{"id":331,"date":"2025-07-22T19:34:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T19:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/?p=331"},"modified":"2025-07-23T09:48:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T09:48:52","slug":"colorado-has-a-bridge-it-wants-to-sell-you-readers-not-buying-it-letters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/22\/colorado-has-a-bridge-it-wants-to-sell-you-readers-not-buying-it-letters\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado has a bridge it wants to sell you: Readers not buying it (Letters)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Readers not buying this bridge<\/h4>\n<p>Re: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/07\/14\/polis-pedestrian-bridge-capitol-millions-150th\/\">Gov. Polis\u2019 pedestrian bridge has a long way to go<\/a>,\u201d July 13 editorial<\/p>\n<p>The editorial laid out great reasons that this project should be scrapped:<\/p>\n<p>1) The cost is unaffordable with today\u2019s budget constraints.<\/p>\n<p>2) The design failed to follow mandated design guidelines.<\/p>\n<p>3) \u201cUndulating waves like Colorado\u2019s white-water rapids\u201d \u2013 really? Have any of the designers actually been white water rafting? Hint, it\u2019s called \u201cwhite water\u201d for a reason.<\/p>\n<p>4) \u201cFrom the steps of the Capitol looking west, visitors see a panoramic view that includes our iconic skyline, art museum, Central Library, Denver\u2019s beautiful city hall and our majestic mountains\u201d \u2014 yet they want to block the mountain view with a bridge to nowhere.<\/p>\n<p>This is part of the problem with all the transplants (and I am referring to all the politicians) to Colorado \u2014 they don\u2019t recognize what we have to offer with natural beauty.<\/p>\n<p><em>Mark D Cutright, Englewood<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This is a big, stupid waste of money that could be spent on important things like homelessness, hunger, fighting ICE raids, covering new Medicare gaps, etc.<\/p>\n<p><em>Susan Hooyengaj, Denver<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The editorial can best be described as wishy-washy.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\">\n<h2 class=\"widget-title\" data-curated-ids=\"\" data-relation-type=\"automatic-primary-tag\">Related Articles<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/07\/14\/polis-pedestrian-bridge-capitol-millions-150th\/\" title=\"Polis\u2019 pedestrian bridge has a long way to go, but is worth the journey (Editorial)\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tPolis\u2019 pedestrian bridge has a long way to go, but is worth the journey (Editorial)\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/07\/13\/denver-mike-johnston-mayor-residents-views-performance\/\" title=\"Denverites weigh in on Mayor Mike Johnston\u2019s first two years, from cheers to disappointments\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tDenverites weigh in on Mayor Mike Johnston\u2019s first two years, from cheers to disappointments\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/07\/11\/denver-central-library-hours-closed-friday-renovation\/\" title=\"Denver spent $60 million on its library \u2014 and still closes every Friday (Opinion)\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tDenver spent $60 million on its library \u2014 and still closes every Friday (Opinion)\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/07\/03\/john-cen-cobra-kai-fan-expo-cherry-creek-arts-fest-warm-cookies-zeds-dead-tickets\/\" title=\"Things to do: John Cena, \u2018Cobra Kai\u2019 at Fan Expo; Cherry Creek Arts Fest\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tThings to do: John Cena, \u2018Cobra Kai\u2019 at Fan Expo; Cherry Creek Arts Fest\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/06\/30\/fireworks-vs-drone-shows\/\" title=\"Fireworks vs. drones: As options grow, cities search for balance of safety and spectacle\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tFireworks vs. drones: As options grow, cities search for balance of safety and spectacle\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n<p>We don\u2019t see any redeeming aspects to the proposal. It will ruin an iconic vista for absolutely no reason. It won\u2019t solve a problem but instead will likely create a few. It will cost a fortune, money that should be better spent elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrivate donors and a visionary architect\u201d cannot correct these issues. This project is an affront to the dignity of the historic area and is completely unnecessary. It should be abandoned before any more money is spent.<\/p>\n<p><em>Judy and Larry Trompeter, Denver<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Talking reason about unreasonable politicians<\/h4>\n<p>Re: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/07\/12\/george-teal-communist-conspiracy-ron-weinberg-sexual-comments\/\">A guide for Colorado lawmakers to keep their feet out of their mouths<\/a>,\u201d July 13 commentary<\/p>\n<p>Twice now, I have actually agreed with Krista Kafer. Her comments on the stupidity of George Teal, a Douglas County Commissioner, and state Rep. Ron Weinberg were right on the mark.<\/p>\n<p>To be near my three granddaughters, I moved from north Denver to Douglas County. The good thing is I am eight minutes from my granddaughters. The bad news is I have to live in Douglas County. Parker and Castle Rock are not much better and Castle Rock might be worse. Don\u2019t even get me started on Elizabeth.<\/p>\n<p>As the Trump administration continues to chip away at the Constitution \u2014 through challenging birthright citizenship and passing his \u201cBig Beautiful Bill,\u201d which is going to affect the poorest, most vulnerable people in our country \u2014 I wonder where this is all going to end. The deporting of U.S. citizens and creating his own private army with the expansion of ICE at the taxpayers\u2019 expense is egregious.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe it is time for Krista Kafer to re-examine her political affiliation. I don\u2019t expect her to become a Democrat. But I think she is slowly transforming into an independent. Ironically, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/655157\/gop-holds-edge-party-affiliation-third-straight-year.aspx\">Gallup poll<\/a>, those identifying as independent in this country comprise a larger number than those identifying as Republicans or Democrats. I only expect that disparity to continue to grow.<\/p>\n<p>Welcome aboard, Krista. There is room for you with all the other independents. I think you might actually realize in today\u2019s environment, this is not a bad place to be.<\/p>\n<p><em>David Shaw, Highlands Ranch<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Krista Kafer\u2019s column last Sunday, while entirely appropriate in calling out George Teal and state Rep. Ron Weinberg, misses a larger truth. Donald Trump has elevated lying to new heights. Trump proves over and over again that it is OK to lie, then just deny you ever said it or double down by repeating it.<\/p>\n<p>The fact that your lie was recorded? Not important to those legions of supporters not interested in facts. Teal and Weinberg are following this new model: the \u2018art of the lie\u2019. I doubt there will be repercussions for Teal and Weinberg, just as Trump\u2019s lies are simply shrugged off by so many.<\/p>\n<p><em>Paul Mauro, Aurora<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Parents right to weigh in on gender education<\/h4>\n<p>Re: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/07\/03\/mahmoud-taylor-boulder-education-parental-rights-religion\/\">U.S. Supreme Court got it right on parental rights and education<\/a>,\u201d July 6 commentary, and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/07\/12\/assisted-suicide-was-a-blessing-for-my-terminally-ill-brother-letters\/\">Education opt-out: Rules for me, but not for thee?<\/a>,\u201d July 13 letters<\/p>\n<p>It was shameful to see how the Jones family was disparaged first by employees of their school district and then by fellow Denver Post readers, all for opting their 6-year-old out of classroom lessons. In short, the Jones family said the teacher told the kids that gender is fluid and then instructed the 6-year-olds to choose their own genders. That\u2019s a pretty heavy topic for young kids who don\u2019t even have a full sense of what \u201cgender\u201d is yet.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s perfectly sensible for parents to decide that it\u2019s inappropriate for the teacher to meddle so deeply into their child\u2019s personal identity.<\/p>\n<p>Suppose your child\u2019s teacher, under the guise of creating a welcoming classroom, instructed the 6-year-olds to choose their own ethnicities. You may choose to opt out of this absurd lesson. The Joneses, and now the Supreme Court, would fully support your decision.<\/p>\n<p><em>Dan Gryboski, Broomfield<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Embracing the final days of a loved one<\/h4>\n<p>Re: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/07\/12\/assisted-suicide-was-a-blessing-for-my-terminally-ill-brother-letters\/\">The humane choice: Assisted suicide was a blessing for brother<\/a>,\u201d July 13 letter to the editor<\/p>\n<p>Referring to your letter writer\u2019s comment on Krista Kafer\u2019s column on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/07\/07\/kafer-colorado-assisted-suicide-lawsuit-disabled\/\">assisted suicide<\/a>\u00a0(July 6), Kafer may or may not have \u201creal-life experience\u201d with end-of-life suffering, but I have. My mother was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor at age 80 and given 6 months to live. With her cognitive state rapidly declining, along with bodily control, her doctor, with her and my father\u2019s consent, chose to refrain from treatment that would only temporarily extend her life, providing only palliative care.<\/p>\n<p>Assisted suicide could have ended her life at that point. Instead, the family was able to spend her last weeks with her, even as she faded from consciousness. I will always cherish the week we had at the end, where we were able to sing and talk to her, even as she lay in a coma. She was not in pain. She lasted barely three months from her diagnosis, a time which allowed us all to grow into acceptance of her coming departure.<\/p>\n<p>The problem with a law, no matter how carefully constructed, is that it creates expectations. Kafer made this point. Ironically, the law ultimately takes away the freedom to choose life, even as it purports to allow for choice.<\/p>\n<p>There are other options. Hospice allows a terminal patient to die naturally without artificially extending life, without lingering in a cruel and inhumane vegetative state. This option is open to all and requires no legal sanction.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frances Rossi, Denver<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>This is the hill to do battle on?<\/h4>\n<p>Re: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/07\/11\/wanda-james-cu-regents-investigation\/\">I support Trump, Musk and Gulf of Mexico<\/a>,\u201d July 11 letter to the editor<\/p>\n<p>A letter writer declares her support of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. So she apparently supports reducing health care for the poor and disabled (Medicaid cuts), reducing taxes on the rich, cutting federal support for science, sending people to foreign prisons without due process, elimination of foreign aid (so China can fill the gap), expanding production and use of coal and oil (not clean energy), bullying esteemed universities and law firms, cutting National Park staff, and the general dismantling of federal programs that serve the public. But with great courage, she cites her opposition to one of the most consequential of Trump\u2019s proposals \u2014 renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. It\u2019s a good thing she is not running for Congress, because that opposition would surely prompt Trump to destroy her candidacy.<\/p>\n<p><em>David Wolf, Lakewood<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>The mayor should focus on the mundane<\/h4>\n<p>Re: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2025\/07\/13\/denver-mayor-mike-johnston-homeless-housing-record-two-years\/\">Big swings, mixed results<\/a>,\u201d July 13 news story<\/p>\n<p>It is good to know that Mayor Mike Johnston recognizes he is a failed poet. Now, he needs to recognize he is a failing mayor. While he sits around and dreams up the best adjective to use for his next tax and spend scheme or grandiose project (thanks for pointing out that \u201cvibrant\u201d is his favorite), like a professional women\u2019s soccer stadium or a new Broncos playground, the mundane, day-to-day tasks of running a city fall by the wayside.<\/p>\n<p>More and more unencumbered thugs brazenly shoplift in broad daylight. According to Denver Police Department patrol officers they are to overlook expired license plates because pulling them over could be construed as racism. The officers will go on to explain that those very vehicles are the ones most likely to harbor people with outstanding warrants as well as drugs, not to mention forfeiting hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in revenue that citations and fines for these and other \u201cminor\u201d violations would generate. Abandoned vehicles sit on streets for weeks or months at a time, creating potential biohazards as they reek of meth.<\/p>\n<p>And, most recently, major streets in Denver have become muffler-free drag strips.<\/p>\n<p>Real mayors take care of the not-so-glamorous business of keeping a city safe and clean, not dreaming up the next pie-in-the-sky phrase. I\u2019m hoping a strong candidate or candidates will step up and take this guy on in the next couple of years. He is a poster boy for why so many Americans have become disgruntled with Democrats and view them as elitist dreamers, not doers.<\/p>\n<p><em>Matt Bergles, Denver<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.denverpost.com\/dp\/preference\">Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more. <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/submit-letter\/\">online<\/a> or check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2013\/07\/09\/submission-guidelines-and-contact-information\/\">guidelines<\/a> for how to submit by email or mail.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Updated July 22, 2025 at 1:30 p.m.<\/strong> <em>Due to an editor\u2019s error, a letter contained the incorrect details from the lawsuit against the Boulder Valley School District. The Jones family wrote for The Denver Post that the teachers were directly instructing children on gender fluidity. The editor changed the letter to reflect the facts in a different federal lawsuit, Mahmound v. Taylor.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.denverpost.com\/dp\/preference\">Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more. <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/submit-letter\/\">online<\/a> or check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2013\/07\/09\/submission-guidelines-and-contact-information\/\">guidelines<\/a> for how to submit by email or mail.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Readers not buying this bridge Re: \u201cGov. Polis\u2019 pedestrian bridge has a long way to go,\u201d July 13 editorial The editorial laid out great reasons that this project should be scrapped: 1) The cost is unaffordable with today\u2019s budget constraints. 2) The design failed to follow mandated design guidelines. 3) \u201cUndulating waves like Colorado\u2019s white-water [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cartoons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":332,"href":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331\/revisions\/332"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/derinklastom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}