Cellphones in schools: Give students more opportunities
Re: “Ferguson expands on proposed cellphone ban in K-12 schools” (Oct. 2, Education Lab):
Gov. Bob Ferguson accurately points out that cellphones distract from learning and interfere with students’ ability to connect. But the improvements in attendance, behavior and academics among Spokane Public Schools students were not solely due to a cellphone ban.
Spokane’s Engage in Real Life initiative, launched parallel to the phone ban, connects students with positive development opportunities after school, allowing them to explore their passions and participate in activities that foster connections, and learning with peers and trusted adults. The combination of reducing phone usage and increasing opportunities for healthy, real-life connections is the approach we need to support youth in “finding the right balance,” as Spokane student Grace Parker points out.
School’s Out Washington is calling for the state Legislature to pass the Youth Development Fund, expanding access to youth development opportunities statewide. The recently announced Meta settlement provides the opportunity to seed this investment.
As Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Adam Swinyard said, “Every inch that we can take back from screens is going to be an investment in the betterment of our future and the well-being of our kids.” We agree on the problem, now let’s come together on a holistic solution that sets students up to thrive.
Elizabeth Whitford, CEO, School’s Out Washington, Tukwila
School safety: Metal detectors are a must
Re: “2 Seattle schools to place metal detectors at entrances” (Oct. 9, Education Lab):
I was pleased to read that two Seattle high schools, Rainier Beach and Nathan Hale, will be installing metal detectors.
According to security.org, over the last 10 years in the U.S. there have been approximately 450 children and adults killed in school shootings.
In my opinion, given that it is common knowledge that schools are attractive sites for school shootings, all K-12 schools should have metal detectors installed. It is unconscionable to me that so few schools have taken this step.
Their only objections could be cost and inconvenience, but what small prices to pay to save lives.
David von Wolffersdorff, Seattle
Farmworkers: ‘Humanity’
Re: “Guest Workers” (Oct. 11, Pacific NW Magazine):
Thank you to David Guterson for his excellent piece on guest workers. His work shows not only the humanity of these folks, but also the dire circumstances that force so many of them to work in this country — at great sacrifice to them and their families.
I also appreciated the historical context he gave by discussing the Bracero Program and how it morphed into our current situation.
As Woody Guthrie sang in “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)”: “Is this the best way we can grow our big orchards? …”
Betty Devereux, Gig Harbor
Hanford cleanup: Smaller advisory board is a good idea
Re: “Trump administration is shortchanging Hanford cleanup” (Oct. 9, Opinion):
I read John Abbotts’ op-ed about the Hanford Advisory Board being dismantled by the U.S. Energy Department, and was surprised and dismayed to learn that the board had 70 members. It’s a perfect example of how not to do things and/or get things done.
I am strongly in favor of a new board being reduced to a group of 20 people as proposed. Better yet, how about a group of 10?
Nathan Byers, Seattle
Gluesenkamp Perez: Compromise is not a dirty word
Re: “Gluesenkamp Perez faces progressive discontent in tight House race” (Oct. 11, Local News):
For some people, the words “compromise” and “bipartisan” are dirty words. They want their politicians to fight — to avoid anything that smacks of a compromise, and to refuse to work with the opposing political party.
This may sound like a principled stance, but it reflects a basic misunderstanding of how our Congress currently works. For at least the past 50 years, neither Republicans nor Democrats have been able to achieve large and sustained majorities in Congress. When one party eeks out an electoral victory, the minority party can block effective governance by a variety of obstructive techniques — or reverse the policies they dislike as soon as they achieve a majority. The result is paralysis.
To avoid this kind of impasse, politicians serve their constituents and their country best by looking for opportunities to solve problems in collaboration with members of the opposite party. This does not mean abandoning basic principles, but does mean abandoning a mentality that treats compromise as weakness and political opponents as implacable enemies.
U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez often works on compromises with Republicans, and thus embodies the kind of approach that other politicians should copy.
James P. Robinson, Seattle
Electricity prices: Government’s failure
Re: “How rising electricity prices helped Amazon book $599M unrealized gain” (Oct. 10, Business):
Why can Indiana reduce electricity costs for residential customers while Washington households face higher rates? That’s the story The Seattle Times should have told.
Greg Kim’s article focused on Amazon’s $599 million unrealized gain from electricity contracts rather than the difference in how states manage growing energy demand.
In Indiana, Amazon agreed to finance new electricity generation to support its data centers. According to the article, that agreement is expected to reduce other customers’ electricity bills by approximately $1 billion over 15 years.
Meanwhile, Washington utilities are competing with Amazon for limited electricity supplies, potentially driving household rates even higher.
Why isn’t Washington negotiating similar agreements?
Rather than criticizing Amazon for securing electricity, our elected leaders should require data centers to pay more toward expanding generation while using those investments to reduce existing household electricity rates.
Amazon and other technology companies are creating jobs, advancing artificial intelligence and developing innovations that could improve millions of lives. Their success should benefit ordinary consumers, too.
The problem isn’t companies striving to build a better future. It’s government failing to plan for one.
Donald Deschenes, Lacey
Regional growth: Impact on quality of life
Re: “How the staff at Good Samaritan, one of WA’s busiest ERs, stays afloat” (Oct. 10, Local News):
I read with interest about our local Puyallup hospital, Good Samaritan. A big problem in our area is that infrastructure has not kept up with (over) development. Local public schools have large class sizes (in fact, Washington state has some of the largest class sizes in the country). Local roads/freeways are clogged and even if one tries to “time” driving somewhere to avoid rush hour, traffic is often bumper to bumper. And the one hospital in our area is taking more patients than it can serve well.
When one drives through Puyallup (especially South Hill) and through my town of Edgewood, one sees building, building and more building going on. Edgewood has several “apartment cities” that have sprung up in recent years, and while heeding the need for more housing, and especially rental housing, city leaders have greatly overdone it.
It seems, particularly in regard to local public schools, that building/enlarging schools in anticipation of need is not done. Instead, a school district waits until the need is critical/class sizes are huge/kids and teachers suffer. And I imagine the same thing is true regarding other infrastructure including roads, hospitals, water and air quality — quality of life issues.
Anne Smiley Percival, Edgewood
Immigration: Morality and ethics
Re: “Immigration: ‘Selective memory’ ” (Oct. 11, Northwest Voices):
I applaud the writer of this letter to the editor for describing why U.S. laws and executive actions support and maintain racist and antisemitic behavior in America toward immigrants. There is historical precedence. Yes, technically it is possible for minorities to legally enter the United States, but for all practical purposes impossible. He argues that if we want to change this we need Congress to act.
But really the bigger question is, is being legally right more important than being morally and ethically right? For some people and our current federal administration the answer is yes. But for those who believe that we, the American people, are better than this, the answer is no. Not only do we have a moral obligation to show compassion for the less fortunate, but we also need these immigrants (both those here legally and illegally).
America is the land of opportunity. We are a beacon of peace, hope and justice for the whole world. Immigrants provide labor, support and funding for our aging population. Unless you expect grandma to start mowing lawns and picking tomatoes for income when her Social Security runs out, we need these people and we need them now.
Doug Beyerlein, Mill Creek
Vaccines: A polio-free world is attainable
While tremendous progress has been made against infectious diseases, global health challenges — from reduced funding to competing priorities to vaccine misinformation — have put us at risk for the resurgence of vaccine-preventable illnesses like polio.
Although Rotary and its Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners have reduced polio cases by 99.9% worldwide since 1988, sparing more than 20 million people from paralysis, the virus still circulates.
Thanks to GPEI’s large-scale immunization campaigns, wild polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but the virus knows no boundaries. Unvaccinated and under-vaccinated populations everywhere remain vulnerable to outbreaks of this potentially deadly disease.
I continue to champion polio immunization because the consequences for those who contract it and survive may be profound and permanent.
Some may view polio immunization as optional because it isn’t circulating where they live. But if vaccination rates decrease, we will lose the herd immunity needed to prevent this paralyzing disease from reemerging in previously polio-free areas.
I look forward to the day when polio becomes the second human disease ever eradicated, after smallpox. And on Oct. 24, World Polio Day, I urge readers to visit endpolio.org to learn what actions you can take to help us achieve a polio-free world.
Ezra Teshome, Seattle, Polio Plus Chair
