Letters: KC readers discuss MU basketball, the housing crisis and love for the Chiefs
Sorry, Cuonzo
When is enough enough? At some point, we must face reality: Cuonzo Martin is not getting the job done as the University of Missouri men’s basketball coach. Losing games the way the Tigers have been is the result of coaching, plain and simple.
Coach Martin is a wonderful man and a decent recruiter, but he’s a mediocre coach and motivator. Mizzou basketball deserves more.
Where is Norm when we need him? Let’s face facts and make a change.
- James T. Cook, Prairie Village
Cause, effect
Thursday’s front-page story “Missouri’s new health director resigns; Parson blames Senate” shows that the chickens have come home to roost.
- Brenda Buckner, Kansas City
Housing crisis
Reading The Star’s Jan. 30 front-page story “A force for change” led me to reflect on our housing and homelessness crisis. Not since the Great Depression have we seen the number of homeless individuals and families that we see today in many cities. It is a sin on our nation’s soul. What we are doing is clearly not working.
There will always be good and bad landlords, as there are good and bad tenants. We need a new housing model for broke folks:
▪ Help people who wish to stay in their communities to become homeowners as quickly as possible.
▪ Slim down and keep the renters’ market for those who choose to stay in it, such as people who wish to remain geographically mobile and don’t want to be tied down to Kansas City.
▪ Provide national subsidized permanent supportive housing, including zero rent where need be, for the sick and extremely indigent (the folks we see on the streets daily).
As I’m sure is true for many of us, the little but comfortable wealth my family has accumulated is the result of equity from smart home purchases and financing over the years, company profit-sharing and retirement programs, hard work, living frugally, luck and the advantages of white privilege. Not everybody enjoys the same.
- Kathleen Kennedy, Kansas City
Turned it around
My wife had to listen to my whining and complaining for hours after Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. She was devastated, too. But after recovering from my foolish tirade the next day, my appreciation for our Kansas City Chiefs came back into focus.
We still live in a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world, so it’s easy to forget what this team has done for this city, both in the past and the present. Anyone who is being honest with themselves wondered what was going on with our team this season as losses were mounting.
Just remember what happened after starting 3-4. This team, with its immense talent and will to win, won the next nine of 10 and stormed into the playoffs. Our expectations were heightened after beating Buffalo in a game for the ages.
We are still hurting because the talent within this team and organization have given us so much to be excited about. Amazingly, my wife now watches every Chiefs telecast and has become a student of the game.
So, I apologize to the Kansas City Chiefs for the few hours of forgetting what this team means to me and this city.
- Marlon Buie, Kansas City
Take heart
February is Heart Month, and Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week is Feb. 7-14. Fittingly, Feb. 14 is not just Valentine’s Day — it’s also CHD Awareness Day.
More than 2.5 million Americans live with a congenital heart defect. As an adult living with one, I am writing to share that heart defects are the most common type of birth defect in the United States, affecting approximately 1 in 100 births. Many defects are life-threatening and require surgical or catheter interventions in childhood.
Because most children receive CHD treatment and live to adulthood, this has (fortunately) led to a growing population of adults with heart defects. The Adult Congenital Heart Association exists because it’s estimated that fewer than 10% of adults with CHD receive specialized care for it. The association empowers the CHD community by advancing access to resources and specialized care that improve patient-centered outcomes.
All babies born with heart defects should have the opportunity to thrive throughout their lifespans, not just to age 18. Help us reach our vision that every adult with CHD receives specialized cardiac care.
- Adam Ehlert, ACHA Patient & Family Advisory Board member, Overland Park
We all counted
I’m a liberal, professional, Democratic white woman who has voted in Missouri since the 1960s. In this state, I’ve seldom counted on my vote to win, but I’ve always known it would be counted.
My family and friends from both political parties have been heads of county election boards. I myself have counted ballots. I cherish my right and the rights of my fellow Americans to vote, regardless of party.
Is it any wonder then that this admitted perennial loser at the ballot box questions the sincerity of Republican officials across our country who continue to call our elections rigged, illegal and unfair?
I’m sorry, but I don’t get it. Republicans should know better than to say their almost-always-winning votes weren’t counted in 2020. (GOP candidates won up and down the ticket for offices other than president in the same election.) Their votes were legitimate, and in their hearts, they know it.
- Sue Wright, Liberty