Letters: Unvaccinated should pay own hospital bills. Pumpkins 'tip of the iceberg' in city
Vaccinated should have to pay for those who won't get vaccine?
It appears our Ohio Republican legislators are more supportive of those who choose not to be vaccinated rather than those of us who are doing everything we can to end this pandemic.
And it’s all for the supposed support of businesses. Are they aware many of us contact businesses to make sure everyone there is vaccinated? If not, we will not support those businesses.
More: How much empathy do you have for unvaccinated people who get coronavirus?
I would like to even the playing field and suggest that those who opt not to be vaccinated should also be financially responsible for all of their medical bills, especially if they have to be hospitalized.
More: Ohio vaccine mandate ban 'loophole' would hurt businesses, tie their hands, leader says
Susan Richmond, New Albany
Loyalty to former president shouldn't trump moral convictions
Inconsistency can be something benign – or horrendous. When a public official is duplicitous, the consequences are often tragic.
More: Letters: Here's how to make Donald Trump go away, Christian group not following 'Golden Rule'
In the pandemic’s early days, our then-president condemned China for hiding facts about COVID. Now we learn this same former president hid his own positive COVID test for days.
His dishonesty put countless people at risk.
More: As COVID-19 cases increase in Ohio, politicians blast vaccine mandates in favor of personal freedom
His irresponsibility is compounded by many otherwise good people continuing to embrace this “deceiver in chief” or claim his imprimatur as they run for office. I’m dismayed that so many can compartmentalize their political loyalty apart from their moral or religious convictions.
More: Trump tested positive for COVID before debate with Biden, former chief of staff says in new book
William A. McCartney, Delaware
Reducing organic waste helps the environment and economy
The Dec. 2 column "Solving the pumpkin problem, one gourd at a time" by Theodore Decker, raising awareness about tossed pumpkins and food waste raises a good point: We as a society must learn to better reduce, reuse, and recycle (compost) the waste we generate.
More: Theodore Decker: Pumpkins lead to contemplation of waste, and wastefulness
Every day in central Ohio, nearly a million tons of food waste enters the landfill. This takes up space and, as it breaks down, creates powerful methane gasses that are a leading cause of climate change.
That is one of the many reasons the city of Columbus is committing to have a 50% reduction of organic waste by 2030 and a 90% reduction by 2050 as part of our Climate Action Plan. These commitments will have a positive impact on our communities ranging from environment quality to economic prosperity.
More: Green Bexley: Holiday season is time to focus on ways to reduce food waste
Pumpkins are just the tip of the iceberg toward reducing organic waste and the solutions shared by Decker are a great first step for residents to consider as we move toward a more sustainable waste stream in our city.
Randy Borntrager, Assistant Director, Department of Public Service
More: How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch
Gibbons misses the mark on 2020 election security
Mike Gibbons, candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, is either clueless about election security or he is repeating Donald Trump's lies about voting.
Results in Ohio and the nation in the 2020 election have been verified as complete and accurate. U.S. elections are among the safest in the world. Ohio's use of mail-in ballots worked extremely well, allowing voting from home during a dangerous pandemic.
More: Candidates J.D. Vance, Mike Gibbons showcase wealth in crowded Ohio Senate race
Former President Trump — a notorious sore loser — created the fiction of election cheating, demanding that his followers perpetuate this lie.
Independent verifications and recounts don't matter to Trump. He is willing to bend the U.S. Constitution to fit his "I can't lose" scenario.
Half of the election officials in all 88 counties are Republicans. Ohio's top election official, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, also is a Republican. They need to set Gibbons straight on elections.
Phil Rudell, Canal Winchester
Greed more important than safety in development proposal
Theodore Decker’s Nov. 30 column is a very disappointing profile of how Columbus city government has become a systemic enabler for developer’s greed.
More: Theodore Decker: Columbus has never acted in this way before, except for that one time
On the South Side, we have been engaged in community development for decades and have never encountered anything like the current culture.
The Pizzuti-proposed development at the old Giant Eagle site in Schumacher Place fits the same bill: greed wins over safety, common sense, and property rights.
City council waived the zoning rules for parking places (416 to 262), height (35’ to 62’) and set back from the edge of the property (25’ to 0’). "Spot rezoning" was accomplished utilizing a loophole called a Commercial Planned Development. This practice is known as “pencil zoning” because it appears to just erase the rules.
More: New apartments planned on Livingston Avenue across from Nationwide Children's Hospital
Throughout the process, our residents have been all but invisible to the South Side Area Commission, Development Commission, and City Council as they each acted in lock-step with the developer. The vote from the Schumacher Civic Association was 390 votes against and 15 for the project. They are required to take the vote, but not to be guided by it.
Our historic neighborhoods, recognized as urban renewal success stories, were once the pride of the city — now they appear to be nothing more than an impediment to those determined to maximize profits.
Local media is the last, best vehicle for elevating our voices and concerns. Thank you, Mr. Decker, for pointing out the lack of transparency and integrity being provided by our elected officials.
Brenda Gischel, President, Schumacher Place Civic Association
Decrease abortions through prevention, not penalties
As the Supreme Court takes up cases related to anti-abortion laws, both sides in this debate are ratcheting up rhetoric and increasing volume, trying to shout down opponents and prove which side is “right.”
More: Statehouse Republicans pass abortion bill that could close Southwest Ohio clinics
One side says it’s a life worth protecting, the other counters that a person has a right to control their own body. Neither side is wrong — it is a developing life that should be protected, but each person should have control of their own body.
More: Letters: Abortion can't be justified, Abortion rights must be protected
Shouting about when, how and if abortions should take place obscures an important fact: Laws designed to prohibit something have a demonstrated history of failure. Banning abortions won’t make them less frequent. It will only reduce the safe, legal and publicly acknowledged procedures.
No matter the law, some people will feel so desperate that an abortion seems their best, only option. Clearly the solution to decreasing the number of abortions is not making the procedure harder to obtain, but making it harder to need.
Lacking in the national debate is the responsibility of men, which must be addressed more forcefully. If a woman can be punished for having or seeking the procedure, and/or a medical provider for doing it, the men who help create the need for an abortion must be held accountable.
More: 'Motherhood penalty' among reasons women can't 'have it all' if abortion is not legal and safe
Second, and most important: Our society needs to put time and resources into abortion prevention. That means economic stability so families can support their children; education and candid conversations so that each child is wanted, is planned for, and is fed, clothed and housed properly.
Only after all that will we truly be “pro-life.”
Mark Passerrello, Westerville
Harper cares about Ohio, not just her political career
Stories have been written about Tim Ryan’s fundraising milestones, but I think it’s important to remember that it’s not about the money.
More: Tim Ryan: 'Ohioans are at their breaking point' and need some breathing room
It is important for Ohio families to know about the people running for state offices. It seems so far in the future, but in just one year we will have the opportunity to elect a new U.S. senator. I’m worried.
I’ve seen how elections have been going in this country and feel like we can’t rely on career politicians. They don’t represent Ohio; they represent their political career. Gerrymandering is a real problem that Republicans don’t want to address because it helps keep them in power. We can’t relate to career politicians.
We can relate to someone born in the heart of Columbus, raised here by a schoolteacher. Morgan Harper represents Ohio. Harper wants to hold career politicians accountable for taking dark money and corporate donations, making them unable to act in the best interest of Ohio.
More: Progressive Democrat Morgan Harper enters U.S. Senate race, setting up challenge to Tim Ryan
Ryan can’t win a U.S. senate seat.
He reminds Ohio of every other politician who couldn’t get it done.
More: Opinion: Blaming Ma'Khia Bryant for her own death ignores truths of her short life
Harper can get it done and win Ohio with her grassroots campaign turning out voters across the state. Morgan will fight for families here. Morgan represents me.
Tania Lakey, Columbus
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: Unvaccinated should pay own medical bills, loyalty to Trump
