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New House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke to Sean Hannity on Thursday about the recent mass shooting in Maine.
He said, "At the end of the day, the problem is the human heart. It's not guns, it's not the weapons."
The last time I checked, the people in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand also had human hearts. Yet they do not experience the carnage that we put up with here in the United States.
Elaine Gerr Ruder, Minneapolis
ST. PAUL BALLOT QUESTION
City already has money, if it looks
I write to challenge the Star Tribune Editorial Board's recommendation to "Vote 'yes' for better St. Paul streets" (editorial endorsement, Oct. 29). We have lived and worked in St. Paul for more than 50 years. Yes, the streets are generally in terrible condition. The question, however, is why. Yes, prior mayors decided to not raise taxes. As a result there have been less funds available than have been needed to maintain the streets. As the board noted, state aid has also been inadequate. Even more important has been the city's apparent unwillingness to work with the nonprofit entities that pay no taxes and yet hold a very large portion of assessed land value in St. Paul but whose staff, students, vendors and others use our streets.
More important, however, I suggest editorial writers come to St. Paul and review the many road and similar projects that we think are not only unnecessary but wasteful. Current projects recently completed, nearing completion or on the drawing board include the following: bump-outs at intersections, cement barriers in the middle of busy streets (Fairview Avenue), sidewalks where there are few walkers (Ayd Mill Road and Marshall Avenue between Cretin Avenue and Otis Avenue) and, not to be overlooked, the proposal for material change to Summit Avenue. Let us also look at the many hires by Mayor Melvin Carter that bloat the city payroll. The list goes on. There are funds to be found if the solons would simply manage what is already available to the city.
