Icy streets a slippery issue for residents and politicians
Re: “Denver might need a new snowplow plan,” Jan. 15 commentary
The problem with writer Jo Ann Allen’s complaint is very familiar. The solution to our local climate is patience and understanding. I can remember the purchase of additional snow-clearing equipment to deal with residential streets. They were so rarely utilized that they were sold to save storage charges.
It used to be that Denverites understood random weather threats. When they happened, we hunkered down and stayed home until the sun did its job. Blizzards were welcome and used as an alternative to screaming at Mother Nature. We briefly became neighbors. We shoveled our walks and let the kids build snow forts and snowmen. We sent neighbors with four-wheel drive to the grocery store with passengers needing groceries.
Our existing demand that the city rises above the weather before morning arises from newcomers who have no understanding of Colorado weather.
Denverites! Learn to live with nature.
Tom Morris, Cheesman
Re: “Snowplowing policy again a campaign issue,” Jan. 16 news story
Finally! Three weeks after the Christmas week snowfall, The Post covers the event and its lingering aftermath. We have lived in Denver for only five years, so the city’s reaction to snow is still new to us. In that regard, the article on the front page was helpful in understanding the history of that response. But it is no excuse for what is really a non-response.
Streets covered for weeks in ice and snow-filled ruts are not acceptable. They are dangerous and life-threatening. Snow is frequent and expected in Denver, and the city should have a viable policy in place to protect its residents from its ill effects.
Carolyn Gold, Denver
The stories and newscasts (local and national) about Denver’s recent snow and the coordinated plowing efforts could have resulted in a positive or negative event. I was amazed when I left the house Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m. and saw how much plowing was already done in East Denver and the parts of Aurora I drove through.
Practically a native, this was one of the best outcomes I’ve experienced for a snow event of this size. Kudos to the cities and the people undertaking this work. And thank you for understanding that the benefits of spending the money to do this will outweigh the repercussions of possibly being over budget.
Ellen Schiff, Denver
The flippant handling of classified documents
Joe Biden announced, “Everyone knows I take classified documents seriously.”
There is a saying, “Watch what they do, not what they say.” Biden has literally shown us that he takes the security of his Corvette as seriously as the classified documents found in his garage.
Fred Ruder, Broomfield
I love our Irish Catholic Prez Joe. He is a good man and a stolid old Democrat. But this classified papers brouhaha is likely to dog him for the foreseeable future. So, here’s a thought. In the next few months, Biden and his advisers should plan for a succession strategy. Kamala Harris should succeed him and become the first woman president. And then, as a nod toward a unity government of sorts, she should nominate Liz Cheney as the next vice president. That should shake up the political establishments in D.C. for a while. As an added benefit, if Donald Trump does run, Cheney should dog him every step of the way!
Jim Chaney Denver
My first job out of college consisted of working on classified projects. We were not allowed to take any work home or discuss the project, even with family.
It is said that laws are for the little people. Classified material being held (or found) by Donald Trump and Joe Biden are a slap in the face to those “little people” who are a part of the security of our nation.
While there may be certain situations where some classified work needs to be done outside of a secure facility, such work must be the exception and returned to a secure facility ASAP. It’s the law. Senior political correspondent Jim Geraghty in the National Review wrote on Jan. 13 about the mishandling of classified information by high-ranking officials: “In every one of those cases, the perpetrator suffered a slap on the wrist or less. Meanwhile, lower-level government employees get jail time on a regular basis for doing the same thing.”
It is not an issue of Republicans or Democrats. It’s an issue of power (or delegation to staff). The top of the power ladder is occupied by people who have such a large ego that they believe that their power allows them to ignore the laws of the little people.
Did other administrations going back in history get away with similar lapses of judgment, unintentional or deliberate?
I think I’m going to get sick.
John Tobin, Evergreen
While serving in the military, I encountered a number of examples where classified documents were mishandled. Even today, there are a number of circumstances where classified documents are mishandled that go beyond what Donald Trump and Joe Biden have done. However, there is a difference between Biden’s mishandling and Trump’s mishandling. Biden’s appears to be inadvertent, similar to what I encountered in my service. Trump’s mishandling was deliberate and was done to benefit him and him alone.
Clarence Colburn, Thornton
Who is really heeding King’s advice
Re: “Remember King’s thoughts on the white moderate,” Jan. 15 commentary
Wow – talk about irony! In contemporary America, most white moderates – like me – are more supportive of Martin Luther King Jr.’s thoughts than social justice advocates. Social justice advocates clearly do not support non-violent, direct action, and they deeply believe that a person’s identity (i.e., race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) is much more important than a person’s character.
Additionally ironic, while the “Letter from the Birmingham City jail” is an important example of free speech in our society (somehow I cannot imagine “Letter from Moscow City jail” or “ Letter from Beijing City jail”), social justice advocates have led the effort to limit free speech in our universities, schools, media, books, and movies.
Francis Wardle, Denver
Police need to be fully staffed and supported to stop crime
Re: “Lawmakers are looking to make stealing a car a felony offense,” Jan. 17 news story
I read with interest the efforts of lawmakers to term all car thefts to be charged as felonies regardless of the value of the vehicle. If there are no apprehensions or concerted law enforcement activity to implement the law, it is a hollow gesture. As a retired police officer and a chief of three departments, it was axiomatic that “patrol” was the mainstay of operations. The patrol officer is the primary crime preventer, responder, and enforcer of any legislation. In my day, officers were distributed in a geographic, 24-hour manner calculated to provide rapid police response anywhere within the jurisdiction.
One only has to drive the streets of the metro area to realize there are no officers on patrol. There is no fear on the part of car thieves to be observed, stopped, and apprehended. I am aware of instances where actual car thefts and break-ins are observed and reported with no police response. I myself have observed numerous vehicles with long expired license plates driven on the streets. In addition, traffic violations go unchecked.
Remember the day when would-be criminals looked over their shoulders for officers? There is no need today because the police are nowhere in sight. Catalytic converter thieves, porch pirates, and grocery store looters act with total aplomb in carrying out their misdeeds, despite the cameras and citizens reporting. The legislators may as well make car theft a crime punishable by the death penalty for all the good it will do.
The governor and the state lawmakers would better serve the residents if they ensured that police departments were fully staffed, managed, and supported in their mission.
Philip Arreola, Denver
Flawed police reform proving dangerous
Re: “Colorado lawmakers can reduce crime this session,” Jan. 15 commentary
The mayors who wrote the piece (Mike Coffman, Aurora; Michael Hancock, Denver; and John W. Suthers, Colorado Springs) are missing the point.
The certainty of getting caught and punished is more important than the severity of the punishment. The legislature passed the knee-jerk police reform bill that is full of vague guidelines while outlining clearly that police officers should be punished under these vague guidelines. That bill forced thousands of good police officers to leave the job and convinced most of the rest to stop making contacts on the street.
The legislature has ignored the huge flaws in the bill that make even routine police work dangerous for the officers.
Now, around the country, the move is to keep officers from making any type of low-level stop or chasing anyone, even on foot. All of those low-level contacts kept a lid on things because the criminal knew that he might get arrested when an officer found proof of another crime during the stop.
Now, prosecutors are charging officers who are just doing their jobs. Yes, there are cases that should be charged. But, the officers are seeing the emotional mob rule injustices that are being played out and know it is not worth their lives. This is especially true when their own administrations will not stand up to protect them or challenge the badly flawed police reform bill.
Donald Black, Aurora
