deserved prosecution. Effective police oversight should never trump constitutional rights.

-- Patrick Burns, Seattle

We're going to need a bigger net

Regarding the $233 million needed to block access to Death Valley's abandoned mines: It is tragic when one person dies in an accident, but 33 deaths in abandoned mines in eight years is surely dwarfed by the numbers of people who die falling down stairs, off ladders, out of trees, off wilderness trails, in bicycle accidents, and the 60,000 or so that die in road accidents yearly ["Thousands of old mines endanger parks' visitors," Nation & World, Nov. 11].

It is not the responsibility of the taxpayers to protect the careless or unlucky from all risk. A prominent sign at each park entrance which says, "Warning. Abandoned mines are dangerous. Explore at your own risk," should be sufficient.

Or perhaps we should also hang netting across the Grand Canyon and drain all lakes and streams to prevent drownings.

-- Richard Faiola, Olympia