Herald coverage of pubs and breweries contributes to teen drinking: Letters

Herald coverage of pubs and breweries contributes to teen drinking

Feb. 20 — To the Editor:

I read with interest the story of Rye Police Chief Kevin Walsh’s dismay at the recent sea change in the behavior of parents and their providing a place for minors to consume alcohol. (Portsmouth Herald 2/20/23: Rye chief: Parents thwart officers’ efforts.)

“Walsh said he has trouble understanding why parents are resistant…” and that it is “not OK to provide alcohol or condone the consumption of alcohol.”

This story was featured on the front page of the Herald, and yet right beside it was a story about Cisco Brewers and their unveiling of a new $6M canning line.

Turn to page A2 and there is Sen. Maggie Hassan hoisting an ale with a triumphant grin on her face.  Page A3 featured a story about a new pizza and brew house opening in Seabrook.  The irony would be hilarious if the stakes weren’t so high.

New commerce in the area is always good news, but please be intellectually honest and do not feign ignorance about why we have a youth alcohol problem. Some of the blame resides within your pages, Portsmouth Herald.

Lonnie Wescott

Berwick, Maine

Give 'em the jets, Joe!

Feb. 21 — To the Editor:

Putin blusters and lies, blaming the Ukraine war on the West. Biden takes a secret train from Poland and walks the streets of Kyiv with Zalinskyy, pledging “We’re here as long as it takes.”

Go beyond the rhetoric, Joe! Give Ukraine the jets it needs to crush Putin’s barbarism.

Even sanctions and our current level of arms support aren’t enough to defeat a force of evil like Putin. It’s time to pull out the stops and show Zelenskyy we really are with him “as long as it takes!”

Malcolm Odell

Exeter

Fossil fuels are far more dangerous to whales than lobstermen

Feb. 21 — To the Editor:

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Whales.org and NOAA all agree that what poses the most danger to the extinction of whales and other marine life is the climate crisis, that is, the overload of carbon emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels.  We can’t separate the emissions from the extreme weather events or the forced migration that whales go through in their search for food and breeding grounds. They suffer from starvation, illnesses and pollution in a warming and acidifying ocean.

Whole Foods may have had the best of intentions when it tried to protect the whales but the onus should not have been put on the lobster men and women who cannot afford the innovative but very costly ropeless gear and other whale saving technology.

We need funding so every boat has the equipment it needs to protect the whales.  It’s global warming driving the extinction but it’s also true that collisions with ships and entanglements are making it worse.  Is it easier to confront the lobster industry than the fossil fuel industry? According to President Joe Biden, coal, gas and oil made $200 billion in profits last year. They have known about the danger of overloading carbon emissions into the atmosphere and eventually the ocean since 1977. Ask Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins to ask Congress to put the financial burden of protecting the whales where it belongs.

Jan Kubiac

Hyannis, Massachusetts

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Herald coverage of breweries contributes to teen drinking: Letters