Readers Write: Enbridge Line 3, presidential primary, infrastructure spending, light rail, Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The Jan. 14 letter to the editor "We can't 'modernize' energy with technology from last century" fails to take into account some important facts.

First, Enbridge's Line 3 replacement project in Minnesota is about safety; we're replacing an old pipeline with a new one that uses the most advanced technology to protect the environment and ensure people receive affordable energy they need and count on every single day.

We believe climate change is a serious issue that requires action, and Enbridge is taking steps to address the challenge head-on. In fact, we are part of the solution to the transition to a lower carbon future.

For example, Enbridge has set and met greenhouse gas targets and is setting more aggressive ones. We've helped our utility customers reduce consumption and emissions equal to taking 10 million cars off the road. Half of our business is dedicated to moving natural gas in North America, which is helping to drive down carbon emissions dramatically. And, we've invested nearly $8 billion in renewables in the U.S. and around the globe.

Line 3 is a $2.6 billion private investment in Minnesota's energy infrastructure that will create 4,000 construction jobs, an additional $35 million in annual taxes for communities along the right of way, and $100 million in spending with tribal- and native-owned businesses. In respect and recognition of treaty rights, Enbridge has been working with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, which led a groundbreaking cultural survey that identified resources and led to adjustments of the route of Line 3.

By upgrading and modernizing existing infrastructure and investing in new technologies, Enbridge is at the forefront of delivering long-term and sustainable energy solutions. Too often, the debate is framed as "either environment or energy." We're committed to "both/and" to deliver the energy Minnesota families need — safely, reliably and cleaner.

The writer is project director of the Line 3 replacement.

Don't sit out the presidential primary election! Yes, I myself would have preferred that the presidential primary balloting had the same ballot format as the admirably anonymous traditional ballot — one party along one edge of the ballot and the other party along the other edge ("We pay $12 million; the parties take our data. Sound fair?" Readers Write, Jan. 20).

Remember, however, that — especially in these challenging times — what is important is your vote, not a mangled voting process. And that the so-called loyalty oath is simply a statement that you are enough of a Democrat to vote in the Democratic presidential nominating election or enough of a Republican to vote in the Republican presidential nominating election.

There is nothing certain individuals would want more than for you to sit at home on Election Day. As we hear time and again, young Americans have given their lives so that you could act and do what a citizen of this republic is supposed to do. Don't trash your vote!

I will not be voting in the presidential primary because I do not know if I am a moderate Democrat who believes in fiscal responsibility or a moderate Republican with a social conscience. There is no place for me, and I do not want solicitations from either party.

I applaud Gov. Tim Walz's refusal to include highway expansion projects in his new bonding proposal ("How will state pay for roads, bridges?" front page, Jan. 20). But I caution the governor and Legislature against finding other ways to fund roadway expansion when user fees on driving fall short of maintaining what we've already built.

Less than 38% of state road expenses are covered through user fees such as the gas tax and motor vehicle sales tax per recent Tax Foundation data. The vast majority of roadway expenses are cross-subsidized from the general fund, meaning people and companies who choose to drive less are covering for people and companies who choose to drive more.

We can't afford to maintain the roads we already have, let alone build more interchanges, lanes, highways and bridges like the bonding requests sent to the governor.

To climb out of a hole, first stop digging deeper. That means no new roads.

Facts do not support a recent letter writer's claim ("Our 'griping' is for a good reason," Jan. 17) that the Metropolitan Council is pushing ahead with co-location of light rail and freight trains in the Kenilworth route "due solely to bureaucratic intransigence." There can be legitimate debate about the role of light rail in future transportation. There can be legitimate debate about whether the public is better served by light rail to Eden Prairie or a network of streetcar routes in Minneapolis. But light-rail planners began looking at multiple routes between Hopkins and downtown Minneapolis more than a decade ago, and eliminated a number of possibilities because of excessive travel times or excessive costs (such as rebuilding Hwy. 100 to accommodate light rail.)

Three remaining choices were studied in greater depth. One, rerouting freight through St. Louis Park, was killed when the railroad exercised its legal power to veto it. Another was rejected because politically, it would kill the district along Nicollet Avenue known as Eat Street, and operationally, it would dead-end in downtown without a correction to lines to the airport and St. Paul. That is what leaves Kenilworth as the only viable route for efficient service between Eden Prairie and downtown, not "bureaucratic intransigence."

There are many events and honors for this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, most focused on King. But here's one that will last decades:

Many kudos to the U.S. Navy for naming the next Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier for Doris Miller, African-American Navy Cross recipient, for his actions on the battleship West Virginia at Pearl Harbor and who later gave his life while serving on an escort carrier in the Pacific ("Navy plans to name carrier after black sailor, a hero at Pearl Harbor," Jan. 20). Usually, just the smaller support and combat ships are named for enlisted men. The gigantic $13 billion fleet carriers go to presidents and national leaders. To its great credit, this time the Navy is choosing a common seaman to represent all sailors who have served, fought and also died on its ships, and Doris Miller, whose highest rank was Cook Third Class, is an ideal choice to be that representative.

The USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), set to begin construction in 2023, will replace the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) named after the former Georgia congressman who also happened to be a staunch segregationist. That's the cherry on top.

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