Marion Street questions

As most of the current south Albany residents have discovered, Marion Street has been rebuilt into a super highway. I'm sure the home owners on this beautiful street enjoy this. Why has our fascination with trees overpowered our good judgment? The homeowners were assessed for improvements, and what a fine job the city has done! Why would anyone plant trees under existing power lines? Why would anyone dye concrete red for some random intersections? (I've been told that was for visual interest.)

Why would anyone put islands in an already narrow street, blocking a driveway with one? Why would anyone do these kind of improvements and then not be able to keep traffic to under 40 mph?

The old Marion Street was well suited for a slow drive or a walk without all the "improvements," and it had some of the most beautiful trees in town. But for consolation, the city police get to come and go on a street with a few thousand patches and one of the roughest rail crossings anywhere around.

Duane Hillsten, Albany

What lurks in Measure 48?

As a new school year begins, Oregon voters need to be aware of the wolf in sheep's clothing lurking around the corner. That wolf is the group of individuals supporting Measure 48. Matt Evans, in his guest column of Aug. 30, has joined the infection of out-of-state special interests toting Measure 48 as a "rainy day fund." This theory could not be further from the truth.

The population plus inflation formula is flawed. It does not consider that senior populations are growing at a faster rate than that of the overall population. It does not look forward to sustaining essential state services, including public safety and housing felons. The measure would cut available money by over $1 billion a year for necessary services such as health care for children and keeping schools open all year.

The implications of Measure 48, and its buddy, Measure 41, are far-reaching. Voters, listen to Colorado. Oregon does not need to duplicate their failure. Vote "no" on Measure 48.

Michelle Wilkinson, Lebanon

Why they hate us? Israel!

America will never understand why so many Arabs want to kill us unless they finally admit that Israel's land theft is the root problem. Just yesterday, the Israeli government issued military order number 20-T/901 to expropriate some 275 acres of farmlands that belong to Palestinian farmers near Hebron. That makes the total confiscated around 2,200 acres of the best farmland in the region.

Arab hatred of the U.S. and Israel will only grow with each new confiscation of Palestinian land.

If you don't admit that Israel's injustice inflames Arab hatred, you can only see Arabs as sociopaths, killing civilians for no reason, to rid the world of non-Islamists. That is a false impression.

Until the recent war against civilians on both sides, most of Hezbollah's attacks were against military forces they believed were illegally occupying their land. They consider themselves protectors of Lebanese soil against Israeli aggression, just as Hamas considers themselves resistance to Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

It is ironic that both Israel and the neighboring Arab states fear the other will wipe them off the map. Excessive, unfounded fear causes atrocity. But Israel could resolve this (and go a long way to winning the "war" on terror) by granting the Palestinians a contiguous, viable state instead of continuing to confiscate more land. Surely acquiring other people's land is not more important than the people.

June Forsyth Kenagy, Albany

Sure, let's blame the cat!

Lunette, I read your letter (Sept. 4). And a bit of critical thinking might be of use. Let us examine the facts:

As you ended your bath, you noted the pink hairnet was not where you had put it and was not where you normally put those sorts of things.

That clearly exonerates your cleaning lady of any suspicion (of a crime, or an accidental trashing), as it was lost then, not later.

So who else was in your house?

Your cat is offered as the sole resident besides yourself.

Just because your cat did not barf up the hairnet does not mean it did not eat it.

But I doubt it did.

I think you should look much harder in strange places a cat might play that item into.

I have found light bulbs from my minilight Christmas strings years later, in places nowhere near where the tree was, or ever is.

If it is fun to play with - Pink? Fuzzy? Soft? Rolls? Sounds like a toy to me? - then that is what was probably done with it.

It's no mystery what happened to the the pink hairnet.

Cats, on the other hand - mysterious indeed!

Darrell Gregg, Albany

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