Posted on Tue, Apr. 29, 2008

Aquila power plant

We are appalled by the Missouri General Assembly’s bill to rescue Aquila (4/25, Local, “House passes bill to keep Aquila power plant intact”). The legislature is backing a company that has made poor judgments — poor management, reckless energy speculation in the Enron years, junk bond status with accompanying sell-off of property, bonuses to the executives after the sale.

Disconnect between the public having to pay for its own mistakes and Aquila is apparent. Changing laws to benefit this company smells.

We are told that it is “law versus logic” by members of the legislature. It would not be reasonable to tear it down, and the public would foot the bill. How about the ruling that Aquila must tear it down with its own money? Don’t they have insurance? Perhaps the executives could refund the bonuses received last year.

Logic, reason and law say people have to be responsible, even Aquila. Now another deal is in the works. Cass County will receive Aquila money (4/26, A-1, “Aquila to pay $1.8 million”). But the law was still broken, and if the legislature “fixes” the law for Aquila after it was broken, God help us.

Karen and Ryland Kolster

Blue Springs

Way to go Cass County. Aquila is ordered to pay $1.8 million in fines and can keep the illegally built plant.

Guess who will pay the fine? Ultimately it will come to the taxpayers and the users of Aquila services.

Richard Hopkins

Raymore

Members of the Missouri House majority must be looking forward to larger-than-usual campaign donations from Aquila this year.

Why else would they override court rulings as well as the violation of Cass County zoning laws to approve an electric power plant? Disgusting!

Marjorie Teter

Warrensburg, Mo.

Although it is within the purview of the legislature to propose new law, when one is as controversial as the current change in the authority of the Public Service Commission to allow electric plant construction approval after the fact, one would think The Star would publish the names of each representative voting in favor of the bill.

Tom Turner

Lee’s Summit

Atheist in Faith section

The Star includes a Faith section in the Saturday edition presumably for the people with noteworthy expressions concerning their faith. So why do you publish the ranting from an atheist on that page? (4/26, Faith, “Saving lives is better than saying prayers.”) Is that not an oxymoron?

A letter from an atheist on the Faith page is misplaced. Give the atheists their own page. Very few will read it, and it won’t litter the space for those of us who know better.

Frank Statesel

Overland Park

As a Christian, my complaint is not that Chuck Lunney, as an atheist, is given space in The Star. It’s where his column is placed that offends me.

If I am reading the Business section, I’m not likely to find a featured column ranting on the failures and fallacies of American capitalism. When I read the Sports section, I’m probably not going to see a piece that suggests that sports fans, in general, have lower IQs than, say, musicians. By placing this column in the Faith section, The Star is essentially saying, “Here’s your religious section, believers, and oh, by the way, none of it’s true.”

I’ve visited with atheists numerous times and have found that they can be every bit as “evangelical” in their “non-belief” as the most conservative Christian. It’s certainly Mr. Lunney’s right to believe as he does, and I wouldn’t begin to try to denigrate him for it (although I suspect he may not know as much about us as he thinks he does). And I’d also have to question the thinking behind putting an atheist on a 12-member “Faith Walk” panel.

I’d be happy to read Mr. Lunney’s opinions again, but in another section.

Steve Parks

St. Joseph

Gun ownership

In response to Mary Sanchez’s column (4/22, Opinion, “Easy access to guns, but no respect for life”), William Shapiro (4/26, Letters) suggests taking away guns as a way to reduce the “carnage.” That is perhaps one of the least thought out, most impractical ideas I’ve heard. Remember how well Prohibition went over? You turn a nation into criminals automatically. Not wise.

Many people, including me, are legal firearm owners (many of us veterans) and cause no problem to society. As an Iraq war veteran, I have stood up and fought for what I believed in before. What makes you think I won’t do it again?

Kyle Schweiger

Olathe

Do proponents of gun ownership really feel they are protected simply by owning a gun? It seems to me that to be really protected one would need to have the gun accessible at all times.

Maybe we’ll eventually have to return to the Wild West and carry guns in holsters. It could make for a booming gun holster business. They could be designed for men and women and come in various colors and designs. They would have to be worn at all times in all places.

Then it would come down to who is the quickest on the draw.

Mary Lou Akright

Leawood

Driving up electricity use

I opened The Star on Earth Day and saw the picture of a pickup truck with an electric cord attached (4/22, A-1, “Getting plugged into what Earth Day is all about”). It caused me a little bewilderment, because I looked for what was on the other end of that cord.

Lo and behold, there it was, that nasty, smoke-belching, carbon-causing power plant. Or, even worse, a death-dealing nuclear power plant. What a cycle we are in. Do not build more power plants but do drive up the usage of electricity.

Somewhere along the line, the need for power and the ability to produce that power are going to meet, and then when we start having brownouts everyone will ask why the power companies didn’t build more capacity. What a quandary.

It reminds me of the grocery bag situation. People hollered, “Don’t use paper bags. They take too many trees. Use plastic.” Now the same people are saying not to use plastic or paper bags.

David Napoli

Kansas City

Give older workers a chance

The fact that the Kansas City Area Development Council “has launched ... a multimedia marketing plan aimed at helping local corporations recruit and retain that coveted 25- to 34-year-old age group” sickens me (4/22, Business, “KC listens to ‘creative class’ ”).

Society continues to exalt the young without any regard for the middle-aged, who are in dire need of jobs to support ourselves. I bet I have more talent in my little finger than the “creative class” the KCADC is marketing

I am tired of seeing the focus on young adults when there are so many others whose talents and skills go unrecognized.

I recently toured the set of a soap opera. I told the tour guide that they need to incorporate overweight, unattractive, older actors into their scripts. He replied, “We’re into creating fantasies, and it wouldn’t work.”

I responded, “If you want a real fantasy, have a love story between a fat, ugly, older woman with a handsome, comparably aged, wealthy man.”

Kansas City and the rest of the world need to recognize that those of us with wrinkles should be recruited and retained for all we are and all we know.

Nan Lorenz

Kansas City

Funds for fighting autism

Congratulations to KU for the creation of the new Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (4/27, Local). This is a huge step toward the diagnosing of the autism spectrum disorder and training for families and teachers. Autism spectrum disorders affect 1 out of 150 children.

Last year the Kansas Legislature did the right thing and funded an autism waiver allowing for early invention to children under age 5 with autism. This waiver funded 25 children. It’s estimated that with early intervention and treatment the program will reduce the need for expensive long-term services and would save Kansas more than 40 times that over the life of each of these children.

Now that legislators are back to work to finalize the state’s budget, I urge Kansas legislators to fund an additional $1.1 million for the autism waiver. There are more than 100 children statewide who are desperately waiting for intervention and treatment.

By working together, families, KU and the Kansas Legislature could help make a profound difference for children with autism.

Lurena Mead

Overland Park

Vegan diet good for Earth

Thanks for The Star’s recent profile of a Kansas City resident making compassionate food choices (4/23, Food, “Vegan diet is a tribute to the Earth”).

More and more people are looking for humane-minded alternatives to factory farm animal products as a way to address both environmental and ethical problems.

Caring people are right to object to the way animals are mistreated on factory farms. It’s abusive to confine pigs, hens and calves in cages so small they can hardly move. No personal choice, including the type of car we drive, has as much impact on the environment as our food choices do.

Humanesociety.org/recipes has more information about adding more healthy and delicious animal-friendly foods to your diet.

Mary Prewitt

State director, The Humane Society

of the United States

Lawrence

Removing ‘retardation’

We wish to clear up misunderstandings that some people have regarding SB756 and HB1627/2076. Both bills would remove the words “mental retardation” from the title of the Division of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. Most of Missouri understands this is a simple name change, though some opponents have some misinformation.

One misunderstanding is that mental retardation is distinctly different from a developmental disability. In reality, mental retardation is one of a variety of developmental disabilities.

Another misunderstanding is that this would somehow remove people with that diagnosis from services or eligibility. In fact, a name change would not change the mission, those eligible for services or those receiving services from the division or contract providers. The legislation clearly states that.

Advocates have been working to get this legislation passed for more than 10 years. The words have come to carry a negative connotation in Missouri and across the nation. Missouri is one of just a few states that still use “mental retardation” in state business.

It is time to implement this simple change to respond to the requests of the people served by the division, their families and supporters.

Shelly Shetley

Chair, Missouri Planning Council

for Developmental Disabilities

Kansas City

Chiefs 2008 draft

Well, the 2008 draft has come and gone. Some say the Chiefs had a fantastic first day with their two first-round picks. The second round wasn’t exactly shabby, either. First-rate players.

Too bad about that. If history is any indicator, training and preseason — as well as part of the regular season — will be gone before “The King” completes “negotiations.”

No big deal. They can spend the rest of the season playing catch-up. But Chiefs fans are used to that.

Neil Simmons

Bates City, Mo.

Now comes the most intriguing part of the draft: Who will sign and when?

Knowing the tight pocketbook of the Hunt family, their need to make money from Chiefs operations and the willingness for King Carl to do their bidding (why else would he still be here?), I’d bet that the acrimony about to follow the draft when it comes to negotiations will lead several of the picks to hate having been drafted by the “Griefs.”

They’ll be champing at the bit, like Jared Allen, to make a mark and then get out of Dodge.

Joe Neuner

Olathe

---