Parks a place for joyous noise
Re: “City crackdowns irk enthusiasts,” April 6 news story
The current situation regarding Denver Park’s decision to eliminate pickleball play at Congress Park due to noise considerations warrants comment from a pickleball player and a taxpayer.
Denver’s public parks are intended to provide urban recreational activities for all citizens and taxpayers. These opportunities are not limited to only those that are silent because all human activities generate some form of noise, and noise naturally occurs in an urban environment. The streets surrounding the parks generate traffic and construction noise; kids playing make joyful noises; the clang of a basketball bouncing off the rim characterizes every basketball game.
The people who bought homes near the parks knew the parks were there and had to expect recreational and urban noises. Denver’s elimination of pickleball in response to a few noise complaints is discriminatory to taxpayers having every right to use the park system for their chosen recreation.
Stephen Haverl, Denver
Keep your book bans to yourself
It is amazing to me how those voices who are loudest in demanding that nobody has the right to determine the type of weapons they can or cannot own, or oppose any thoughts of supposed government overreach into their lives, also are the loudest to demand that any books they do not approve of should be denied to everyone.
If you do not want your child to read something, fine. Don’t let them read it. As their parent you have the right to make such a decision for your family. But do not presume to dictate to me, or any others, what our children may check out from a public library or a public school. After all, public libraries and schools are just that. Public. Not everyone has your religious or moral beliefs, so they, too, have the right to decide what is best for themselves and their families.
To paraphrase the slogan a bit, Keep your hands off our books!
Jim Cronin, Commerce City
Timing of complaint, and subsequent ruling, unfair to candidate
Re: “Campaign violation complaint dismissed Calderón, CdeBaca,” April 26 news story and “Election finance offenses alleged,” March 31 news story
The Denver Post ran a story during the mayoral campaign about how candidate Lisa Calderón may have broken campaign finance laws and made a big issue of it, with damaging quotes from an election lawyer who was reportedly “stunned.” Now the complaint has been dismissed for lack of evidence. I am not sure how that follows.
I am the one who wrote the smiley-face letter to the editor about how Calderón gave hope to underdogs. I feel like I was duped by the complaint and the quotes. Maybe Calderón could have been mayor and not the lovable underdog that we send away with a pat on the head and “better luck next time.”
Beverly Bennett, Aurora
A friendship coincidence or convenience?
Clarence Thomas claims to have been “friends for 25 years” with billionaire conservative mega-donor Harlan Crow and has been on the Supreme Court (confirmed by a 52-48 Senate vote) for 32 years.
Timing coincidence? I think not.
Delores Dafoe, Denver
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