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Letters to the Editor

Thievery

Editor: The Senate and the House are in a gridlock over the Affordable Care Act and tax reform. These legislators are all playing gotcha games at trying to make the opposite party look bad. Feathering their own nests appears to be the order of the day. The pay of Senate members is $175,000 a year. Yet the average net worth of these senators is $1 million. It would take 50 years at $175,000 a year to accumulate $1 million. The short cut to wealth is through the wallets of the American taxpayers. Political influence is being sold for money and perks. Bernie Sanders, a native of ...

A dying breed

Editor: What has happened to America’s middle class and working families? America came out of the Great Depression and built the greatest middle class the world has known by using our own hard work and government to open up opportunities for millions of people. Ninety percent of America got most of the gains. Today the great middle class is on the ropes. People are angry because they work hard and their income barely moves. Jobs are going overseas and young people are being destroyed by student loans. Seniors can’t make Social Security checks cover basic expenses.Today this ...

Park plaudits

Editor: I am writing to commend Dana Blackburn and what she does for the Lisbon pool. She does an amazing job with what little she has to work with. If it wasn’t for her and her volunteers, the splash pad would have never happened. I have seen Dana put so much hard work and effort into the pool — a lot of it on her own time. She has done more for the pool than anyone I have ever seen in all of my years of living in the village. I would like to applaud her, her family and all of her volunteers for their hard work in making the pool awesome. Lynn Holshue Lisbon

Time lapses

Editor: Do we want Lisbon to be a one of a kind jewel, or deny its potential and become a Generica USA? Why do property values rise in historical districts where there is enforced historical protection? Have you ever vacationed and found fast food in historical buildings? Restoration of the historic PL&W train station is why we see bicyclists, their cars parked there with plates from the tri-state area. The same with the Courthouse Inn: cars with plates from outside the county. Lisbon missed the boat with the Pine Tree Inn and Discount Drug Mart, as well as Dunkin Donuts. Both ...

In the moment

Editor:­ If overzealous preservationists had their way, we could all still be living in log cabins. That is, of course, an exaggeration, but it alerts one to the unrealistic and cost-prohibitive effort to save every old and often potentially dangerous structure. Lisbon Council’s reactivation of an Architectural and Historical Review Board (AHRB) to benefit a single business owner attempting to obtain a liquor license has instead opened a Pandora’s Box of potential restrictions to property owners in the designated area. Case in point is a local brewery’s expansion that ...

What integrity?

Editor: Kris Kobach, vice chairman of Mr. Trump’s newly formed commission, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, sent a request to all 50 states asking them to provide “voter data.” This request wants the voters’ full names, including middle names, addresses, DOB, last four digits of the Social Security number, party affiliation, military status and some other personal information. Well gee-whiz, I wonder if Kobach would find a little more about maintaining our election integrity if he would request a little information from Vladimir Putin. Bob ...