Letters to the Editor for July 12, 2018

Time to extinguish fireworks in Fresno

I cannot stress enough the ban of neighborhood fireworks. This is no longer just fireworks, it is illegal firecrackers and total disturbance of taxpaying citizens!

There are public places – schools and stadiums – where this can take place. Instead it has become a TOTAL pollutant of our already horrible dangerous air quality. Why do we continue to allow this to take place when we are already one of the top bad air quality cities?

ICE is not the problem

The Bee’s July 7 political cartoon was one of the best I have seen. It showed someone saying “abolish ICE” and showed a polar bear sitting on a shrinking piece of ice.

I was an immigration officer for 39 years and have worked with many ICE officers. I believe in the ICE mission. However, I understand why many Americans are concerned about the separation of children from parents. I believe that those who call for ICE to be abolished have no understanding of the total mission of ICE. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was created in 2003 when the INS was abolished. Criminal investigators from both the INS and customs were combined into one agency, along with the deportation officers of the old INS. ICE not only arrests illegal aliens, investigates immigration fraud, and administers the deportation functions of Homeland Security, but it also investigates violations of customs laws.

Part of the mission of ICE is to investigate child pornography and those involved in sex traffic. If we abolish ICE to end the separation of alien children from their alien parents, we also end the customs investigations. Obviously, there are unintended consequences to abolishing ICE.

Those who oppose our immigration policies should push for immigration reform and stop worrying about abolishing ICE.

Hanford needs more firefighters

I consider the revenue the City of Hanford receives the people’s money. The City Council is elected to spend the people’s money, and public safety should be top priority for the people’s money.

The City Council seems to be sending a clear message that it will not spend the people’s money to increase the manpower of our fire department but will only use new sales tax money. Council members have supported three sales tax measures and passing those taxes is the only way they will add manpower, unless they get a grant but that’s not with the people’s money. The last time a position was added was in 2002 (16 years ago) revenue has increased by $5 million in the last 3 years but still no added manpower. In the past year revenue increased $1.8 million and no added manpower. They are hiring two new firefighters but that’s only to replace two who left the city 19 months ago. That is NOT adding to manpower.

Make Fresno State football exprience better

In regards to Valley Voice by McKay C. Mohun (June 23), football season will be here before you know it. My husband Hal and I have attended Fresno State football games over 50 years through thick and thin seasons so let me make some suggestions.

1) Bring the college students down close to the field like it once was.

2) Bring the band next to the students’ section and get them away from those steep steps on the southeast corner of the stadium. I hold my breath watching through my binoculars when the tuba player, among others, trudge up and down those steps.

3) Allow more than 35-45 handicap parking spaces for people who need them. The stadium holds 42,000 seats and this has been an ongoing complaint for years. Even Bulldog Foundation members (as of this date 2,600) are getting older.

4) Please send in a licensed female contractor to upgrade the women’s bathroom on the west side of the stadium. I know there can be some improvements.

Let’s hope that some of these suggestions – coming from a female die hard supporter – will be noticed. Go ’Dogs!

This story was originally published July 16, 2018 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Letters to the Editor for July 12, 2018."