Letters to the Editor
Cop-outs, instead of tough decisions
I am very disappointed Gov. Chet Culver mandated our state agencies to reduce their budgets by 10 percent. This is a very simplistic solution to a very complex problem. Any third-rate bureaucrat could have come up with this. This is a cop-out to avoid making the hard decisions that come with setting priorities. He has assumed all the agencies are equal in importance and all have things they can do without. This is a false assumption.
The State Patrol is to cut its funding by 10 percent. Its budget is largely personnel. The primary causes of highway accidents and deaths are speed and liquor. Are we supposed to assume that with fewer troopers on the road, fewer drivers will speed or drive drunk? Not likely.
What happens to the right to a speedy trial with 10 percent cuts in the judiciary? Fewer teachers who are not fairly paid means Iowa will lose teachers to those states where workloads are reasonable and salaries are better.
These are basic needs for every society. All else is secondary. A governor’s job is to lead and to give direction. We need and deserve better than what we are getting.
George Dane
Iowa City resident
East Side better for Hancher
Proponents of the West Side location for Hancher Auditorium are glossing over its terrible traffic congestion. I used to live in an apartment on Ellis Avenue above the Hancher complex. Weeklong Broadway performances would tie up Riverside Drive, River Road, Park Street, and Dubuque Street for more than two hours a night.
These consecutive performances (five nights, plus two weekend matinees) would make it difficult for residents to drive anywhere. The Red and Blue Cambus routes were always delayed. Riverside Drive often floods after heavy rain storms. Late snowstorms would cause people to get stuck near the train underpass, causing gridlock.
Traffic flow is far superior at the proposed East Side location. Every evening, thousands of people leave downtown with only minor congestion.
James Edelen
UI junior
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