Raleigh must do right by renters kicked out to make way for Dix Park development

Renters kicked out

Regarding “Renters kicked out ahead of development near Dix Park,” (Jan. 2):

Dorothea Dix Park will truly be an asset for Raleigh and surrounding communities. I look forward to it. However, my enthusiasm has been badly soured by the treatment of the individuals and families along Lake Wheeler Road who are being displaced.

How can the Raleigh City Council and the mayor let this go forward without assisting these people?

The city needs to use some of the millions being spent for Dix Park playgrounds and improvements to help these people gain affordable housing right away. I’m ashamed by this reflection on our capital city and by the lack of action to address this. Raleigh leaders are treating vulnerable citizens like curbside trash. Rethink this and do the right thing by them.

Geoff Santoliquido, Cary

Affordable housing

Local governments often give tax breaks and other incentives to attract new businesses. What kind of incentives can we offer to attract the business of affordable housing? The greatest single expense of building inexpensive housing is land. If private business cannot, will not, or does not provide the housing our community needs, we may have to use eminent domain to get the land for this type of construction.

Dennis Cafferty, Durham

We can’t forget

On the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of our Capitol we must remember that seven U.S. House members from North Carolina voted to object to the 2020 election results.

N.C. Republicans who objected to President Biden’s wins in Arizona and Pennsylvania were U.S. Reps. Dan Bishop, Ted Budd, Madison Cawthorn, Richard Hudson and David Rouzer. U.S. Reps. Virginia Foxx and Greg Murphy also objected to the Pennsylvania results, but accepted Arizona’s results.

In essence, these seven members of the N.C. delegation were part of the failed coup to overthrow our election in support of former President Trump. We must hold all of them accountable for their assault on our democracy.

Stephen Berg, Chapel Hill

Liz Cheney

The op-ed “Liz Cheney firmly defends democracy,” (Jan. 3 Opinion) was important and substantially correct, but it did miss an important point. Rep. Cheney is one of only two patriots among all the Republican representatives.

The investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection is a patriotic, not a party, duty. Any American in a position to get to the bottom of it should want to. The fact that only two Republicans are willing to do that shows how far off the rails that party has gone.

Neil Stahl, Chapel Hill

Gerrymandering

Here we go again wringing our hands about “political maps” — or “How do we stay in power” maps.

Good common sense is needed. My good friend John describes how his wise father made John and his sister divide dessert they were fighting over: One makes the cut. The other gets to pick the first piece. No one could cheat the other.

Every voter, regardless of who is in power, should be demanding a truly bipartisan way to draw voting districts, the way our Constitution intended.

Gino Pazzaglini, Raleigh

Drug prices

The writer is AARP Senior Vice President of Campaigns.

Regarding “AARP has a conflict of interest over drug pricing legislation,” (Jan. 2 Opinion):

If anyone has a conflict, it is astroturf groups like Patients Rising, claiming to speak for patients but cozying up to Big Pharma.

For decades, millions of seniors have been forced to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Congress moved one step closer to solving this issue when the House passed the Build Back Better Act, which would finally allow Medicare to negotiate the prices it pays for some prescription drugs.

In every other market, buyers and sellers negotiate and bigger buyers use their buying power to get what amounts to a bulk discount. But Big Pharma has had its handcuffs on Medicare for well over a decade and that must change.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says reform would result in one less new drug out of hundreds over the next decade. Meanwhile, millions of seniors would have more affordable access. Medicines only work if patients can afford them.

John Hishta

This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 12:00 AM.