Unfettered Letters

Red-light cameras in KC

I cannot believe, as does, Jeff Weis (1/11, Letters), that when drivers know they will be brought to account for running red lights it won’t have a deterrent effect.

To me, knowing that an intersection may be equipped with cameras is the same as a policeman in a marked car sitting at the intersection observing traffic. How many people would run a red light under that condition? Saying that receiving a ticket in the mail is “just one more bill to pay” is oversimplifying the situation by not considering personal budgets.

I think any petitions would be overwhelmingly in favor of the cameras and would urge their installation at every traffic light. The majority of people still believe there is a need for traffic laws and their enforcement.

Norman York
Kansas City, Kan.

Overland Park coyote ordinance

So after we trap and kill the coyotes, what’s next? (1/15, Local, “Revised coyote ordinance is endorsed; Overland Park proposal calls for the city to do trapping, with residents to bear some of the cost”)

Shall we shoot the raptors from the sky for snatching cats and small dogs out of our yards? They are, after all, doing the same thing the coyotes are doing: foraging for displaced food. Who displaced these creatures’ food? We did, by systematically tearing up their habitats. Do we need more houses and businesses?

Perhaps a better idea would be to acknowledge that we need to be responsible for our pets. Do everyone a favor and keep your cats inside and actually go outside with your small dogs. If you’re afraid, carry a big stick.

The coyotes will figure out there’s no food to be had and move on. Yes, I live where there is plenty of wildlife, and this is what I do. In the meantime, do trap and release.

S.D. Granville
Shawnee

KC should reconsider smoking ban

Since Kansas City’s revenues are way down, it may be time to reconsider the smoking ban. People who resent being treated like second-class citizens are spending their money elsewhere.

What if the city were to enact a “smoking fee” to small bars that have less than 50 percent food revenues? The owner would get a choice, which is all they’ve ever asked for. Customers also would have a choice. People vote with their wallets. Most important, the city would get revenue from these fees that they currently are not getting.

Also, there’s no need to protect workers in the food service industry. There are plenty of jobs in this sector, and in the small ma and pa taverns, most of these people smoke anyway.

The city is losing a lot of money due to this ban.

Duane G. Whorton
Kansas City

Allow smoking? Why not asbestos?

A.P. Lane (12/11, Letters) says business owners should get to decide whether to allow smoking.

I have this analogy. Asbestos in ceiling tile is known to cause cancer, right? As a business owner, should I have the right to put asbestos-laden ceiling tile in my establishment since perhaps it’s cost effective and the perfect texture? It’s my business, and I’m the property owner, correct?

Oh, that’s right — it’s been proved to be carcinogenic and, in fact, would create a health issue for my employees and customers alike.

Thus, I’m not allowed to do this by law.

Suzie Warren
Lake Winnebago

Secondhand smoke unhealthy

I suffered from childhood asthma until I was 6 years old. My father, who was a smoker, died of lung cancer when I was 5 years old. Though no one can go back and verify the connection between my father’s smoking and my asthma, scientists and doctors today have verified the connection between secondhand smoke and a host of illnesses.

I can’t have my father back, and I can’t be rid of the memory of gasping for air as a child. But what I can do, I will do. It’s simple and it doesn’t cost anything. It leads to lower rates of cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.

The simple solution is reducing exposure to secondhand smoke in public places and workplaces, including restaurants, bars and private clubs.

I live in Kansas City, Kan., and I will contact the Unified Government and encourage my representatives to create a smoke-free community. Won’t you?

Rick Behrens
Kansas City, Kan.

Nonsmokers shouldn’t have to breathe smoke

Dave Leonard (11/23, Letters) says to limit or ban smoking at the Kansas Speedway and the bars and restaurants in the metropolitan area is “stupid” and smoking bans are not good for business or the tax base.

People who smoke have a choice to smoke or not smoke. Nonsmokers have this choice taken away when they have to inhale unhealthy secondhand smoke.

Keep in mind there was a law passed in Kansas City by a majority to ban smoking in public places. Doesn’t a democratic decision still count?

This is a health issue more than a business issue.

Chuck Inzerillo
Kansas City

Ban smoking in all public places

I applaud smoking bans, not only at Kansas Speedway but everywhere.

Lung cancer, pneumonia and emphysema, which is caused by smoking and secondhand smoke, cost our nation much more than the amount of taxes that smokers pay.

Allowing smoking only in one’s car or home would be great for the future of our world.

Janet Silke-Koval
Lee’s Summit

Smoking bans hurt business

I am an 18-year-old freshman at Pittsburg State University. Recently my friends and I went to a Chinese restaurant here in Pittsburg, Kan. We requested the smoking section and were seated in the back of the restaurant.

After dinner, my friends and I had our after-meal cigarettes. I could overhear the people seated a few tables away from us complaining about our smoke.

I was about to put out my cigarette but then remembered we purposely sat in the secluded corner so that people who did not smoke would not have a problem. I had my right to smoke in that restaurant.

My hometown is Shawnee, and a law recently was passed banning smoking in any restaurant or bar. Bars have lost business because of this new law.

When I worked at a restaurant in Shawnee, I had guests sit at the bar to eat dinner and drink a few beers. When they asked if they could smoke, I had to tell them there was no smoking allowed. Multiple times the guests walked out and said they could not drink beer and eat barbecue without being able to smoke.

Smoking in bars and restaurants should be allowed.

Sarah Rocco
Pittsburg, Kan.

Speedway smoking ban

Oliver Wallen (11/14, Letters) calls the smoking ban at Kansas Speedway a joke. I could not agree with him more.

Many taxpaying, money-spending adults smoke. To virtually limit or ban their participation at the speedway as well as the great bars and restaurants in the metropolitan area is stupid. These smoking bans are not good for business or the tax base.

What happened to the saying “Smoking or nonsmoking” — especially at open air-venues like the speedway and the sports complex?

Get real.

Dave Leonard
Kansas City

Smoking ban at speedway

I read in The Star’s Business section (11/11, “Now, only rubber will burn”) that in 2010 smoking will be banned in the grandstands and most areas of Kansas Speedway. What a joke. Forty or more cars running around the track, spewing copious amounts of carbon monoxide and other fumes, but don’t you dare light up a cigarette.

Guess I’ll just put the speedway on my list of bars, restaurants, bowling alleys and other establishments in the metro area I no longer go to because of the stupid no-smoking policies.

Oliver Wallen
Peculiar