Letters to the Editor for Dec. 26, 2018

Planning commission, board not required to OK zoning

I read with great interest the two letters in response to Guy Farmer’s op-ed piece related to the Vintage at Kings Canyon development. While the individuals were correct in that the Andersons have every right to sell their land, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors are not automatically obligated to approve a zoning amendment from agricultural to residential to allow for said land to be developed. When these zoning requests or Special Use Permit requests are submitted to the Planning Department, I believe there are findings that need to be made in order for the request to be sent to the appropriate entity. What has always puzzled me about the Vintage project was how the Planning Department arrived at a finding that there would be no detrimental effect to the surrounding neighborhoods or to the traffic in that area. That is absolutely counterintuitive given the scope of the project.

So, from my perspective, the Andersons have sold their land. Congratulations to them. Unfortunately, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors also approved a zoning amendment, despite a huge community outpouring against said approval.

So, now it will be up to the Planning Department, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors to determine whether the upcoming changes being requested meet the findings of no detrimental impact to the surrounding areas or to the traffic on the two dead-end streets that are being proposed as through streets to the new development. Can’t hardly wait to see how all that goes.

Anne Howard

Carson City

Drug statistics compel border control

Controlling the border is a public safety issue.

From October 2017 through July 2018, Customs and Border Patrol seized:

6,423 pounds of cocaine

532 pounds of heroin

439,531 pounds of marijuana

10,382 pounds of methamphetamine

332 pounds of fentanyl

I wonder why the Democrats object to a border wall?

Jack Ralph

Carson City

Column recalls conservative publication insulting Trump

In “Age of Trump not kind to Republicans” [12-19 Appeal], my sometimes political ally and never-Trumper, Jim Hartman, alleges that Trump and the undefined “far right” were responsible for last election’s Republican losses. However, Jim offered little evidence for his assertion, and wishing doesn’t make it so. Jim cites Jon Ralston as a source for political analysis but omits that Ralston is a longtime liberal activist.

What President Trump has undeniably done is cut taxes to give us record unemployment and a booming economy. His deregulation initiatives have given us cheaper gas; America is now a net energy exporter. Trump has liberated us from the strictures of the godless religion of man-caused climate change. Trump’s foreign policies have given us a safer world.

Jim also posited that Republican support for restricting immigration hurt the party. Most voters take border security seriously; it was the signature issue that got Trump elected. As I write this, Trump is conducting a shutdown battle for border wall funding, keeping his campaign promise and boosting his approval ratings.

Hartman’s editorial brings to mind the Weekly Standard’s attempt to reinvent itself after the 2016 election as a Trump bashing business enterprise. This long-standing marquee conservative publication announced last week it was going out of business. Let’s just say the Standard’s Trump-voting readers were unkind to the Standard’s elite opinion writers who apparently supported Hillary.

Lynn Muzzy

Minden

Energy bill will help curb pollution

With increasing urgency, dedicated scientists are reporting the unfolding crisis brought on by humanity’s continued and increasing pollution of the atmosphere and destruction of the balancing ecosystems. Now is time for serious and all-out action if ever there was one. To wait will only cause the situation to become too late for everyone who lives on this shared home our precious living Earth. Please support the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act bill as this will be a major step toward saving life on Earth. While people are the major problem, this then makes them the solution to the problem. Remember this! Happy Christmas/Hanukkah/Holy Day Season and Bright 2019 your way!

Craig Downer

Minden