Letters to the editor: Bicyclists and cars; Deann Bucher; Steve Rosenblum and Michael Christy; encampments
Oct. 14—Joe Glynn: Bicyclists and cars: 'Dude, don't ever do this again'
All was good on a gorgeous afternoon last week as I was on my bike riding up Sunshine Canyon and noticed a car in the distance descending the canyon in their downhill lane. All of a sudden, in disbelief, I become aware of a second downhill car fast approaching and moving into my uphill lane to overtake the first — barreling towards me in the very lane I am all but in.
In Colorado, the law states: "When passing a bicyclist, you are required to allow at least 3 feet of space between the widest point of your vehicle and the widest point of the bicyclist, even when they are in a bike lane. You may cross a double yellow center line when oncoming traffic is clear to pass a bicyclist safely."
On my many rides this season in Boulder County's magical canyon roads, drivers are typically courteous: slowing sometimes for a safe opportunity to pass and give me space, crossing the center line if needed. In this case, I hardly had time to realize what was happening: a high speed downhill driver was in my uphill lane bearing down on me. By the grace of the heavens, at that spot, there was enough space in the narrow road for the two downhill cars, one in each of the lanes, and me on my bike. As he flew by me, well within my 3-foot envelope, he acknowledged me with a snide wave.
Dude. Don't ever do this again. Or hand in your license. We don't need more Ghost Bikes along our county roads.
Joe Glynn
Boulder
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Tim Hillmer: Deann Bucher: The best choice for BVSD
Deann Bucher is the best choice in District E for the BVSD Board of Education. In fact, she may be the strongest candidate the district has seen in many years when it comes to understanding the complexities of teaching and learning in schools as well as the ongoing inequities that perpetuate year after year for students and families of color in BVSD. Perhaps that's why Deann has been strongly endorsed by the Boulder Valley Education Association and why teachers overwhelmingly support her.
Deann Bucher worked as a social studies teacher, mentor, and staff developer for over 30 years in the public school system and taught in Boulder Valley for the last 27. Her visionary curriculum work in social studies, technology, and equity continues to make an enormous impact on K-12 classrooms across BVSD. She helped to integrate multicultural perspectives into the K-12 social studies curriculum and, as a lead member of the Equity Cohort Leadership Team, she provided countless workshops for teachers, parents, and administrators on how to integrate culturally responsive educational practices in order to address inequities within the BVSD system. She served as sponsor for the Gay Straight Alliance and also helped to implement the "No Place For Hate" program in schools. Near the end of her educational career, Deann was awarded a distinguished "The Best Should Teach Award" from the University of Colorado's School of Education. As part of her personal mission to lower the rate of suicides among LGBTQ students, Deann has worked throughout BVSD to create opportunities for these students to meet others, develop leadership skills, and become resilient to the unhealthy messages they receive. For the benefit of ALL students and families in BVSD, please vote for Deann Bucher in District E.
Tim Hillmer
Retired Teacher/Mentor for 32 years in BVSD
Louisville
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James Murphy: Encampments: I agree with Christy and Rosenblum
I completely agree with Michael Christy and Steve Rosenblum regarding their Oct. 13 Guest Commentary: Forward thinking on encampments.
The fact that we spend in the range of $100 million on this issue and still have camps throughout Boulder is disturbing. Free open housing is not a solution but a simple isolation for those with serious mental and addictive issues. This is not a transitional approach. The very best and most successful model in Boulder is the non-profit Bridge House that houses, trains and transitions people from homelessness to independence.
James Murphy
Boulder
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Tom Mayer: Encampments: Candidates' commentary had flaws
The guest editorial on encampments by Steve Rosenblum and Michael Christy in the Oct. 13 Daily Camera is flawed in at least four ways. First it conflates three related but very distinct housing problems: lack of affordable housing, chronic homelessness, and provision of emergency shelter. Second it argues that a program for providing emergency shelter is a failure merely because it does not reduce chronic homelessness. Third Rosenblum and Christy confidently attribute the increase in homelessness in California, Oregon, and Washington to their public camping and property crime rules rather than to a host of other possible causes (such as the three states' west coast location). Fourth they assert that a shelter program unsuccessful in the past is certain to fail again even under changed circumstances and with significant modifications.
It may be necessary to clear public spaces of unsanitary and hazardous encampments, but it is clearly immoral to do so without providing the inhabitants with alternative shelter. A generous emergency shelter program is clearly within the financial capacity of a wealthy community like Boulder. Moreover, such a program should be necessitated by the ethical consciousness of our community, assuming that we have such a thing.
Social scientists who study advanced capitalist societies in Western Europe and North America have identified a thought pattern sometimes called "social dominance orientation." Such thinking is common in the most affluent regions of these societies, and it is characterized by indifference to the suffering of the unfortunate. I hate to think that Boulder is widely afflicted with social dominance orientation, but arguments like those advanced by Rosenblum and Christy suggest that it may be. Their guest editorial says that persons, such as me, who want a much expanded emergency shelter program are "insane." Frankly I would far rather be considered insane than ethically obtuse.
Tom Mayer
Boulder
