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Monday, September 28, 1998
OUR READERS RESPOND
Voting no
To the editor:
In the November election, voters will be asked to subsidize growth, again, in two measures. One is a property tax continuation for school construction. The other is a quarter-cent sales tax increase sought by the water district. The argument for both taxes is that current residents must share in the costs of growth. I am going to vote no on both.
The school board has asked for another bond issue (or a continuation) in every election for the past 10 years. Enough. This can be done differently, and it's time it was. Developers could be required to provide infrastructure as a condition of their construction permits, or via 10- to 15-year special assessment zones. New construction areas could pay for their own infrastructure. Watch the school board begin to threaten young mommies and daddies with double sessions soon. It always does.
The water district is disingenuous when it asserts that: "Tourists would pay a large share of the tax collected, thus reducing the burden on local residents and businesses."
If the quarter-cent tax is approved: developers pay 57 percent of the water system improvements; rate increases cover 13 percent; locals would pay 12 percent through the new sales tax; impact fees pick up 5 percent; and the sales tax would hit tourists for an estimated 9 percent.
If rejected: developers pay 79 percent; rate increases 21 percent.
With the quarter-cent tax increase, locals pay 25 percent of the costs instead of 21 percent. The real beneficiaries are developers who gain a reduction in costs (which are passed on anyway) of 22 percent. Why would we want to bite the tourist hand that feeds us? Why would we prevent current property from increasing in value with a public tax subsidy that puts new construction in direct price competition with existing houses?
DAVID PALAY
Las Vegas
Bridge for sale
To the editor:
I'd like to respond to the Sept. 20 letter from Ruben Q. Yabut. The scenarios he presented in an effort to show that President Clinton did not lie when he said he didn't have a relationship with Monica Lewinsky were flawed. In each incident he described, the woman was a victim of rape. President Clinton was hardly a victim, and certainly wasn't raped.
I agree, Ms. Lewinsky originally may have been the aggressor in their relationship. However, if the president wasn't interested he needed only to call one of his agents to have her removed (a simple act for the most powerful man in the world). Mr. Clinton was a more than willing participant. He "invited" Ms. Lewinsky into the Oval Office on at least 12 occasions for sex and called her numerous times on the telephone for "phone sex."
If the president has such a lack of self-control, he shouldn't be near the "red button" that could herald in another war.
If you still believe the president's mind and soul were telling the truth when he said he did not have a sexual relationship with "that woman, Ms. Lewinsky," then I have a beautiful bridge I'd like to sell you, Mr. Yabut.
WANDA J. STILT
Dolan Springs, Ariz.
Ouch!
To the editor:
Las Vegas was started by crooks. Now we have politicians. Is this a form of down-sizing?
MYRON J. CHUCHMAN
Las Vegas
Capable staff
To the editor:
Al DiCicco should have finished med school (letter, Sept. 16). Diet, allergies and home life causing attention-deficit disorder? I suppose children born with spina bifida are from dysfunctional families too.
There is overwhelming scientific evidence of bio-chemical abnormalities in children with attention-deficit disorder/hyperactivity disorder. There is also evidence that it is genetic in its pathology and quite easily separated from other behavioral and mental disorders as the cause of the disorder by historical analysis of the child's parents, grandparents and siblings and careful observation by professionals.
There are equally sufficient studies that show that dexedrine, Adderol, Ritalin and the other widely accepted first-line therapies for the disorder are benign in their effects (Ritalin has been prescribed for well more than three decades for attention-deficit disorder/hyperactivity disorder). There are many long-term studies which demonstrate that these drugs are safe and harmless in children with the disorder even when taken into early adulthood.
Unfortunately the fiercest affliction in our society is the ignorance that is exhibited by those who would remove sugar, food coloring, rug mites, and normal familial strife from contact with the child. These detractors would probably prefer to bring a shaman and an exorcist into the homes of every family who has a bright but inexplicably challenged child.
Dr. Corydon Clark (the subject of Mr. DiCicco's letter) and others like him are pioneers in the understanding of biochemically induced aberrations of the intellectual process we call learning. Dr. Clark's first step in any diagnosis is one of consulting family history and observational feedback from teachers and parents both
prior to and during prescriptive intervention. This approach is coupled with the availability of a capable family counselor, independent reading and research by the parents, and the assistance of organizations that are fighting everyday to over come such baleful ignorance.
As someone who grew up with undiagnosed attention-deficit disorder, I am happy to be able to offer my child the help that I lacked. I am grateful that there are people like Dr. Clark and his caring and capable staff.
JOHN MOXON
Las Vegas
Grace and eloquence
To the editor:
The endless variety of topics available to the Review-Journal for its opinion and commentary pages must make selection of what to print difficult. But you couldn't miss in printing 91-year-old Katherine D. Ahrens' account of building a trust toward policemen as friends when she was five ("On the right side," Sept. 20).
Apart from the poignancy of her message is the inward inspiration -- at least to those of us who are `getting there' -- that we might not only reach her age with clear thinking, but once there we could also write and communicate such well-founded memories and impressions with anything close to her grace and eloquence.
LEO D. TAFOLLA
Las Vegas
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