Letters: Local group makes an impact; The case against Trump

Local group makes an impact

I’d like to share some really good news about a group within our community that generously helps to meet local needs — 100+ Women Who Care-Centre County. Members of 100+ Women Who Care commit to meet four times a year, listen to three nonprofit projects and vote for one, then write a $100 check to the nonprofit with the most votes. As a member of this group, I had the opportunity to nominate Park Forest Preschool (a nonprofit that is near and dear to my heart) for support. This preschool has been in our community for 56 years providing high quality preschool tuition-free for income qualifying families. Park Forest Preschool was selected to receive the May 2023 award from this generous and caring group of women. The monies awarded to Park Forest Preschool will be used to update important infrastructure. As a board member of this preschool, we are so very grateful for this award. Thank you 100+ Women Who Care! For anyone wanting more information about this transformative philanthropic group, please contact: 100wwc.cc@gmail.com.

The case against Trump

Trump has been indicted on some 37 counts of refusing to return classified documents, and improperly having and showing highly classified documents. Documents detailing the nuclear capabilities of various nations, including our own, documents that detail the military capabilities of various hostile nations and possible attack plans on various hostile countries should that come necessary. Methods and means for obtaining this information could allow the exposure of those discovering this information, that would probably cost them their lives.

Then the case goes wonky. Some federal government official decides to try the case in Ron Desantis’s Florida, and it “just happens” that the judge “randomly picked” is the very judge who so obviously bent the law to protect Trump previously. This seems pretty unlikely unless some palms were greased.

The likely outcome if that judge sticks to her previous pattern of behavior is that she will delay starting the trial then grant all sort of delays, with the overall result that the trail goes into the time where Trump could be reelected or could corrupt the system enough so that it looks like he did.

Then he is home free, and our democracy is toast. There needs to be a big stink about this or it may be allowed to stand.

RCO lets county choose value

As a resident of Centre County, I appreciate the support of county commissioners, Higgins and Concepcion, for the Responsible Contractor Ordinance, which would ensure the people of Centre County can have public construction projects examined for quality as opposed to what is cheap.

Rather than the county being forced to accept the cheapest bid, our commissioners could decide based on value, which includes looking at quality and cost. In the case of construction projects, weighing value means we make decisions not just on cost, but we also consider public safety, worker safety and training, and the quality of the products and work which can also mean less cost in the long run.

These are real public issues. Workers have died on construction sites recently right here in our county. We have seen major buildings collapse in other states. Without good training and quality work, infrastructure needs repair shortly after the work is completed. These are the outcomes for the public when decisions are made only on cost and not the overall value.

Without this ordinance, the county is required to accept the lowest bid which only serves to prop up low-road employers — including bids going to companies who have even been found guilty of engaging in wage theft from its workers. Sadly, it’s not a surprise that these companies and others who are focused solely on their profits are trying to stop this ordinance.

Let’s choose value, not just what is cheap.

Climate crisis created ‘Smoky Valley’

Have a nice day, but don’t breathe!

At least not outside. The anti-maskers now have a clear (or hazy) reason to wear a mask. The air in Centre County from June 7-10 was not good to breathe. This was particularly true for people with heart or lung conditions. If you didn’t have one of these, breathing that air can cause them. Was this air from Canadian wildfires not our fault? However, everything we do contributes to the climate crises such as driving our gasoline cars and heating with gas. According to the Washington Post, it is the climate crisis that increases the probability of major events like wildfires in Canada.

In “Happy Valley,” we have been mostly immune from major climate events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and droughts. However, record high temperatures and a drought watch this May were climate change events. These were harmful and costly events and many more are yet to come to “Smoky Valley.”

This is not a normal cycle of weather. That is propaganda pushed by the oil industry. According to the Washington Post, based on leaked mail and emails, the oil industry knew that it was the cause of climate change since 1981.

The fossil fuel industry spends millions on fake news, lobbyists, and false web sites. We should hold the oil industry accountable like we did the tobacco Industry. We also need to change what we drive and how we electrify our houses.