Orange cones are the new state symbol

After doing a lot of driving around the metro area at all hours, I’m amazed at the number of orange barrels and cones blocking traffic lanes. The mystifying part is that most of these areas never have any work being done. Why?

Could it possibly be that transportation officials are purposely inconveniencing motorists in an effort to influence them concerning Question 5? In their infinite wisdom, I guess they have not considered that this could backfire with voters who are sick of the blocked driving lanes and don’t wish the practice to expand.

Bill Koski

Las Vegas

School daze

According to Daniel Weisberg’s Thursday commentary (“What’s the value of a high school diploma?”), children come to school with pencils and three-ring binders and their parents attend back-to-school conferences. There is more. He says the sobering statistics concerning high school graduation can’t be blamed on things such as a lack of effort by the students, a lack of involvement by the parents or things like poverty.

What planet is he on?

There are many factors that affect a child’s education and these are all important. Kids come to school hungry, tired and unprepared for the day at school — they don’t all have a three-ring binder and pencils and many don’t show up to school at all.

Then there is the issue of 40 or more in a classroom, the biggest single factor in a child’s education.

Mr. Weisberg’s solution is Common Core. Does he know that Common Core has been instituted in the classroom for many years? It has its good and bad points, but to say that all we have to do is adopt Common Core is just not factual.

Mr. Weisberg has an agenda when you see who he represents. He is CEO of TNTP, a private education system. Why would the Review-Journal give so much space to someone who is just advertising for his own welfare? I guess he is counting on all the people who read his commentary to be less than educated. Wrong there.

John Pauli

Las Vegas

Backdoor scheme

Liberals, as usual, cloak their agenda in noble words — i.e. “background checks.” But a real background check consists of the seller calling the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and asking if the buyer is on the proscribed list.

Instead, supporters of Question 1 want to implement a system in which all future sales result in the registration of said firearms with the government, knowing that you can’t seize ’em until you know who has ’em and where they are.

If I buy two firearms at one time, I have to pass only one background check but still have to register both guns. Why? Please vote “no” on this backdoor registration scheme.

Albert Krause

Beaver Dam, Ariz.

Not allowed

Caroline Feng’s letter last week in support of the housing development on Blue Diamond Hill was full of the same rhetoric we have been hearing in our community for the past 55 years in favor of developers. Oh, how sad that developers may not be able to build in certain areas. Boo hoo.

How great that our community loves Red Rock with a mighty love. For more than half a century we have worked to ensure that this beautiful piece of our earthly home is protected. As our population grew, so too did the love for Red Rock. Its spectacular beauty speaks for itself. Not to mention all the Native American culture sites therein.

Protecting the integrity of Red Rock means that 5,000-plus houses will not be built on Blue Diamond Hill. Our community will not allow it.

Terri Robertson

Las Vegas