Letters 2-10-2014

Feb. 9, 2014

Email letters to: info@northernexpress.com Please keep your letter under 300 words (one page). Only one letter per reader in a two month period will be accepted. may be edited for length or to correct factual errors. Letters must be signed to be considered for print and a phone number is required for verification. Faxed letters are not accepted.

Close the Locks

I applaud Mr. Estes’ article on keeping Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes.

Unfortunately, his solution is too simple, too cost efficient and can be accomplished too quickly. Why do something now when you can drag it out for 25 years at a cost of billions of dollars. Even if some action were taken several years from now, it would be too late anyway.

Certainly our illustrious politicians in Washington will never resolve this matter. Just look at their inaction the last 30+ years on any meaningful legislation regarding invasive species coming into the Great Lakes via international cargo ships. Washington can spend billions of dollars on ridiculous pork barrel items but is not willing to spend a dime on worthwhile projects.

As Mr. Estes stated, our President could resolve this matter with a stroke of his pen, but that also will never happen because he is incapable of making decisions that have an apolitical beneficial result (ie, the Keystone pipeline, the new U S/Canadian international bridge downstate). Besides, the mayor of Chicago is his political buddy.

Not that it would do any good, but Mr. Estes should send copies of his article to the President, Congressmen Reid and Boehner as well as our Michigan congressional people in Washington.

Ron Gurdak - Elk Rapids

Who Stole Traverse City?

Downtown Traverse City is becoming a living abortion to common sense. Who came up with the brilliant concept of filling every square foot of space with tall brick buildings that are built within ten feet of the street?

The Traverse City I remember was full of laughing people and children playing. We parked our cars along the streets. Now, the parking meters in front of these buildings are dedicated to the rich few who work in these mausoleums.

Is the Cherry Festival going the way of the dodo bird with triple vendor fees and a format that caters primarily to affluent seasonal visitors? The city fathers can’t even build a simple water park for the kids, without it being polluted, and then not fix it.

The rest of us live, work, and shop here the rest of the year. Our cars bounce across broken streets. We stumble on sidewalks in poor repair that aren’t plowed properly in the winter.

Traverse City has turned into a micro "Big City." Are we the new Pontiac or Detroit? When our city ages, will it turn into a slum, where only the homeless can be seen downtown after 9pm? Who stole Traverse City?

William E. Scott - Traverse City