Planning Commission is right: It’s time to hit the restart button on Downtown South

Downtown South

According to City of Raleigh reports, the greatest need for affordable housing is for “low poverty” people.

John Kane, developer of Downtown South, offers a scant 10% of his units for a brief 5-year period for people who can earn as much as $76,000 a year. Meanwhile, Kane expects to get taxpayer money every year from a Tax Increment Grant that will possibly be in force for decades. Our tax money will pay for a privately owned stadium while the neighboring community is offered little to nothing.

The Planning Commission voted unanimously to deny the zoning in favor of a restart using a planned development approach with a just community engagement process and a master plan resulting in transformative opportunity for all, not just the privileged few. I vote for that.

Lynn Lyle, Raleigh

Interfaith Creation Care of the Triangle

City Council vote

The Raleigh City Council should listen to the professionals on the Planning Commission — the only group with access to all the available data, that did the fact-finding, and heard from the community. The Commission said a transformative project deserves a transformative process. This has not been that.

With its unanimous vote to deny the project, the commission noted that a vote for this project would be a vote against equitable development.

Let’s hope our elected councilors show more understanding of the process and the same level of courage shown by the professionals they appointed to the Planning Commission — who said a project like this should value people as much as investors.

Tim Niles, Raleigh

Stimulus bill

What in the world is wrong with our congressional “leaders”? Democrats nor Republicans are suffering from lack of healthcare or financial hardships.

While millions of Americans are without food, losing their homes and jobs, all this bickering about what should or shouldn’t be in the stimulus plan is just plain ridiculous. Just get money into the pockets of our people! Save our small business owners, our restaurants. You are late — months and months late. Do it now!

Democrats and Republicans have different ideologies, different agendas, but it’s time to think about your constituents — the ones who pay your salaries to work for them. Stop worrying about how much, just get something done now. It’s past due.

Alan Rosen, Cary

Sacred tenets

The American Revolution of 2020, the attempt to overthrow our democratic constitutional republic from within, has failed. It is now time for America to move forward with concessions on both sides to solve pressing problems and lay the foundation for a promising future for all.

This is the only country we have, a nation indivisible, a nation with liberty and justice for all, without exception. Not to hold its tenets sacred is to betray the sacrifices hundreds of thousands of Americans over the years.

George Brooks, Durham

Electoral College

We are the only democracy that has an Electoral College. You hear a lot about how our Founding Fathers and their brilliance. We have now had four presidential elections where a president lost the popular vote yet became president anyhow.

It has occurred twice in the last 20 years.

All kinds of turmoil, protests and threats have been made in states due to this Electoral College process. We have to amend the U.S. Constitution to eliminate the Electoral College. Everything else can stand.

Bob Hannigan, Holly Springs

A simple wish

A simple wish for the coming year from a simple man: Let’s focus on respecting one another.

Disagreements become shouting matches with each party digging in its heels, insisting the other is wrong rather than listening to another point of view that perhaps one hadn’t considered before.

Simple respect, acceptance and acknowledgment of our different experiences in life may be easier than trying to achieve unity through concurrence and legislation. Justice, equality, dignity and harmony are rooted in respect, acceptance and appreciation of each other’s point of view.

Our nation has suffered enough.

Wayne D. Catlin, Raleigh