Hotel Grim

Should plans for affordable housing get the green light?

For a long time the abandoned Hotel Grim has been a deteriorating eyesore in the heart of downtown Texarkana.

Now a developer seems to have a plan and the means to renovate and reopen the once-grand structure.

But there is a hitch. The Grim would become affordable housing for moderate to lower income residents and that has some folks upset.

Many people, including some downtown property owners, do not think affordable housing is the right move if the city’s historical center is ever to come back to even a shade of its former glory. They worry it could hurt property values and future development.

Proponents, though, say affordable housing is better than letting the building deteriorate further. They also point out that such housing fills a need in the city.

The Texarkana, Texas, City Council is currently considering moving ahead with the proposal.

We want to know what you think. Do you support current plans to renovate the Grim into affordable housing? Or do you think it’s a bad idea?

Send your response (50 words maximum) to opinion@texarkanagazette.com by Wednesday, June 28. You can also mail your response to the Texarkana Gazette Friday Poll, at P.O. Box 621, Texarkana, TX 75504 or drop it off at our office, 101 East Broad St, Texarkana, Ark. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number. We will print as many responses as we can in next Friday’s paper.

Last Week: Needed or Not?

Last week’s question was about the investigation into possible Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election and alleged obstruction of justice on the part of President Donald Trump. Do you believe the investigation should continue? Or do you think the probe is a waste of time and money?

It’s a vitally important investigation. We know Russia actively engages in geopolitical subterfuge. We know the DNC was hacked. We know hacking attempts were made on 39 states voting systems. We know multiple Trump surrogates met with Russians. In what universe would the U.S. bury its head in the sand?— J.W., Texarkana, Texas

Why allow vindictive and untruthful people to continue chewing on the President we elected? I voted for him once. I vote for him again. I believe he is a man put in his powerful place by God almighty.— R.H., Texarkana, Texas

Should it continue? Yes. Both parties want it to continue, not just the Democrats. Whether the president was involved or not there are too many questions to be answered. As far as I’m concerned the Russians interfered with the election. I don’t think it altered the election. I believe Comey did indeed alter the election.— B.J., Texarkana, Texas

I fully support the investigation. It is imperative we ensure our democracy has not been threatened by hacking from Russia. It is imperative we “follow the money.”—C.S., Texarkana, Ark.

It should continue. Bogus stories (many traced to Russia) circulated on social media during the election helped Trump win. Unsuccessful attempts to access voter rolls were traced to Russian IP addresses. So, why were Trump’s campaign associates even in contact with Russia and why was Trump so worried that he might be under investigation? — B.R., Ashdown, Ark.

Friends Comey and Muelier should recuse themselves. Millions are wasted. There is no evidence to support this investigation. It is our money and time being wasted. Dems need to leave Trump alone so he can attend to our health/money/elderly/defense. Hillary lost.— S.F., Texarkana, Ark.

If you have ever watched a nature documentary involving the behaviors of jackals, you will see my interpretation of this broadcast news media feeding frenzy. The Trump election made a mockery of their divisive liberal agendas and their skewed poles. Let it go. Quit chewing on dead meat.— R.H., Texarkana, Texas

The investigation into Russian hacking should be continued but only to see if Hilary’s unsecured servers were involved. It’s already been proven President Trump was not involved.— C.H., Texarkana, Texas

In January 2017 the CIA, FBI, and NSA concluded Russian government interfered in 2016 presidential election. Mayhem starts Jan. 26 when acting Attorney General Yates warns Trump Flynn lied about conversations with Kislyak. Trump fires these investigators— Yates Jan. 30, Preet Bharara March 11, James Comey May 9. Trump met Lavrov and Kislyak May 10 in Oval Office and revealed classified intelligence to them. Family and associates of Trump with contacts with Russians so far— Flynn, Sessions, Manafort, Tillerson, Rose, Stone, Cohen, Gordon, Gates, Prince, Eric Trump, Ivanka, Jared Kushner. The investigation should continue; not a waste of money.— J.B., Texarkana, Ark.

Yes a special probe should be continued to go forward into the investigation of President Trump and Russian hacking. The former FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified to the knowledge of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The truth will surface of Trump’s involvement if any in obstruction of justice regarding the 2016 election.— DF.B., Texarkana, Texas

Sadly, the president will be overthrown by impeachment after this “coup d’etat” by entrenched bureaucrats. Comey, Mueller, Rosenstein and literally thousands of unnecessary federal elites are outsmarting him and his well-meaning associates. Our only recourse: 62 million Trump voters forget to pay their taxes!— W.B., Texarkana, Texas

From www.facebook.com/TexarkanaGazette

Everyone saying the investigation is a waste of taxpayers’ money, well so are the golfing trips Trump takes, so is the Secret Service at Trump Towers. so are his trips to the resort in Florida. I say continue the investigation.

The probe is a total waste of time and taxpayer money. The Democrats mantra now is “Resist.” They have vowed to take him down any way they can. I didn’t vote for him or Clinton, but he was voted in by the majority and we need to give him a chance to do what he can.

I have seen through all this that there is one rule for Trump, and the same rules don’t apply if your name is Obama, Clinton, Lynch or you are a Democrat. The double standard is mind blowing. It is nothing more than a witch hunt. Trump has done a great job so far! I commend a man who can not even take a dime for being President.

Waste of time and money. How easily the Democrats forget how in 2008 Obama was caught on a hot mike talking to the Russian president, promising that if he got elected, he would make sure those deals that the Russian president wanted would go through. Not one word was said about investigating or impeaching Obama. By the way, the Russians got those deals too!

Drop the investigation. This is a movement by the resentful obstructionist Democrats to unseat the president. Game over! They’re doing other things to topple him so the golden girl Hillary will slide in. Things get uglier and uglier.

Big waste of money. Of course the Russians tried to tamper with the election results. They would have done the same thing no matter who ran for office. I’m just a deplorable person but nothing they did had anything to do with the way I voted.

I wonder how much Comey got paid by the Clintons to close an investigation that was proof! The destroying documents, phones etc. If that don’t speak volumes to the Americans nothing will.

I think it is a waste of time and money. The Dems wanted Comey fired until Trump fired him then they went after Trump … shame on them! They need to leave him alone and let him do the job voters put him in office to do!

He’s just a puppet. Pull his string, he’ll do whatever you want. The media, his base voters and the Russians already know this. So fellow Democrats let’s start pulling strings …

Waste of money and should be dropped. It’s a witch hunt like he said. Look at the lawyers who donated to Demos he is hiring.

God willing he will be impeached. Then the people who voted for him will see that their effort was for nothing.

Total waste of time. The socialist liberals will do anything to make this country communist and totally destroy it. All backed by the NOW powers in Western Europe. How ironic that they supposedly hate Putin because he is supposedly communist when in fact that is exactly what is happening to the U.S.

Total waste of money. If he is given a chance he might actually accomplish good for the country. If not, don’t re-elect him.

Let the investigation continue so that we will know one way or another.

He is guilty so investigate, don’t leave no stone unturned.

Plow ahead. He was so ready to jail Hillary. Now it’s time for him to be jailed.

As has been chanted by many in the GOP—Lock him up!

I don’t know. Aren’t you the journalists that should be investigating the facts and reporting them?

Continue. Americans deserve the truth and this investigation is our only hope of getting it.