Median designs need work

The sorry state of city-designed and maintained road medians is disturbing to say the least. Those created and maintained by local landscapers are the exception and are much appreciated. The aesthetics and maintenance of Albuquerque medians stand in sharp contrast to those in Santa Fe.

What is going on here? Is it a lack of will, money, expertise or other issues or all of the above? The poor design of some of our medians is comical with some of them higher in the middle than the sides, causing precipitation to drain away from the plants and trees. We can do better, Santa Fe.

Rob Grundy Santa Fe

Condemn violence

The Santa Fe Branch of the NAACP is outraged by the tragic loss of lives in the recent shootings in Atlanta. Further, we condemn Texas Congressman Chip Roy, who, during the congressional hearings on the Atlanta murders, unapologetically made a statement involving ropes and trees, thereby resurrecting the horror of lynching. This remark is reprehensible in terms of human relationships, is a perpetuation of injustice of the most severe kind and, further, encourages toxic degradation of public discourse.

Remarks like these should not be left unchallenged or uncondemned. Encouraging violence in response to violence does nothing to dampen hatred and denigration of “the other,” in this case Asian American and Pacific Islander women who have historically been seen as objects of eroticism, and toward whom these remarks encourage further violence.

Louis Levin, Ph.D. president Bo Keppel vice president and Doris Page, M.D. past president Santa Fe Branch, NAACP

Solve the problem

It’s time to invite those who most value and best understand firearms to solve the terrible gun violence problem. Firearms advocates number in the millions, and they have resources and experience. Give them time, say three years, to make a significant dent in the number of Americans killed with guns. That includes mass shootings, such as we’ve seen in Atlanta and Boulder, Colo., of late, but also individual shootings and, importantly, suicides.

If they, the most savvy people about firearms, can’t impact the statistics of death, then they would have to accept the other side’s methods, namely airtight universal background checks and a ban on military-style weapons such as assault rifles. Give them a chance to succeed, with a consequence should they fail. We as a nation cannot sit around and watch the carnage any longer.

Stuart Cohen Santa Fe

Who opts out?

As I understand it, the state of New Mexico allows firearms to be openly carried in public spaces. Moreover, those firearms in many cases can be bought without a permit and do not need to be registered. The exception to this open carry right is in businesses that opt out of allowing open carry on their premises.

It would be a tremendous public service if The New Mexican were to publish a list of the businesses in Santa Fe that do, or do not, allow open carry. Any business that volunteers their information could be added to a database that is published weekly in the newspaper.

If it is widely known that a given business allows, or bans, firearms in their establishment, it will be a matter of informed, individual choice whether to patronize that business. Politicians have cravenly opted out on this issue, so let the market decide.

Paul Johnson Santa Fe

Family tradition

I am writing in memory of my four older brothers, all U.S. military veterans: Alfonso Vigil and John Vigil, U.S. Navy; Anthony Vigil, U.S. Marine Corps; and George Vigil, U.S. Army. May you rest in peace, brothers.

Leroy Vigil U.S. Navy veteran Bernalillo

Choose peace and love

If you do anything great in life, it will come from within, and if it is to be, it is up to me. The time is always right to show compassion, kindness, respect, wisdom, love and courage. Have an attitude of gratitude. Live a life of joy, purpose and meaning.

Mother Mary Louise from the Carmelite Monastery would tell me, “Sometimes the only time people see Jesus is when they see Jesus in you as you shine his light. We are all on a journey, and when our journey is done, God takes us home.”

She is at home with our Lord. I am so blessed that God’s divine intervention put the beautiful Carmelite nuns in my life. We must all make this world a better place: “Let all that you do be done in love.”

Doris Vigil McBride Santa Fe