It appears to me that parents and educators in Gilbert need to do a better job teaching young people about nonviolent conflict resolution. There seem to be a lot of teens who immediately turn to violence when they don’t get their way or, sadly, just for giggles.
We’ve all seen the case of the violent gang attacking young people for no apparent reason. Now we have a group of boys who are accused of intentionally setting an occupied building on fire because they were blocked on social media by one of the occupants.
Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but the damage was significant. Your story said that the two boys arrested have already been released from juvenile detention. Just as with the soft treatment of the “Gilbert Goons,” that seems insufficient to me.
Why would two teenagers be allowed to walk freely through neighborhoods where they recently destroyed property and came frighteningly close to killing people? I wouldn’t want them walking around my neighborhood.
I think that we incarcerate too many people in this country for nonviolent crimes. But when someone demonstrates a desire to hurt others, we as a society have a responsibility to protect others from them.
Gilbert needs to wake up.
Dan Peel, Scottsdale
You can help save shooting range
I recently read a letter to the editor in The Arizona Republic about the Joe Foss Shooting Complex in Buckeye closing to the public.
There are still a few things we can do to prevent the range from being closed to the public permanently. Contact parks and recreation, contact your county supervisor, and contact all the men running for sheriff this year.
The transfer of the range to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is not finalized until the board of supervisors approves it, and this has not happened yet.
If you’re not familiar with the Joe Foss Range, I invite you to contact your representatives, anyway. Maricopa County is worse off today than it was last month because the range is closed to the public.
If government overreach, the misuse of public land, lacking government transparency, or the closure of a popular public shooting range and community gathering place sound like things you’d like to stop, join me at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meeting at 9:30 a.m. on July 24.
Ivy Barrett, Buckeye
Take down election signs sooner
Some people complain about political signs being everywhere; not me.
I am happy to see the large number of different campaign signs up during the election season. The various campaign signs indicate that our democratic republic is still alive and well, and that we the people still have a varied choice in whom we choose to represent or lead us at the town or city, county, state and federal levels.
What I don’t like about all the political signs is that so many remain up after they are no longer useful. Primary candidates who are not selected to go onto the general election should take down their signs in a fairly quick manner.
The law gives them 15 days, but I think they should have their signs down by the end of the first weekend after the primary. And candidates in the November general election, whether the winner or just a runner-up, should do the same immediately after that election.
To leave signs up much longer is a show of disrespect to we the voters and everyone else.
We don’t have autumn tree color changes in the Valley, as is common back East. These signs do give us some scenery variety during the year, and after the election, it’s like bare trees.
Robert James, Fountain Hills
DOJ criticism is grossly misleading
Maricopa County Attorney Rachell Mitchell’s diatribe against the Department of Justice report is grossly misleading.
She begins by stating that, “abuses by public servants should never be tolerated.”
One wonders, then, why she supported her office’s decision to charge Nubia Rodriguez with negligent homicide in the traffic death of Officer Paul Rutherford?
Even after a Superior Court judge ruled that police and prosecutors presented grand jurors with evidence and testimony that was misleading and designed to distract from the facts of the case?
Mitchell then continues with the failure of the federal government to address the fentanyl epidemic or open borders that have led to more crime.
She must be aware that most fentanyl is brought into the country by U.S. citizens through ports of entry, not smuggled across an open border.
Further, substantial research has shown that immigrants have a similar or lower likelihood of incarceration compared to native-born Americans.
Ironically, she then says that the DOJ uses bits and pieces of information with little or no supporting evidence.
We deserve facts from our county attorney, not just rehashed political talking points.
Mike Ringer, Scottsdale
This this the 'American way' we want?
Jon Gabriel writes about how important, and perhaps elusive, it is to “restore the American way,” the “Leave It To Beaver” world of innocence and order, and how fragile freedom really is, per Ronald Reagan and his three-legged stool.
The conservatives have the answer, he says. The hypocrisy is so staggering, it’s hard to know where to begin.
By freedoms, does he mean governmental interference? Like rolling back basic civil liberties, the rights of women, the rights of minorities or any others who dare to express differing philosophies or points of view, of celebrating book banning, or selecting what history can be taught in schools and what must be hidden?
Is that the kind of freedom he’s referring to?
The national debt has risen more under Republican administrations than Democratic ones. Since 1949, there has been better economic performance under Democrats, including GDP growth, job growth, lower unemployment rates, less inflation, lower interest rates, and the list goes on.
History, facts, accuracy ... they all matter when talking about “restoring the American way.”
Robert Hopkins, Cave Creek
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