Weak Texas environmental laws
Re: “Inaccurate assumptions,” by Danny Sorrells, Tuesday Letters.
I am unsure whether to laugh or cry at the lack of logic in this letter from Sorrells, oil and gas director, Railroad Commission of Texas. In response to The Dallas Morning News editorial saying the chair of the commission gets too much money from the industry she oversees, Sorrells simply talks about all of the people who work for the organization.
The facts are that Texas has weak environmental laws and inadequately budgets for enforcement of the laws it does have. The weaker the laws and enforcement, the more money made by the oil and gas producers.
l urge your readers to do an internet search for “abandoned oil wells in Texas” to educate themselves on what a poor job the Railroad Commission of Texas is doing.
David Plazak, Arlington
Campaign contributions are issue
Sorrells seems to see in your Sept. 5 editorial an attack, or at least disparagement, of the commission’s workforce. Nowhere is that indicated or implied. The editorial is exclusively and clearly concerning $9 million in campaign contributions from some of those who are regulated by the Railroad Commission to its chair, Christi Craddick, who, as you say, is likely to win reelection to a third term “by a landslide.”
Lynn Adams, Garland
Density diminishing neighborhoods
Re: “Balancing builders and neighborhoods — Integrity is paramount where we live, and city planning must match execution,” by James Armstrong, Sunday Opinion.
In this excellent column, Armstrong clearly stated the frustration and dilemma we are facing in Far North Dallas at the corner of Preston at Belt Line roads with the proposed redevelopment of the Pepper Square shopping center. At the second-most traffic congested intersection in the city (according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments), the city has already approved construction of about 3,000 residential units and is now considering another 1,000 units at the same intersection.
At a recent meeting of the City Plan Commission, over 50 residents spoke against the proposal and only two in favor. In a recent survey of over 1,000 residents in 23 neighborhood and homeowners neighborhood associations, 92% were opposed.
So, the Plan Commission approved the proposal and sent it to the City Council. This is the antithesis of the concept of “representative government.” Development in pursuit of “density” will permanently alter and diminish the character of a half-century-old neighborhood.
To quote Armstrong: “A pro-neighborhood approach is a culture that doesn’t expect neighbors to prove the validity of their preference against untested urban trends. It’s an understanding that neighborhoods are the heartbeat of our city, and every new plan should be tested against the preferences of what and who are already there.”
Edward Stone, Dallas
Follow up on Trinity bond
The Dallas Morning News is doing its normal good job of covering the Dallas city government process of developing a new city budget. However, The News doesn’t seem to follow up on budgetary issues from the past that still affect citizens.
One issue is the Trinity River development bond passed by the citizens years ago. That bond was for hundreds of millions of dollars, and yet, almost nothing has been done to fulfill the promises made by city leaders for a grand, family-oriented development of the Trinity.
Where and to whom did those funds go? Do the citizens of Dallas care who received that money? Hundreds of millions would make a substantial contribution to the current budget.
Micky Preston Morris, McKinney
Education on wildlife needed
Re: “Mountain Lion Rules on the Right Track — Texas bans ‘canned hunts,’ but conservationists call for a more robust management plan,” Monday editorial.
The Texas management plan for mountain lions should not allow the hunting, taking or any cruelty toward these animals. The taking should only be allowed in the strictest of situations, such as preying on small pets, injury to humans or if rabid.
I live in Plano on Watters Creek golf course and through the years I have seen wildlife use Rowlett Creek as a mode of movement. I have seen bobcats, coyotes, foxes and packs of wild dogs. At night I can hear them howling. When I shine my high-lumen spotlight, I can see numerous pairs of eyes staring back.
Mountain lion tracks have been seen around Lake Lavon, and it would not surprise me that they are now transitioning though Plano. Management comes with education of the people who live in their habitat.
Jim Sherrard, Plano
Take Republican Party back
Re: “GOP needs an exorcism — Party must reclaim its values, writes former Republican congressman. That’s why he’s voting for the opposition,” by Alan W. Steelman, Sept. 1 Opinion.
Hear! Hear! People (including, if not especially, the current Republican candidate for president) usurping the great name and heritage of the Republican Party have driven many lifelong conservatives to proclaim independent status. These Republicans in name only who assert that others who remain loyal to the principles of the Republican Party, as so eloquently set out by Steelman, are the RINOs.
This is consistent with their leader, Donald Trump, whose strategies have been (and remain) to disparage others before they can expose them. Dishonoring our international allies, our intelligence community, our federal law enforcement and veterans who were injured or captured in performing their duties were all early signs of this strategy.
But the positions curried favor with white supremacist groups and other ultra-right-wing factions, and the strategy of repeating lies (no matter how unfounded) until people begin to believe them has misled many otherwise well-meaning people. This is not the Republican Party of our forefathers. It’s time to take it back.
David Baker, North Dallas
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