Austin American-Statesman Letters to the Editor: Feb. 12, 2023

Austin Energy should address the

problem – above-ground power lines

It is inexcusable that Austin Energy continues to fail to address the source of its failure. Power lines remain above ground and subject to the inevitable results of tree limbs laden with ice. Given climate change, future ice storms are inevitable. It is time that Austin Energy start systematically burying its power lines underground.

I live in a house at the bottom of a long, steep hill. With the roads entirely iced over, we were unable to drive to a warm place in 2021. Had we been elderly or infirm, my husband and I might have died of the cold — or the lack of water or food.

We Austinites are aware of what's not being said and what's not being done. Apologies and cleanup are not enough. Effective action is needed and demanded.

Robyn Jamison, Austin

A law for guns on movie sets isn't

necessary, but gun reforms are

Re: Jan. 27 article, "Texas weighs an 'Alec Baldwin law' to prevent firearm tragedies on movie sets."

I worked in the film industry for 50 years and there are already very strict protocols that are followed when a weapon is brought to the set to be used.

In the case of "Rust" I can only assume that the producers, first assistant director, prop master, and weapons expert all failed at following those protocols. It seems ridiculous to file a bill that will only affect a few while in this state, any Tom, Dick or Harry can tote a gun in public without a license or proper training of the use and safety of that weapon.

With 648 mass shootings last year, why not a bill that would introduce common sense gun control? We don’t need a DNA database to identify our children after a shooting. We need our children.

Cate Hardman, Austin

Be a good member of the community:

Share the road and play by the rules

I would like to thank all the courteous drivers who understand that when traffic lights are not functioning (for example, during the recent ice storm power outages), drivers should treat signals without power as four-way stops.

For those of you who believe you live on your own planet and do not acknowledge the four-way stop protocol, or feel it doesn’t apply to you because you see yourself as special and sharing isn’t a value you hold, you are putting lives at risk.

I welcome you to rejoin the Austin community. Being courteous, sharing the road and playing by the rules is being a good community member.

Lila Oshatz, Austin

For Abbott, the freedom to bear

arms is the most important of all

Re: Jan. 29 article, "Texas Rally for Life: Abortion opponents continue celebrating overturn of Roe v. Wade."

In the Jan. 29 issue of the Statesman, it was reported that Gov. Abbott said at the Rally for Life, "There is no freedom more precious than life itself."

I would suggest he should say, "There is no freedom more precious than the right to bear arms." Given that firearms are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 19, it seems his position on guns, (permitless carry, no limits on purchases of assault weapons, etc.) reflect his belief that freedom to bear arms is more important than life itself. Otherwise, he would want to find ways to minimize the number one cause of childhood deaths.

Judith Zamorsky, Austin

Good to read that exonerated

Kelley and family are doing well

Re: Feb. 2 article, "Exonerated Greg Kelley buys mom a home in Liberty Hill to repay her for support."

I was so happy to see Claire Osborn's article about Greg Kelley.

Over the past couple years, I've wondered how he is doing. It was great to see he is doing well and also taking care of his mom!

Hopefully life continues to go well for Greg and his family.

Ann Ruiz, Pflugerville

City needs an independent expert

to assess Austin Energy's readiness

The leadership of Austin Energy or the Austin City Council must bring in an independent expert to assess Austin Energy's readiness and response to the ice storm.

If Austin Energy's readiness and response are deemed reasonable for a similar power company in a similar situation, then fine. If Austin Energy readiness and/or response are deemed lacking, then changes must be made and responsibility must be determined.

This information must be clearly communicated in a timely manner to the customers of Austin Energy who have an absolute right to this information.

Robert B. McDonald, Austin

No reason to search the country

when good candidates are here

This search for the guilty is so predictable after events such as after this power outage. I'm not going to comment about who is responsible.

But as a former employee of Travis County I have witnessed several times the efforts to fill a high-paying position. Why is it always the impulse of elected and appointed officials to search the country and sometimes even to hire outside consultants to search the country for the best candidate?

There is no reason to go to Dallas or Atlanta or somewhere else to hire an architect, for instance, to design a project in Austin when we have a wealth of outstanding firms. The same can be said for hiring a city manager, police chief, etc., when we have great candidates here.

James Barr, Austin

Instead of funding vouchers, Texas

should improve its public schools

Gov. Abbott, while bemoaning the alleged practices and policies of public schools which are subject to performance reviews and must adhere to state standards, suggests it would be an improvement to require taxpayer funding of vouchers to send children to private schools not subject to those requirements.

He simultaneously gives support to fears of the political right that students are subjected to liberal social agendas and (gasp) sexual education, counter to the beliefs of their parents.

Texas ranks 42nd place in funding per student. Texas would be better served by improvements to the public school system through increased funding as opposed to supplementing some parents’ payments for private schooling. Contact your state representative if you object to funding an alternative (i.e. vouchers/state tuition) to state-governed services that is not held accountable to taxpayers.

Janice Wallace, Georgetown

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin American-Statesman Letters to the Editor: Feb. 12, 2023