Letters to the editor for Jan. 23

Vote yes on Feb. 8

Vote yes on Proposition 1, Olympia School District’s Technology and Safety Levy. This is a replacement levy and is not a new tax.

I support this effort to provide students in our community with the resources they need for a high-quality education. As a parent myself, I have seen firsthand how technology has been an essential tool during these most unusual times for education.

For the future, this renewal levy delivers new and upgraded student computers as well as internet access for families without internet at home. Additionally, it provides up-to-date assistive technology for students with special needs and updates school video conferencing systems. It also funds improvements to the safe biking and walking routes to schools as well as enhanced lighting and other safety features.

When we vote yes, we lay a foundation for a brighter future. Join me in supporting our kids and our community on Feb. 8 by voting yes!

Joellen Wilhelm, Olympia

Lawmakers should restore COLAs for retired public servants

I and the 1,200 members of Retired Public Employees Council Thurston County Chapter 2 support legislative proposals for a one-time 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), with a $110 monthly cap, in 2022 for the oldest retired public servants in the PERS Plan 1 system.

But the long-term goal must be to restore a permanent PERS Plan 1 COLA.

My husband, Calvin Capener, and I have been retired for more than 15 years. We live modestly. We have to. The cost of living has risen significantly over the last several years, namely the grocery and heating bills. The property taxes and insurance rates have doubled. And now in this stage of the pandemic, we’re hearing inflation will send costs even higher.

Yet our income from our pensions remains the same; it has not kept pace with these increasing expenses. Luckily our home is paid off, or we would not be able to afford the repairs that this older house requires. As our income covers less and less, we don’t eat out as often, and our trips to the theater are fewer and fewer — it’s too expensive.

I gave over 40 years as an employee of the State of Washington. We’d like to be able to live out our remaining retirement years in relative comfort.

That’s why we need a consistent, substantial — and permanent — COLA to prevent further loss of purchasing power. Passage of a one-time COLA this year will go a long way toward achieving that goal.

Nancy Camenzind, Olympia

Understanding SCOTUS’s role in ruling on workplace safety

The Jan. 19 Olympian carried a Letter to the Editor that misrepresented the Supreme Court ruling regarding COVID in the workplace. When a letter strays from the facts and misrepresents the issue, I don’t think the newspaper should publish it unchallenged.

The letter “SCOTUS ruling on workplace safety was hypocritical” said “The US Supreme Court apparently has ruled that COVID is not a workplace hazard.” That’s wrong. It’s not the job of the Supreme Court to rule on whether or not COVID is a hazard, and that is not what the justices ruled. The job of the Supreme Court was to rule on whether or not the Constitution gives the President the power to tell private employers they must require employees to be vaccinated or be tested for COVID. The court said that the Constitution does not. It did not rule on whether or not COVID is a hazard.

That letter exhibits a misunderstanding of the way our system works. The Legislature’s job is to debate and vote on proposed new laws. The President’s job is to execute those laws — to put them in action. The Supreme Court’s job is to rule on whether those laws follow the Constitution. If an Executive action violates the Constitution, the remedy is for the legislature to pass a law that gives the President the power he or she seeks. It is not the job of the courts to act as a substitute for the Legislature and the Executive.

Carl Schroeder, Olympia