Letters to the Editor, October 18, 2000

RU-486 a Boon to Society and the World

To the Editor:

Thanks to national organizations such as Zero Population Growth (ZPG) RU-486 will soon be legally available in this country. RU-486 gives women the right to freely decide the number of children they will have, and since U.S. unplanned pregnancy rates are still near 50 percent this should help reduce this number. By being able to better plan how many children they want to have and space them better, access to this prescription drug will help women, children and families across the country.

Living in a boom-town which is experiencing substantial growth, it often occurs to me that we need to take proactive steps in order to ward off becoming another Los Angeles. I'm not the only person who worries about this comparison becoming real, as we watch our traffic congestion worsen and indicators like days when we can see Mt. Rainier and the Olympics clearly lessening each year. Every environmental problem I can think of has, at its core, human population growth. Last year we surpassed the 6 billion humans mark, and every day we're pushing closer to 7 billion. I believe will reach that number within the next ten years unless something radical happens. Making RU-486 and surgical abortion more easily accessible, increasing the availability of the morning-after pill (Preven, Plan-B - Wal-Mart WAKE UP!), improving sex education classes for the young, making it mandatory for insurance companies to cover prescription contraceptive methods, and increasing U.S.-funded international family planning assistance are just few of the "must haves" if we ever hope to live on a planet not crushed by the weight of humanity.

Just the other day I read that over 11,000 species are thought to be on the brink of extinction this year alone. We, supposedly the most intelligent species, should be ashamed of ourselves that we let superstition, outdated or misinterpreted religious beliefs and outright stupidity guide us into overburdening this wonderful planet with people. US citizens are even more resource-dependent than any other group of humans on the planet, so any effort we can make to lessen our numbers will have an even greater benefit for society by decreasing the amount of fuel, water and other resources we use up at a (currently) alarming rate.

The people who fought the battle to bring RU-486 to market in this country should be commended by every intelligent and forward-thinking person in the U.S. It is a milestone for women, men and children of this generation and all future ones. I'm sure if the butterflies, dolphins, monkeys, ants and other species could applaud, they'd be doing so. They need us to take even bolder steps as soon as possible to make this planet one that provides a healthy environment for all species. Any and all steps we can take to lessen our numbers are good first steps.

Albert Kaufman
Boardmember, Zero Population Growth, Seattle Chapter

No New Taxes for King County Metro

To the Editor:

There is an unrelenting fiscal assault on the people of Seattle. This year we are facing the possibility of three new property taxes and a sales tax for Metro. Voters in the primary have already passed two submitted County property tax measures. King County's Proposition 1 (.2 percent tax increase) and Seattle's Proposition 1 ($198 million Park Levy) will be on the "2000" general election ballot.

In 2001, Seattleites will be facing the prospect of a $398 million property tax school levy and a 6 percent property tax levy for the City's transportation needs, with still another 6 percent property tax transportation levy in 2002. But, what about this year's sales tax increase?

The following is a statement against King County Proposition 1--.2 percent sales tax increase.

Proposition 1 will add two-tenths of one percent to the six-tenths of one percent sales tax Metro already receives--an annual $80 million increase. What the proposition ignores, however, is the fact that the "$30 license tab" part of Initiative 695 is now state law. Every level of government statewide must reconcile itself to reduced revenues from the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) and accordingly, to control its spending. King County, unwilling to cut its $2.6 billion budget, intends instead to meet its revenue demands by increasing the sales tax.

Devising tax schemes has become an obsession with King County's elected officials as they continue their spending spree, meanwhile blaming their bothersome financial shortages on I-695.

Unconscionably, this proposed Metro subsidy will hike our regressive, unfair sales tax. This year alone 3.44 billion in state sales tax will be collected within King County, and will increase significantly as the price of goods and services rises.

Enough is enough. Vote NO on Proposition 1.

o Metro currently receives $240 million annually from the state sales tax. o Proposition 1 isn't about maintaining present transit operations, but a major expensive overhaul of Metro. o The County's answer to Metro's problems has always been to tax and spend more. It did not provide solutions then and it certainly will not now. o Once voted, Proposition 1 is an $80 million per year tax increase--forever and ever. Vote NO--November 7.

Bob Hegamin
Fred Bucke

Deja Vu Club's Profits Depend on Economic Disparity of Women

To the Editor:

Deja Vu is back in business across the street from Seattle's world famous Pike Place Market. Local shoppers and out of town guests will find that along with their lettuce and lattes they can stop in for a lap dance if the mood prevails.

Since Deja Vu's backers had to pay quite a sum to remodel the interior of their new location on 1st Ave, it's the least Seattle can do to welcome them back by pressuring the City Council to move quickly on an ordinance that's been in the works for more than a year making it a criminal offense if the dancers stand closer than eight feet to their customers. Perhaps this will be just what it takes to get Deja Vu to move out of Seattle's beautiful Pike Place Market neighborhood.

One of the ironies is that not only are the owners of Deja Vu benefiting financially but so is the city. It's noteworthy that the dancers have to pay expensive license fees to the city and that on the evening of Deja Vu's grand opening there were police officers on hand issuing citations for violations of city code.

One of the most important aspects frequently overlooked is that some women are in economic situations where one of the only ways they can make a decent living is through Deja Vu-type exploitation. The way our economy is set up, some women are provided with too few choices and are in essence economically coerced to perform. This exploitation of women makes a mockery of human intimacy and panders to the lowest common denominator men share to some degree.

The downtown community that wants to make Seattle more appealing to visitors ought to be lead by our city government in providing unconditional support for single mothers and living wage jobs to everyone. With a commitment to economic fairness, women will no longer be economically channeled into jobs with places like Deja Vu.

I hope other residents of Seattle who care about this issue will make their opinions known to the City Council.

Tom Hundley

Parks for All Property Tax Levy a Good Buy

To the Editor

On November 7, we have an opportunity to make a difference at a critical time in Seattle's history by supporting Proposition 1, Parks for All. This funding will help preserve Thornton Creek, which flows through Northeast Seattle, and the associated riparian corridors that provide habitat, temperature control, improved water quality, and flood control--and the places of discovery and learning that we and our children have come to enjoy.

Some may think it's too late to save or restore our creeks, but just this week we've seen sockeye salmon returning to spawn in Thornton Creek. This is the first time in my memory that we've seen sockeye here, and they're traveling as far as a mile upstream.

It takes a whole community to save a creek, including volunteer restoration efforts, daylighting projects, attention to land uses throughout the watershed and good care by streamside homeowners. But it also takes funding. It is not getting any cheaper to buy open space land in Seattle, another important step in saving Seattle's creeks. We need to act now to save those undeveloped streamside properties that preserve habitat for a variety of wildlife and provide buffers from surrounding development. Proposition 1 would provide designated funding for Thornton Creek open space preservation.

It would also target important park, neighborhood service center and community center redevelopment projects that would enhance the Lake City civic core. With the help of Proposition 1--Parks for All funding we can begin to have a central focus for people in Lake City where they can find civic services, shopping, transit connections, and areas of repose or recreation in a safe and pleasant surrounding close to where they live. It will provide a place for coming together to engage in a variety of activities from celebration to community building.

These are just a few of the dozens of park projects in North Seattle that are targeted in Parks for All--all worth the investment! Please vote yes on November 7 for Proposition 1 so that future generations will also enjoy Seattle as a livable city, with special joys like seeing salmon right in their own neighborhoods.

Cheryl Klinker
Thornton Creek Alliance

Initiative 745 Would Perpetuate Road-building Funding Dominance over Transit

To the Editor:

How ridiculous I-745 is! Stripping funding from all transportation choices, other than driving your car and then giving that money to road builders will not be a one-time deal. Every future attempt to remedy the situation will thwarted. Say that a municipality wants to save its crippled transit system by providing funding that was lost to roads. Because of the 90 percent – 10 percent split built into I-745, the municipality would need to come up with nine times that funding to give to road building. This is nuts! Voting yes on I-745 is not just shooting yourself in the foot, it's pulling that trigger again and again and again. Washington, save your boots and your future pairs of boots. Vote NO on I-745.

Darryl Estes

Initiative 745 Would Rob Disabled of Vital Transit Service

To the Editor:

For a couple of years I was a volunteer, working with the deaf and deaf-blind people in the Seattle area. I would take these people grocery shopping, to doctor appointments or to look for a new place to live, while hoping to improve my sign language skills in the process. When looking for a new place to live, deaf-blind people always looked for apartments on the bus-line. This was critical because their physical condition demands they use public transit on a daily basis, to and from work and for everything else. And this is why I am voting no on Initiave 745.

As I understand it, I-745 will take anywhere from 50 - 90 percent of public transit funds and put them into road building and maintenance of existing roads. Decreasing or eliminating bus service would directly impact deaf-blind people in a most negative way. Deaf-blind people are just as intelligent as you or I and yet face huge hurdles, unimaginable to most of us, in finding employment and housing, not to mention the difficulties in doing daily tasks that hearing and sighted people take for granted. It would be unconscionable for us to vote in something that would place yet another hurdle in their daily lives. Please vote no on I-745.

Mary Ann Schroeder

City Should Move to Purchase Northgate South Parking Lot

To the Editor:

Thank you for your coverage of the Northgate south parking lot and Thornton Creek. You have done a good service for the community.

Is there a movement afoot to get the city to purchase the land, uncover and beautify the creek? It seems to me that a project like this could pay for itself if the excess land is resold and if the increase in property values of the surrounding area caused an increase in tax revenue in the years to come. Not to mention the obvious enhancement of the neighborhood and maybe salmon spawning.

Thank you again for your civic contribution.

Jim Heath

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