Toys instead of fines

Drivers hate parking tickets. They hate all tickets, of course, but many motorists reserve a special vitriol for nuisance fines resulting from innocuous offenses seemingly on the books not to ensure safety but to create a steady revenue stream for municipal bureaucrats.

That’s why Councilman Bob Beers deserves a ton of credit for offering one of the more innovative proposals to come out of Las Vegas City Hall in years. Mr. Beers has sponsored an ordinance that would allow drivers to satisfy certain parking tickets with charitable donations — foodstuffs, clothing, toys — rather than fines.

The initial program wouldn’t be permanent, running instead just a few times a year. Some violations, such as double parking or parking in a fire lane, would still carry a fine. But those ticketed for minor parking offenses — failing to feed a meter, for instance — could substitute a donation to a charitable endeavor for the monetary penalty.

“It’s not an amnesty program, but basically it’s an opportunity to assist in helping the community food banks or local charities,” said Serafin Calvo, the city’s parking services administrator. “An equal or greater value would be acceptable.”

A handful of other cities, including Albany and Tallahasseee, have experimented with similar programs, some even allowing donations in lieu of fines for moving violations.

The approach offers many potential advantages for drivers, the city and the community at large. Not only could it reduce the number of offenders seeking to challenge such citations, it may also decrease the number of scofflaws who choose to tear up their tickets in anger rather than write a check to the issuing government. Meanwhile, the benefits to those in need are obvious.

The City Council is scheduled to consider the issue on June 15. Questions involving eligible charities would seem the only potential hurdle. Otherwise, this is a no-brainer.

A May 28 Review-Journal story pointed out that the intersection of U.S. Highway 95 and the 215 Beltway is heavily used, but there are not enough funds available to complete a major section of the interchange at this time (“First portion of Centennial Bowl interchange opens”).

In a May 21 letter to the editor, Tim Aiken pointed out that a major portion of the Spaghetti Bowl remodel is a car-pool lane flyover, which is a complete waste of money because very few people use car-pool lanes, even during crowded rush hours.

To better serve the public and put gasoline tax revenues to their highest use, here’s an easy solution: Drop the Interstate 15 flyover and put the funds toward completing the needed Centennial Bowl interchange.

Yes, this would eliminate a politically and environmentally correct — but unnecessary — project. Yet it would send a message to the public that important needs come first.

A number of years ago, my father, while visiting a casino buffet, suffered a massive heart attack and died. He did so while holding an appointment to see his family doctor in the next two weeks.

Now, someone with an ax to grind against that doctor could have said that my father died while waiting for his doctor. Yes, he died. Yes, he could not see his family physician for another two weeks. Under that definition, folks, most of us will in fact die while waiting to see our doctor.

The Review-Journal and now the Republican presidential candidate have both used just such a definition in criticizing the care provided by VA hospitals. In doing so, they have carelessly attacked the care and concern for patients given by these hospitals’ staff.

Several years ago, The VA’s inspector general issued a report that a number of VA hospitals had fudged some waiting time statistical reports. But nowhere in that report was there a finding that actual medical care had suffered as a result. Were responsible staff members rightfully held to account? Yes. But that report did not say that veterans were dying because of wait times, as charged by Donald Trump.

That is the danger of using false statistics and bad definitions for political reasons. They get picked up by “know-nothings” such as Mr. Trump and used as if they were fact. An apology is owed to the medical staff at our VA hospitals. Amy Nile’s Tuesday article, “Student to miss graduation by a point: “Gotta keep pushing’,” reads like it is some sort of travesty that a Canyon Springs senior missed passing the standardized math test by a single point. In reality, the school is doing this young man a tremendous service by having him reach the level of competence that is demanded from this exam.

Given that the student in question aspires to attend the Air Force Academy, he will be taking an entrance exam with rigid requirements in all subjects — including math. The competition will be fierce. Safe to say that if he wants his best shot at admission, he should not only get past the one-point barrier of the high school test but also take the summer to get all the way up the curve and ace it.

Beyond the drama of this example, it is stunning to note that almost 17 percent of the Clark County School District’s graduating class failed at least one of the four exit exams. The failure rate is alarming but this story is the best example I have seen in a long time of our school system ensuring that our kids are driven and pushed to achieve the minimum testing scores that are in place.

The article notes, however, that this testing will be suspended for two years while the exams are reviewed and modified. Ridiculous. Two graduating classes will not have the benefit of these tests, which serve as genuine benchmarks for graduates indicating their preparedness for the next level of education.

Who thinks this stuff up?