Letters to the Editor: June 19, 2024

Cover Story, June 12: “The Fast and the Furious”

Bumper to Bumper

Loud vehicle mufflers, boom boxes, red light running, racing aggressive driving and gunshots continue day and night. Police management and the majority of the City Council ignore requests from citizens, businesses and vendors with solutions. Their excuses run from here to next year and beyond. Solutions are available, including red light, speed and noise cameras, unmanned police cars, as well as shot location instruments and enhanced enforcement. How about raising the fines, shutting the Plaza at night, banning cars in the inner city, raising starting police salary to $100,000, asking NM State Police for temporary assistance and impounding violating vehicles? Voters should know that we don’t get the government we need, just the one we deserve. As Willie Nelson sings “If you don’t like who’s in there, vote ‘em out, vote ‘em out.”

Tom Andrews

Santa Fe

The issue of noise and speed is a problem the city refuses to solve. I live near the intersection of East Alameda and Paseo Peralta. I frequently hear the drivers warm up their sound and burn-out techniques on Paseo Peralta. A few minutes later similar sounds come from the Plaza area. I have never seen any enforcement present. Is the city afraid of these individuals? It is past time to put a stop to this before someone is hurt and/or the people attempt to identify, report, attempt to stop these individuals.This behavior IS NOT cultural. It is juvenile, dangerous, and unsafe.

Gary Hein

Santa Fe

Meanwhile, on Facebook…

The traffic lights are timed so poorly that if you go the speed limit you catch every single red so the city is basically forcing people to drive like maniacs imo

—Alex M. Pino

Nobody’s forcing anybody to drive like a maniac. I’ve actually had decent luck getting through the lights on Cerrillos by driving at or slightly under the speed limit.

—Sarah Koehler

News, June 12: “Studying Salaries”

A+ for us

Thank you for your comprehensive and constructive article about salaries at SFCC. I was honored to see my perspective included, and proud to see my colleagues represented as the amazing scholars and educators that they are. I read this piece with tears in my eyes. Seeing the faculty voice in the media is so validating. I am grateful for the time and energy you took to produce this article, and I look forward to collaborating with and supporting SFR for years to come.

Kate McCahill

Chair of English and Communications, Santa Fe Community College