School vs. Lynnwood
Lynnwood should pay their fair share
As a life-long resident of Mountlake Terrace and a graduate of Mountlake Terrace High School, I find the recent article about the City of Lynnwood and their dealings with the Edmonds School District to be nothing short of disgusting and totally reprehensible. They have the power to adjust parking requirements at schools and it is certainly within their power to adjust an ordinance with regard to this site. Why not alter the current parking code and salvage what remains of the City’s dignity? They entered into an agreement with a public agency that performs a far more honorable task and then take the first chance to back out of an agreement and pass charges along to an already cash-strapped organization.
Lynnwood could off-set the impact of future, unknown costs by purchasing adjacent property (in addition to the adjacent property they already have). When, or if additional parking stalls were needed, they could just sell the additional land to the District at a deflated price and absorb the impact of future development by paying today’s dollars.
Ultimately, the determination of parking requirements falls upon the City and their planning department. If they are committed to treating schools like businesses, then don’t be surprised when asked to pay your fair share.
The issue that really makes my skin crawl is the long term effects of this failing deal. From my view over here in Mountlake Terrace, it would seem that the City of Lynnwood wants the collective municipalities comprising the Edmonds School District (and passing bonds on their behalf) to subsidize this project for the benefit of Lynnwood. That just stinks. Homeowners in the District pay property tax. A significant portion of this tax goes toward supporting the great work of the Edmonds School District. This school was purchased with our tax dollars and when Lynnwood backs out of their agreement, the rest of the District’s tax base will have to cover the cost of this expanded gym.
Furthermore, Mountlake Terrace entered into the same sort of arrangement at Terrace Park Elementary and paid in full and promptly for the expanded portion of the gymnasium at Terrace Park. While our city leaders saw a great deal and jumped at the chance to improve the quality of life for everyone, Lynnwood appears to be stealing milk money from school children.
MAREK SOLOMON
Mountlake Terrace
War
Conflict in Iraq would leave us vulnerable
Bush says, “Time is running out on Saddam Hussein.” It may very well be, but truly patriotic, thinking Americans have even less time to voice their objections to the United States “going it alone” on a bizarre escapade half a world away (in the very midst of hordes who have no reason to trust us) that will jeopardize our troops, place our homeland at risk, and could have devastating consequences to us and the rest of the world, quite possibly another world war.
Despite refutations by hawkish members of his administration, Bush has used the UN only to gain the time to amass our troops and build the costly logistical facilities to conduct the war. It is true that he cannot keep the troops in limbo for long and will hope to save his political reputation by with a quick victory, no matter the horrific after effects.
Bush equates righteousness only to power, but North Korea has proven that we do not have the touted military capability to support a war on two fronts. The US will have 350,000 well seasoned troops in an isolated area subject to annihilation with little reserve of trained replacements and no draft to call up novice citizens to protect our homeland. The west coast of the United States would be defenseless against a coalition of China, North Korea, Iran, etc. Under attack, our country will burn like few others because we are wood, not concrete.
SANFORD E. WEBB
Lynnwood
U.N.’s ineffectiveness leaves U.S. no choice
Despite the well orchestrated protests against our nation’s policy of disarming Iraq and ending the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, our President and our troops are about to finish the job we started 12 years ago. We will once again be victorious.
One complaint protesters have lodged against President Bush is that the United States is acting like the Policeman of the World. I understand. I don’t like it either. Yet, protesters should more carefully weigh the effects of the United Nations taking over the Iraq problem. The U.N. as the World Chatterbox has a poor track record of dealing with conflict in concrete ways. Witness the United Nations’ handling of the Rwanda civil war. While U.N peacekeepers sat by over 500,000 Hutus and Tutsis massacred each other. After all the atrocities were over the U.N. chattered eloquently over its failures, papered it over with promised remedies, and forgot about it.
Should we turn the Iraq problem over to the United Nations? What would we likely see it accomplish? More conversations and resolutions.
The list of United Nations peacekeeping failures is long, its successes short. By default the United States is the Policeman of the world. We enforce a Pax Americana (Peace of America) over the entire Earth because no other civilized body will. I, for one, would be glad to give up the role of Policeman in much of the world if other international players would be willing to work with the U.S. to truly get the job done rather than endlessly talk about the world’s problems and blame America first. That eliminates the U.N.
CRAIG SPICER
Lynnwood
War would trigger
radiation poisoning
This is a difficult subject for many people to face, but I feel it is important to remind ourselves again that part of the inevitable price-tag of war in Iraq is radiation poisoning. Not from a nuclear bomb, but from the depleted uranium encased bullets which will be used in this war. The uranium makes bullets harder so they can pierce metals. They explode and on impact are converted into gaseous uranium oxide or a fine uranium powder which settle in the ground or are carried by the wind. Three hundred tons of depleted uranium were used in the last Gulf War. Iraqi children in great numbers have contracted malignancies thought to be caused by the 100 million grams of uranium dust left behind after the U.S. left Iraq.
If this seems far away and unreal, after all, these are children we’ve never seen, I think it is important to remind ourselves, especially in the state of Washington, that these very same bullets are being tested by exploding them in prime fishing areas in our state. The same uranium powder the children of Iraq have ingested, our children too, will take into their bodies. There are many important questions to ask about this war. One of the most important is, at what cost?
GAIL DiBERNARDO
Brier
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