Woman president, KCI benefits and drunk driving checkpoints

Time has come

It is time for the United States to elect a woman as president. I think if we got three or more candidates from each party to run for the nomination, it might happen.

I am an 83-year-old man, and I would like to see it happen before my time runs out.

Richard Bannister

Edwardsville, Kansas

The big picture

Arriving a mere hour and a half before my flight’s departure time, I recently casually walked into Kansas City International Airport, checked my bag and went through security. I even had time to grab a coffee.

But while our airport provides convenience, it leaves something to be desired.

The new terminal project at KCI will bring jobs, tourists and tax revenue to Kansas City. With a new terminal will come restaurants and storefronts in need of employees to serve airport visitors. With a new terminal will come the ability to accommodate layovers — and thus more flights and more travelers spending money that benefits the local economy.

With additional flights through Kansas City, the need for baggage handlers, ticketing agents and security agents will increase. Again, that means more local jobs. Additionally, with a new terminal will come the possibility of international flights to and from Kansas City, which would be a convenience for local travelers.

Though change is difficult, the new airport terminal is just one step, lined with many benefits, on the path of moving Kansas City into the future.

Lorna Green

Raytown

In the details

Sales taxes are regressive and have the most egregious impact on low-income earners. They are not usually — or at least should not be — used to finance big projects such as infrastructure and education. As a rule, what are known as “ad valorem” taxes are used in these situations. They are based on the value of one’s property, and thus the costs are more evenly spread among people with the means to afford them.

Local politicians don’t like this approach, as it makes it too easy for people to see the impact on their tax bills. So, with lack of fortitude, they use the ruse of a three-eighths- or half-percent sales taxes to try to convince the populace.

The wise voters of Kansas City and Platte County saw through this subterfuge Tuesday and defeated sales tax propositions for pre-kingergarten and a new jail, respectively.

However, the burghers of Parkville passed a sales tax increase for what the ballot language called “funding for local parks” — vague, nothing specific. This basically is an annual slush fund of some $500,000 over the next 10 years.

Apparently, voters will say yes on anything with the word “park” in it.

Ken Hedden

Kansas City

Check them out

As a longtime Missouri resident and the national law enforcement initiatives manager for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, I am deeply troubled by the actions of Missouri legislators who, for the third year, are taking action that would limit the ability for law enforcement to enforce our impaired driving laws.

For the past two years, the Missouri General Assembly has banned the use of federal traffic-safety funds for conducting sobriety checkpoints in our state. This misguided limit on law enforcement resources is up again this year. Our elected officials should reject it.

My 31-year career in law enforcement and my tenure as Missouri Highway Patrol superintendent taught me this: Officers need all the tools available to fight this scourge.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, well-publicized checkpoints reduce drunk driving crashes by 20%. That’s significant in Missouri, where 254 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in 2017. Drunk driving crashes increased 9% from 2014 to 2017.

Clearly, this is not the time to remove proven drunk driving countermeasures. Yet, here we are again, trying to save checkpoints as an option for law enforcement.

The numbers are going in the wrong direction. That’s why this must end.

Ron Replogle

Ozark, Missouri

Don’t dump it

Recently, while traveling on Blue River Road from Bannister Road to U.S. 71 and on through Swope Park, I observed the outrageous and appalling amount of trash discarded alongside the road. Disgusting.

Kansas City provides a no-charge bulky-item service for pickup of many of the items I saw discarded — a recliner, an office chair, a table. Dial 311 or visit kcmo.gov/311 to make a request. The city also has a service for weekly trash pickup.

Dumping trash on what should be a beautiful road is inexcusable.

Jane Watters