YOu SAY: Letters to tHe eDitor

Commuting nightmare

Re: March 6 article, “90,000 travel from Williamson to Travis.”

Thanks for this incisive and telling article. Our commute is an intolerable nightmare, and it increasingly is becoming worse. Now, our county and state officials must devise a commuter rail system for this five-county area, get the funding (increase the gasoline tax), and start to work. Delays are no longer an option. S. Martin ‘Marty’ Shelton Georgetown

Deeds outweigh words

Texas has some good laws, like the Good Samaritan law and the law that requires citizens to report child and elderly abuse. But the Legislature should pass a law that allows nursing homes to practice the Good Samaritan law, too. Plus, Republicans in Austin need to stop being hypocrites and give needy Texans access to Medicaid. It seems the governor and most Republicans are pretending to be good Christians in word but not by deed.

Edward Lindsay edsays@yahoo.com Fort Worth

Bag ban and tourism

Re: March 2 article, “A day at the grouserie? Not for bag ban’s debut.”

I have been following the articles on the plastic bag ban in Austin and still keep coming up with the same question: How are visitors to our area going to carry their groceries and souvenirs? We pride ourselves on the great events that bring tourists from all over the world, and I haven’t seen anything in the coverage about nonresident convenience. I have traveled to a place that had the bag ban and was unable to carry the items I had chosen for purchase without a bag. Therefore, I made a choice; I did not purchase the items and did not spend those tourists dollars that the area’s economy expected.

Is it going to be a requirement for visitors and tourists to pack reusable bags in their luggage?

Suzy Miller Georgetown

Trashing entitlements

The ban on throw-away plastic bags has thrown another entitlement to the wayside. Although, not to the side of the road. David Freeman Austin

City Council’s overreach

Re: March 6 letter to the editor, “He’ll shop elsewhere.”

I live in Northwest Travis County, and I have a Cedar Park address, and I receive all of my “city” services from them or the county. I cannot vote on Austin City Council or mayoral elections, yet the bag ban extends its tentacles out to the stores in this area (H-E-B, Target, Wal-Mart, etc). Parts of Lakeline Mall are affected, but not all. One store was forced to comply with the ban and another was not. Makes for a fun shopping excursion, by the way. So much for impulse purchases. I too will be taking my shopping and tax dollars to places in Williamson County that are not under the jurisdiction of the Austin City Council. Rachelle Neverdahl Cedar Park

Denying a living wage

Re: March 4 article, “‘Living wage’ proviso targeted.”

Republican Rep. Kenneth Sheets introduced a bill that would forbid cities from requiring construction companies seeking contracts for work on publicly subsidized projects to pay their workers a “living wage.” Of course, Republicans have a selfinterest in this since the worker’s family would then slowly die from starvation without a “living” wage. This would eliminate Democratic voters as well as the Social Security and Medicare funding problems, since these workers and their families will not live long enough to get any of these benefits. This should fit right in with Gov. Rick Perry’s business friendly mantra to ensure that the robber barons once again gorge at the economic trough while workers’ families starve.

Greg Ceshker Dripping Springs

Holly takes Rainey’s load

Re: Feb. 27 article, “Rainey Street parking switching to paid.”

Last week the city began charging for parking on Rainey Street. Apparently, people who used to park on Rainey Street during the day aren’t interested in paying for parking. They have just moved to Holly Street. I have offstreet parking, but I can hardly get out of my driveway! I am used to a busy street on the weekend and during events downtown, but Holly Street has been full since the first day of paid parking on Rainey.

This was started because people complained that there were no sidewalks on Rainey Street. People are going to use those paid parking spaces on Rainey Street in the evening to visit the bars on Rainey Street. But guess what? Still no sidewalks on Rainey Street. Denise Brouillette Austin

Raw milk good for you

Re: March 3 letter to the editor, “Raw milk is dangerous.”

In answer to the pediatric nurse who condemns raw milk: Before pasteurization, human beings drank only raw milk, and they usually either had a cow at home or obtained it locally. This, I feel, is the standard that allows us to be able to buy raw milk safely.

The “danger” in it is not in the milk itself but in the source, the dairy. Buying directly from a dairy that maintains strict hygiene standards avoids the problem; we have been drinking it for several years and never experienced any effects.

It actually keeps as long or longer than commercial milk and contains the enzymes that are so healthy for the body. Boiling milk is tantamount to killing it, so any nutritional value in store-bought milk is in the substances added by the company. If bought from a sanitary dairy, it is not “dangerous.” Melanie Richards Round Rock