Letters to the editor

City needs to review old traffic studiesThe city finally has the manageable traffic rate it has long been looking for with the hopes of revitalizing downtown. Over the years there have been numerous traffic studies and plans that have cost both local and state taxpayers plenty while trying to address this issue. What happen to all those other plans? And now they come up with parallel parking, yeah right! All that is going to create is a cluster of vehicles watching a bunch of idiots try and park. Maybe it’s time to dust off some of those old studies and see if there is something the city could use. It couldn’t hurt, they already have been paid for. Kevin LewisCarson CityMake Carson City’s downtown prosperMy wife and I moved to Carson City from Livermore, Calif. three years ago. Having lived in Livermore for many years, we had watched the city center going through a slow death process. Highway 84 passed through the center of town with all four lanes carrying commuters to and from the Bay Area. Commuters seldom stop to shop, and empty store fronts increased each year. After years of planning, Highway 84 was diverted around the town. Many predicted this would be the nail in the coffin for downtown. The road through town was narrowed to two lanes, parallel parking was added, trees were planted, outside dining areas were created, and fountains were added to improve the ambiance. Shops reopened, property values skyrocketed, new restaurants appeared, and downtown Livermore had a new life. While dining in one of the many downtown restaurants, you can watch the pedestrian traffic streaming by even on weekday evenings. Antique and music shops stay open late into the evening. Nearby Pleasanton made the same changes with the same results. Embrace change and let your beautiful downtown prosper.Rion CauseyCarson CityAgenda 21 ‘rant’ criticizedOne must question what the Appeal’s editorial agenda is when it provides a full column-length conspiracy rant like that on the opinion page on Dec. 16.The only item of truth in this absurdity about the U.N. “Agenda 21” was half of the last sentence, “This is not science fiction...” Nope, it isn’t — even bad science fiction purports to have at least a potential basis of fact. The most probable source for this column of nonsense is Glen Beck’s latest ultra-right fantasy novel describing a dismal future where American values have been downtrodden by the evil socialist U.N. But, even Glen Beck admits this is a work of fiction.So, how can anyone swallow rants that accuse the U.N. of everything from trying to depopulate the earth to taking over everyone’s homes with Smart Meters? And, what is the Appeal’s motive in providing so much space for such nonsense? Certainly not to promote a sane public discourse on the serious real issues facing our divided nation.The author of this column asks readers to Google “Agenda 21.” If one does so, there are plenty of entries pointing out the facts versus the myths about this latest conspiracy paranoia. Whether one chooses to weed out the facts from the nonsense depends upon one’s capacity for objective critical thinking. Perhaps the most significant thing about publishing this column is that it underlines the need for the Appeal to hire a chief editor who is a professional journalist.Jon NowlinCarson CityDon’t promote conspiracy theoriesThis is in response to the editorial column by Stuart Posselt regarding Agenda 21. It is concerning to me that Mr. Posselt was afforded an entire third-page column in the Dec. 16 Nevada Appeal. His opinions represent off-the-wall conspiracy theories promoted by Glenn Beck and others who call it an oligarchic plan for the United Nations to control sovereign nations, including the United States.If you Google “Agenda 21,” you will find numerous articles calling it an effort to establish a world government intent on central government planning like that used in the old Soviet Union. At least read a more balanced representation in Wikipedia. It is not what Mr. Posselt describes in his bizarre column as a far-flung conspiracy to take “control of family size, where can you live, redistribution of wealth, price controls, controls of business, controls of fisheries…(where it is) necessary to reduce world population…”Agenda 21 is a non-binding document signed by 178 world leaders in 1992, including President George H.W. Bush. It is nothing more than a blueprint to reduce use of natural resources to levels that meet the needs of the present without compromising future generations. Any economist will tell you that resources are not infinite, so we have to conserve to survive.How such an old and arcane document could become tinder for a bizarre column involving a non-existent international conspiracy in the Sunday newspaper is beyond imagination. Shame on you, Nevada Appeal!Chuck DuarteMinden