Letters to the Editor: Bus problems. Nullifying our history. Pay people to work.

Lextran plans

As a former Lextran rider I found myself reluctantly agreeing with a recent Herald-Leader opinion piece by Barry Saturday. Without determining why Lexington residents cannot or will not ride the bus, the city wants to try to “socially engineer” behavior, which rarely works. It is similar to the federal government’s fruitless attempts to control reproduction among the poor by coercing (chiefly fathers) to repay the government for benefits received by the single parent (usually the mother) and child. The result is a bloated enforcement system that ends up costing more than its goal. I have ridden buses in larger cities because: 1. They run on a regular basis; 2. They are reliable; 3. There is so little parking in the dense downtowns that driving a car is an ordeal, and 4. The buses stop at the corner, not in the middle of the block. A city devoted to parking lots for its suburban residents is never going to have a thriving bus system. The convenience of riding the bus has to outweigh the convenience of driving a personal vehicle. Until that is true, wasting money trying to model Lexington on large city behaviors is not going to work.

Sally Wasielewski, Lexington

Sad history

Herald-Leader opinions columnist Linda Blackford’s recent take on the efforts to save the Miller and Watkins houses created a pang of sorrow on my part. It took me back to the struggle three years or so ago to save the Peoples Bank building. I try to avoid passing this spot at West High Street and South Broadway, for it still raises feelings of anger. The Krikorian edifice at the corner is hideous and cheap to say the least. The spot where the bank stood is just a couple of parking spaces. What historic nullification and sacrifice to make some big bucks! Lexington’s attempt to Disneyize itself is producing some horrifying results. I remember what happened in the years I lived in San Diego. The developers had a field day and the city now looks like a pinball machine. It looks like this is the current fashion nationwide. Goodbye to any remnants of the 20th century and hello to domination by the corporate/congressional Republican complex.

Dominic Martina, Lexington

Why, GOP?

Here’s one for you — Republicans in Arizona have contracted renowned investigative firm Cyber Ninjas to look for bamboo fibers on ballots cast in the 2020 election, in order to bolster some whacked-out conspiracy theory that those ballots were shipped in from China in order to give Joe Biden the victory in their state. Yet Republicans in Washington are actively obstructing the creation of a bipartisan panel to investigate the attack on our government on Jan. 6. With apologies to the late, great Andy Rooney, “Why is that?”

Ross DeAeth, Lexington

Pay to work

Our mistake by paying $300 of stimulus money for the unemployed is that people are being paid not to work. Why not pay people to actually go to work? People who get new jobs should get an addition to their hourly wages instead of a $300 lump sum to stay at home. This could make a lower or minimum wage job much more attractive.

But then, the entire state unemployment division may have to be replaced with a private contractor to get ANYTHING done.

John Slivon, Nicholasville

McConnell a ‘scoundrel’

We know what House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is wanting to hide. What is Sen. Mitch McConnell trying to hide or defend? We all saw the insurrection on TV, the destruction of the U.S. Capitol, the violence against the Capitol security force and the degradation of our society and principles. I wonder why the American people can’t find out the basics: who and why.

The “grim reaper” helped to push through an anti-hate bill against Asian-Americans, which I am happy and glad it happened, in record time and with overwhelming support, but refuses to debate a bill to protect the future of our nation.

It is sad the future of our American democracy is in the hands of such an unscrupulous, self-serving scoundrel. A person who fears and runs from the truth, so he can single-handedly defend destroying our two party system, thus our democracy.

J.A. Hernández, Lexington