Please explain who gets ‘affordable housing’ in Lexington; it’s not people like me | Opinion
Affordable housing
I would like someone to explain to me exactly who “affordable housing” is for because based on what I’ve been through to find a place to live, it seems it means people that can afford a place. And I’m assuming that does not mean low-income people.
During the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic, I went to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Housing Authority three times and knocked on the door, but no one answered. I know there were people there because I saw them sneaking out a side door. How pitiful is that? All I want is a decent place to live in, is that asking too much?? Again I can’t afford a lot, but would like someone to point me in the right direction to accomplish that.
Pete Horine, Lexington
Brannon traffic
The Brannon Crossing Development project is a “massive project” and an economic boon to Lexington and Nicholasville. Ah, but the traffic! Already there is talk of widening Brannon Road. Nicholasville Road may soon be next. Thus, now is the time to consider sustainable alternatives, such as:
▪ Working with LexTran to develop DEDICATED express transit lanes between Brannon Crossing and major places of employment (UK, Hospitals, Lexmark, Toyota, …)
▪ Adding a “park and ride” hub at Brannon Crossing to facilitate the express transit options
▪ Working with major employers to incentivize “park and ride” as well as carpooling (using apps such as RIDE AMIGOS, already in use at the University of Kentucky)
▪ Building out safe and attractive bike paths to give people even more transportation options
Of course, these options cannot be put into place by a single community. Nicholasville, Georgetown and Lexington are intimately linked together by the people crisscrossing the area for jobs, shopping, schooling, entertainment. They must work together to address the urgent need for sustainable transportation solutions: effective public transit, carpooling, safe bike paths on major traffic corridors, more options for everyone. And that work must start now.
Linda Froehlich, Lexington
Difference indifference
Dr. King’s dream of a color-blind society is idyllic, but not achievable. Humans are alive today because of their ability to differentiate and discriminate between good and evil, safe and dangerous, etc. This genetic ability cannot be turned off and on. So, we need to accept that we are always going to notice, for example, skin color and other obvious differences. We need to change the color-blind goal to one that is more reachable--difference-indifference. That is, we need to acknowledge the differences we see but become indifferent to them and realize different-looking persons as just another human beings with whom we have far more things in common than the superficial differences we see.
Start a conversation. It could become the beginning of a friendship.
Ray Davis, Lexington
Printed quality
There have been numerous letters to the Lexington Herald-Leader protesting the cancellation of Joel Pett’s editorial cartoons. I think Pett’s elimination is just one of many bad decisions the paper has chosen to embrace.
Every day, I open my paper to less and less substance. If the writers aren’t re-milking natural disasters they are headlining restaurant openings and closings as if these are ground-shaking events in history. In addition, I’ve noticed on Sundays, much of the content is already available to read on Saturday!
The comics are ridiculous. This is a part of the paper I’ve loved, even as a kid. Now, most of the familiar strips we’ve read for years have been taken out and in their place are one-square strips that are----well--- just dumb!! We don’t even have “Family Circus” anymore! Who is the genius who thinks changing comic strips improves the paper? Obviously they are unfamiliar with their audience; an audience that has depended on reading its favorites for a daily laugh!
Another thing that bugs me is the lack of good proof-reading. Random words are capitalized; participles are displaced; sentences (are) disorganized so that, if not read carefully, a person could come up with a totally different story than the one intended by the writer.
I would think, in this day and age, with printed news becoming less and less in demand, quality would improve rather than weaken. This is not the case with the Herald-Leader.
Suzanne F. Jones, Lexington
HIV support
Given the current climate in Congress and Washington, D.C., you’d be tempted to believe our lawmakers are unable to agree on anything. But that’s not true.
Twenty years ago, President George W. Bush created the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, otherwise known as PEPFAR, with strong bipartisan support. Since then, it has saved 25 million lives and allowed 5.5 million babies to be born HIV-free who otherwise would have been infected.
This is a stunning success by any measure, but if PEPFAR is not reauthorized, many lives will be at risk. As a Christian, I believe that every human being has immeasurable value, and that every child in the world deserves a chance to live and thrive. We are asking U.S. Rep. Andy Barr to please support reauthorizing this life-saving program.
Shannon Conforti, Executive Director, Christian Flights International, Berea
GOP ads
I’m infuriated at the GOP ads against Gov. Andy Beshear. He tried to save lives during the pandemic’s first years. You’d think he tried to kill people. No, that would be Cameron. If it helped people, he took it to court. The church angle is insufferable. Apparently, Cameron and the GOP believe God is confined to a box, only capable of being worshipped in the box. Many churches went to outside services or streamed services online. They still worshiped God. We don’t need a room or a building to worship the Christian God.
As for prisoner recidivism, that happens. Sometimes, they go on to do worse crimes. There are people who’ve never been jailed who committed the same crimes as the three specific cases the GOP is drawing attention to. Notice, they align with the crimes of some of those pardoned by former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin.
As for the appointments to the Board of Education, Bevin did it and was praised for it.
Cameron supported: police shooting Breonna Taylor; Bevins’ pardons; not protecting people in a pandemic; not allowing parents to make health decisions for their children; and banning books.
What are Cameron’s plans for Kentucky? To make us a mean and unwelcoming state? Looks like it.
Glenna Brouse, Lexington
