DART can use surplus
Re: “DART Gives City $234 Million — It’s unclear when agency’s 13 members will receive funding. Dallas cuts to $111 million,” Metro & Business, Oct. 27 story.
The idea of DART giving back to the city may be good politics, but it’s not good business. Spend more to maintain existing facilities, spend more to improve vehicle cleanliness, free access to all citizens over 65, bigger and more present security Offer activities and allow free rides for all students, including college level. Increase fleet energy efficiency with a goal of zero emissions.
We need to reduce the number of cars on the road and DART is the best way to start heading in that direction. I don’t think it would be a good idea to return it to the member cities.
Goebel H. Vaughn, Plano
Texas is so hard to vote
Re: “Texas Falls Further on Access to Vote, Report Findings — State Ranks 46th in Voting Ability, Researchers Say,” Metro & Business article, Oct. 27 .
Texas legislature needs to understand that making voting more difficult hurts all parties, not just the opposition. Report says Texas fell from 45th to 46th in voter access rankings but didn’t need any research to describe my personal experience.
I moved from Utah to North Texas over the summer and was surprised that I had to register to vote with pen and paper. I was even more surprised that I didn’t get a reply. As voting was about to begin, her wife, who had submitted her application at the same time as me, checked her status online and she was registered. it wasn’t me And by then, Lone Star State will close voter registration a month before the election, so it was too late for me to do anything about it.
There is nothing to suggest that easier access to voting will lead to adverse outcomes. It’s worth noting that the red state, Utah, is in the top 10 of the rankings, with the blue states above and below. Mail-in ballots, online registration, same-day registration — it’s common knowledge, and the results prove its effectiveness.
I intended to join as a Republican, but if this is the process the majority wants, I am willing to go elsewhere.
Christian Sagers, Denton
Republicans are all talking about mental health
So far, in 2022 alone, there will be approximately 570 mass shootings in the United States. These include the supermarket massacre in Buffalo, New York, Uvalde’s Elementary School, and the Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
Each of these senseless and horrifying acts of violence have forever changed the lives of those killed or wounded, or the friends and families of those killed or wounded. There have been widespread public outcry calling for our government to take action with minimum ages, background checks, waiting periods, and common-sense gun laws to address assault weapons.
Republicans have been unwavering in their concerted efforts to block all such measures. Instead, its leaders have been adamant that the problem isn’t one of guns, but one of mental health.
On September 29th, the US House of Representatives took action on that. On that day, the House of Representatives passed the Mental Health Affairs Act, which expands access to mental health services in schools nationwide. But despite all the rhetoric about the mental health crisis, only one Republican, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, voted in favor of the bill.
Jeffrey Meyer, Chicago
O’Rourke must explain
Okay, Beto O’Rourke, bite. I am a Republican. If I could do one thing, I would vote for you. Please give me a definitive solution on how to solve the power grid problem.
And not by vilifying the opposition. We don’t just say, “We need change.” Not by making empty promises that you know you can’t, or can’t keep.
We can work on the rest of the promises later. I certainly agree that change is necessary, but trust those who believe that to solve a problem you need to throw a handful of tacks at the wall and expect to pick them up I refuse to do that.
So what exactly do you plan to change and how? See, we voted for you and get the same result. Another view of the fence.
Michael Campione, Plano
Connect the dots for maternal mortality
Re: “High Birth Risk in Texas — Maternal Mortality Rates Above U.S. Average, Longer Data Delay,” Monday Metro & Business article.
Thank you for posting Emily Caldwell’s story.
Dot: The Texas government considers it “moral” to force a woman to become pregnant if she doesn’t want or can’t afford to have children.
Dot: Unwanted pregnancies are most common among the poor.
Dot: Most people living in poverty are likely to be people of color.
Dot: Women in poverty often lack access to contraception and health care for themselves and their unborn children.
Dot: About 700 women die each year from pregnancy-related complications. About one-third of pregnancy-related deaths occur in the first week to her first year after birth.
Dot: In Texas, it is “moral” to choose the life of the unborn child over the life of the mother.
Steve McClure, Far North Dallas
‘Thou shalt not kill’
Whenever you read one of the many stories or letters that advocate the possibility of abortion, never wonder what part of God’s fifth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” that the writer does not understand. I can’t stay.
Willard Zimmerer, Farmers Branch
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