Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

Regarding the article "New goal: 60% of Mpls. trips car-free" (June 26): I love biking and taking the bus or the light rail when it is possible, and I am happy to see that the city has ambitions to raise the percentage of car-alternative trips from around a third to around 60% in seven years. I was surprised that the only way the city mentioned achieving this was through marketing campaigns. These campaigns are good as they address one of the largest areas of opportunities (the people who are unaware/unfamiliar of transit options) — but we will have to be more creative if we are going to reach that ambitious of a goal.

One thing the article did not mention was making the whole system more convenient to use and understand for those who never or rarely use public transportation. Today if you want to take public transportation and you have not before, you have to do a ton of research and, potentially, create an account online and buy a ticket by manually typing in your information.

It's time to meet the consumer where they are when they are making their transportation decision: in Google or Apple Maps. Google has done an incredible job of showcasing not just the directions and timelines for driving, but also showing the same for biking and public transportation. Unfortunately if you select the public transportation option, you run into a dead end — just numbers of buses, but no way to buy the ticket right there.

As we hire marketing firms to improve the reputation of transit, we should consider investing in a partnership with Google/Apple Maps to make taking public transit as easy as buying a coffee.

Billy Bird, Minneapolis

"Could they pay you to buy an e-bike?" asks the Star Tribune Editorial Board on June 24. Meanwhile, the New York Post of a similar date has a headline reading "Following fatal battery fires, NYC needs more rules for e-bikes." And the New York Times of just five days ago offers, "How E-Bike Battery Fires Became a Deadly Crisis in New York City." A standard retort from those promoting e-bikes is that the fires may have been caused by inferior or mismatched batteries and misinformed consumers. Regardless, these fires are explosive, cannot be extinguished by water and are deadly in multifamily housing. The Star Tribune Editorial Board and the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota would do well to consider these risks and how to avoid them rather than ignoring or poo-pooing them.

William A. Levin, Minneapolis

Regarding the salaries of state employees vs. salaries of employees in the private sector ("State employees seek cost-of-living hike after years of low, no increase," June 21, and "Contract reached for state workers," June 27), it's impossible to make a fair total compensation comparison without factoring in the higher cost of nonsalary benefits that state employees now receive. Among these higher benefits are more vacation and paid sick leave days, more paid holidays, a better health plan and a defined benefit pension plan of a kind that has all but disappeared in the private sector. And this list doesn't even include the greater job security that state employees have.

Young people considering whether to work for the state may not place much value in some of these benefits, like the pension plan, but they have a significant cost impact nonetheless. Before any major changes to state employee salaries to bring them up to levels in the private sector, it's important to include the true cost of nonsalary benefits offered in both employment sectors in addition to just the salaries.

Earl L. Hoffman, Minnetonka

Give mercy only to those who make a true mistake. By comparison, according to charges, Derrick Thompson was speeding, ran a red, killed five people and fled, possibly because he had drugs in his car. He previously had been convicted in California of a less serious crime, of which he served less than a third of an eight-year sentence. He got his mercy there. He cannot be trusted to be out in public — if not ever again, for a very long time. What the family, prosecutor or judge think about his ability to reform is irrelevant to protecting his next victims.

I have already written my legislator asking that the category "criminal vehicular homicide" be eliminated. Do we have similar categories for guns, knifes, clubs or poison? You allegedly chose to drive nearly twice the speed limit, run a red light and kill five people. If you don't die, you should go to prison forever or for decades. No different from committing a mass shooting with five victims.

Joel Stegner, Edina

Hunter Biden was given a slap on the wrist for his late tax submittal and gun application violation. But the real issue with him is currently being suppressed by the media, FBI and Department of Justice. The FBI has had his laptop for some four years. There appears to be compelling evidence of influence-peddling between him and China, with his father and family potentially being primary benefactors. Hunter's previous business partner has made comments that would appear to implicate him as well. And now, in recent days, a whistleblower has brought forth an alleged text message where Hunter insisted that his demands to Chinese officials be met or serious repercussions would occur. The contents of the laptop and all of these allegations need to be investigated with transparency. If they are in fact true, this matter is far more serious than the recent uproar over favors bestowed upon Supreme Court justices.

Richard Foley, Edina

Don't get me wrong. Goodwill provides an important service. We do what we can. We are just overwhelmed. And we can't keep sending this stuff to landfills. The real solution is to consume less. So before buying, ask yourself, is it really needed? Is it worth the environmental cost? Many people talk about how reducing the debt is important so that we don't put a financial burden on our children and grandchildren. Well, what about the environment? Be a good ancestor. Don't leave a world full of toxic trash.