Runarounds and refusals
Workers’ comp
Regarding “Workers’ comp leaves world of pain,” (A1, Feb. 23): Thank you, thank you for Erin Douglas’s article about the abuses, runarounds, delays and outright refusals of legitimate claims from people injured on the job. For over 30 years of medical practice, I have advised my patients to use their regular insurance for these unless extensive treatments or surgery are required. There are some companies that provide the care they promised to, but all too many are happy to collect premiums and unwilling to do anything that hurts their bottom line. Stella Fitzgibbons, M.D., The Woodlands
Moving Doonesbury
Here’s a laugh for you. I went to my comics first and horrors, no Doonesbury! “Oh no,” I said. Canceling Doonesbury? Then I saw the notice on the front page. “Where’s Doonesbury?” Haha! You knew we were wondering!
We need Garry Trudeau to lift our spirits in this political climate! Enjoy your day! Keep up the good work! Maris Helfrich, Galveston
Doonesbury in the Outlook section makes sense. Whew, for a minute there I was afraid y’all had done away with Doonesbury.
As for the do-over in the Sunday Comics section, I’m completely happy you’ve moved Breaking Cat News to the front page. Such a sweet and cute strip. I only wish you’d moved Zits to the back page. I find that strip not amusing and it’s not at all aesthetically pleasing.
Oh well, maybe with the next redo, a different strip will take over the front page top space. Please! Mary Trujillo, Houston
Power outages
Regarding “Houston electric utility’s leader ousted,” (B1, Feb. 20): Wow! I thought it was only us unwashed masses in the hinterlands who suffered power outages. I, too, get the same text messages from CenterPoint; always the same poor 101 souls affected. Got so bad we “invested” a bunch of money in a whole-house standby generator to bridge the four- to eight-hour losses. Worth every penny in August. Lewis Homburg, West Columbia
Talking about fracking
Regarding “Democratic candidates’ push to ban fracking has Texans on edge,” (A3, Feb. 23): The column by Erica Grieder is spot-on. Democrats who vote in the primary election for Sen. Bernie Sanders or any other candidate insisting to ban fracking (Sen. Elizabeth Warren) increase the risk of four more years under President Donald Trump. To win against Trump, the voters the Democratic Party must attract include millions who work for the energy industry and who know that it is utterly foolish to abruptly abandon hydrocarbon production. These voters are likely either to vote for Trump or just stay home if Sanders is the alternative. Texas Democrats would do well to vote for candidates who advocate energy transitions that address climate change in responsible, realistic ways without jeopardizing Texas’ standard of living and livelihood. Christine E. Economides, Houston