OP eminent domain, The Paseo and to Tyreek Hill word choice

City got it right

Hats off to the Overland Park City Council and professional staff for their forward-thinking approach to staying ahead of growth.

The April 27 story, “Court rules for Overland Park man in eminent domain dispute with city,” noted that when the city justified using eminent domain to acquire about 40 parcels for a road-widening project, only two landowners disagreed with the city’s assessments enough to proceed to court. (4A) To me, that means the city is doing it right.

A long time ago and some distance away, I was a municipal employee involved with projects for the public good that required eminent domain for their completion. It is not to be taken lightly.

Had I written the headline, it would have been, “Overland Park gets it right (again) in planning for the future.” The laws and ordinances spelling out the procedure are well thought out.

Thank you, Overland Park, for suffering the slings and arrows of a few to provide for the many.

Roy Jackson

Overland Park

Honor The Paseo

The name of The Paseo was not the City Council’s to change. The Paseo collectively belongs to all the people of Kansas City. It has belonged to those who have lived in Kansas City since it was named, those who have since died and those who have moved on.

My love for The Paseo began when my children’s father drove me along it in 1981, pointing out its beautiful architecture and telling me of its Hispanic history. Some of his family had moved from Guadalajara, Mexico, in the 1960s to Kansas City. He proudly showed me other aspects of Kansas City’s Hispanic cultural heritage that day.

Kansas City, honor the great Martin Luther King Jr. But do it in another way instead of taking The Paseo. He was truly a remarkable man. Do you think he would have agreed with the manner in which this was done?

Julie Barringer

Kansas City

Turn of phrase

The phrase “In God We Trust” is new to the United States, having been adopted as a motto and printed on our money since only 1956 — just about when our decline as a nation began. This is typical of the mind-set of self-styled “conservatives” — put it all on God to take care of things rather than take responsibility or spend any money themselves.

Missouri legislators who want to post this phrase in every public building with House Bill 577, introduced this year, need to be reminded of another aphorism: “God helps those who help themselves.” They might better spend their privileged time doing something useful to rescue Missouri’s disintegrating bridges and highways — but that would require the courage to govern rather than pander.

Dennis Sentilles

Rocheport, Missouri

States’ goals

The infant mortality rate is determined from the number of deaths of infants occurring in the first year of life from all causes. The rate for the United States is about 5.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, but there is considerable variability among the states, with many achieving rates of 4 to 4.5.

Missouri’s rate is 6.2, representing about 456 deaths of its 73,000 births yearly. Kansas has a rate of 6.1, representing about 221 deaths of its 36,000 births yearly. If these two states committed to lowering their rates to match those of high success states, there would be combined about 180 more infants surviving yearly.

As a physician, I know many, but not all infant deaths are preventable, and some states are leading the way. There is no reason Missouri and Kansas cannot achieve similar success and provide the chance for a long life to one additional infant every two days.

William E. Truog

Kansas City

Not ‘regular’

I am having difficulty understanding why the Jackson County sheriff’s deputy who allegedly caused a crash that disabled a 30-year-old man while traveling at high speed with no siren or lights is being charged with a misdemeanor instead of a felony. (May 3, 6A, “Like ‘Russian roulette’: Deputy’s crash that hurt motorist was avoidable, pursuit experts say”)

Had it been a “regular” driver, wouldn’t the charge have been a felony?

I know law enforcement is supposed to care for us, but there are many ways of doing so — for example, driving with common sense and care for the community.

Ruth Fine

Paola

The wrong word

My alarm as a former journalism instructor blares at The Star’s contention on the front page Friday that a letter by Tyreek Hill’s lawyer “refutes” all claims of child abuse. (“Hill’s lawyer, in letter to NFL, refutes claims of child abuse”)

The Star wouldn’t wish to take sides, but with this word choice, it has — because “refutes” means to prove to be wrong.

The word that has eluded your editors is “disputes,” which means to question the truth of.

Norm Ledgin

Stilwell

Fool me once …

By now it should be more than obvious that the only person being fooled by Royals reliever Wily Peralta is manager Ned Yost.

Tom Hall

Lake Quivira

This story was originally published May 4, 2019 at 8:25 PM.