I commend La Quinta Mayor Linda Evans for her excellent work

I don’t know who this group “Citizens for a new La Quinta” is, (see April 9 Desert Sun letters to the editor) but they certainly don’t represent my feelings about this beautiful city! La Quinta is a most wonderful place to live, and I commend not condemn Mayor Evans for her excellent work in helping to maintain our quality of life.

Preston Turnage, La Quinta

Exploding rockets must be contributing to sea pollution, right?

With all the daily news coverage on testing ever larger and more powerful rockets (Elon Musk’s very dramatic exploding rocket off the coast of Texas) and the increased frequency of North Korea’s threatening rocket launching for a show of force against South Korea, I’m wondering where are these “Save the Earth” protest groups? The video coverage of the rocket off the coast of Texas must have had a very destructive effect on the quality of clean air and the potential polluting effect of all the falling debris and residue of fuel and various chemicals used for rockets into the Gulf of Mexico where a lot of our seafood comes from.

That’s just two examples, think of all the spy and weather satellites that must sooner or later end up in our oceans. China alone has more than 300 satellites in orbit. The pollution of our oceans is like a hazardous garbage dump, no?

Ron Zimmerman, Palm Springs

Taxpayer money should be spent on building more addiction and mental health support

A couple of years ago, The Desert Sun conducted a very thorough analysis of the valley’s homeless population, “We interviewed 200 homeless individuals about health care. Here's what we found.”

One of the paper’s findings was, in my view, quite eye-opening. Substance abuse and mental health were among the top-reported issues of people experiencing homelessness in the Coachella Valley, at 55% and 44%, respectively.

The solution often proposed by our elected officials is to create affordable housing for these people. But logic suggests that doing that will simply move drug addicts and mentally ill people into houses. It will not solve their root problems. They’ll still be addicted or ill.

So, it would be far better to spend taxpayer money on building drug addiction clinics and mental institutions. On the former, with help, those root problems might be cured, turning the homeless into productive citizens.

Again, using elementary logic, building free housing is merely a magnet for others to get free housing. It doesn’t cure the problem; it simply makes it worse.

For the remaining 1%, public works employment would turn these individuals into productive elements of our society. In exchange for work, military-style housing ought to be considered.

Now the tough love: Living on the streets must be made illegal.

Paul Forrest, La Quinta

College of the Desert board should hold special election

I am writing as a former College of the Desert trustee for Area 3. Based on the public outcry over the decision to appoint, rather than elect the Area 3 trustee should be reversed. My recommendation is that a special meeting of the board be called to reverse this decision and approve an election as soon as possible. The money would be well spent and go a long way to begin to restore Coachella Valley residents’ faith in the COD board of trustees.

Michael O’Neill, Laguna Woods

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: I commend La Quinta Mayor Evans for her excellent work