Letters to the editor: Murgoitio Park, critical race theory, help at the border

Keep land as-is

I find it very interesting that the Boise City Council keeps throwing the prohibitive cost of building a park as their reason for wanting to develop the Murgoitio park lot into houses instead. After all, they want to trade the land for something they will just leave as-is. Instead, keep the lot and continue to keep it as-is, leasing it for farmland. The residents who I know that live near it would much rather see that land stay farmland and forgo the park than see it turned into high-density housing.

Jennifer Fletcher, Boise

Make Murgoitio land a park

Why does our city government feel it’s OK to let developers pave over everything south of the interstate and make our roads arterials to Kuna and Meridian so that we can’t even feel safe riding a bicycle on them? I am extremely disappointed that the city is even considering the Murgoitio land swap in southwest Boise for more open space in the Foothills! Here’s a few rough facts: The area between Cole/Cloverdale and Overland/Lake Hazel encompasses 7.5 square miles. We have three — count ‘em: three! — public parks, and they are literally at opposite ends, 1-2 miles apart. Southeast Boise, in contrast, has nine parks in its 5.5-square-mile area, about a half-mile apart. Southwest Boise/Ada County is taking the brunt of unbridled, lax expansion in this valley, turning into endless tracts for developer greed, enabled by our city and county government. Developers have had free reign to develop every parcel of land, even allowed rezoning of traditional rural lots into multi-units. Turn another 160 acres over to housing, while you get more “cool trails and open space” to promote that “North End Lifestyle” to the newcomers you court. Keep Murgoitio Park and cough up some money to develop it for us!

Cindy Kowalczyk, Boise

Critical race theory

The Pavlovian word currently in vogue is critical race theory.

In the ’60s and ’70s in Idaho and elsewhere, the uninformed critics of education demanded “back to the basics.” The cry was emotionally pleasing, a simple propagandistic phrase that ignored what was actually occurring in the classroom and substituted a frightening warning to the public: The liberal teachers are seeking to destroy our youth.

As an Idaho junior high English teacher in Nampa during this time attempting to teach over 180 students a day, the basics described all that I had time to teach. But, despite my efforts and those of my fellow teachers, our labors were never enough to quell the rising censure from the public who claimed they knew what was really going on behind the cloak of education: a well thought out scheme from liberals to destroy our youth.

In reality, asking an educator to teach 180 students daily may have satisfied the conservative call for squelching educational funding — some things never change in Idaho — but the propaganda did little to help our teachers and their students thrive.

Critical race theory? It’s another Pavlovian tool to ensure that our students are not fully educated.

Terry L. Gilbert, Boise

Help at the border

Regarding “Gov. Little, Idaho tax dollars belong in Idaho, not on a fool’s errand at Mexico border,” I disagree with this opinion. I think it is narrow-minded and self-centered. What if the situation was reversed and the problem was at the northern border? States help other states with power crews, firefighters and security support. Should Arizona not send a fire crew to a forest fire in Idaho started by a citizen of the state? If you are concerned about wasting taxpayer dollars, what about all of the U.S. taxpayer money that Vice President Kamala Harris wants to give to other countries? Shouldn’t that be used in the U.S.? Maybe even for a border wall? You probably don’t want a border wall, but I bet you still want walls and doors with locks on your house. That way you can decide who you allow into your house and when. This country is our “house” and we should all want to control access to our “house.” I’m retired and have done volunteer work all over this country from New York to Oregon; what have you given freely to others?

Lawrence Day, Wylie, Texas