Letter to the Editor: March 22, 2024

Warding off the drizzle

Where does Michele Reeves come from? Not the Pacific Northwest, apparently.

It has been known to rain here. Awnings are to keep people dry while they walk up and down Third Street, look in shop windows and close their umbrellas before they enter a store, restaurant or wine bar.

In support of her opposition to awnings, this consultant tells us, “The experience you provide people on the sidewalk is directly tied to the value of every piece of property and every use that’s downtown.”

Well, part of that experience is staying out of the rain. So how about just making the awnings more attractive?

Danni Hendricks

McMinnville

All wet

Michelle Reeves, an “urban strategist,” says we in McMinnville have a “strange attachment to awnings” on our downtown buildings. (March 15)

I’ll tell you what my strange attachment to awnings is: I don’t like to get wet when it’s raining. Also, I like shade on hot summer days.

When all the Third Street trees are cut down, it’s going to get hotter than ever. And newly planted trees aren’t going to provide any shade, at least not in my lifetime.

Save the awnings!

Lucinda Huffine

McMinnville

Not true

A letter last week on President Biden’s State of the Union address demands rebuttal. The writer says Biden omitted or glossed over four issues. He did not.

1) Ukraine was the first substantial topic addressed. Biden used the word “Ukraine” eight times. As for accountability, 90% of U.S. aid stays here to pay for weaponry built here. Biden also devoted 573 words to the Middle East.

2) The writer addressed economics of personal concern, but no specifics from Biden’s economic message, which accounted for the largest part of his address. Biden inherited an economy reeling from then President Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic. He took note of the recovery his team brought about. Consider the amazingly low unemployment rate, impressive wage growth, quick pull-back from the inflation spike, recent record highs in stock indexes and much-ballyhooed recession that failed to appear.

3) In the writer’s mind, women’s rights include the right not to face “men claiming to be women to expose themselves in women’s locker rooms.” This is made-up right-wing hooey. Using it to conflate abortion access and transgender rights is beyond comprehension. In fact, Biden got one of his best reactions when he addressed the Supreme Court justices sitting below him. He told them women would be energized to vote to protect their health care as a result of the Dobbs decision, earning a standing ovation on the Dem side while Republicans sat on their hands.

4) On immigration, Biden described agreement with Congress to add 1,500 border agents, 100 immigration judges, 4,300 asylum officers and 100 additional drug detection machines, only to see Trump have House Republicans put the kibosh on it. So much for Republicans wanting to tighten borders. When Trump needs an election attack line, that takes precedence.

Don’t just take the writer’s word, or mine. Go read it for yourself or watch the YouTube video.

Brad Thompson

McMinnville