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Land ours to share

Re: the Feb. 9 article "Desert Lab may shut Tumamoc to hikers."

The problem as expressed by the researchers at Tumamoc Hill is exaggerated and an attempt to make it exclusively theirs.

I have been up on the hill on many occasions. What you will see is people of all ages meeting and experiencing an activity they share together as well as taking in excellent views after a good walk to the top. I think the fact that researchers are allowed to live on Tumamoc gives them the feeling that they own the land. It is all ours to share and experience.

Nowadays, it is rare to have a location where people meet, exercise and respect each other. It would be a pity if a couple of complaining elitists take that away. If that happens, there will be a response from a wide demographic area.

Robert Jimenez

Tucson

UA lab should go

Re: the Feb. 9 article "Desert Lab may shut Tumamoc to hikers."

The University of Arizona Desert Lab should be shut down, not the hikers. It shouldn't be located on Tumamoc anymore because with a rise in population and limited strolls available to the Tucson public, it is one of two unique walking venues in town. The other is Sabino Canyon.

Both are similar because with just a pair of athletic shoes and a little water, the walks can easily be enjoyed without having to gear up for a serious hike on the trail system in the mountains that surround Tucson.

The lab needs to move to a less-populated location and the city needs to maintain the road for all of those who enjoy taking a spectacular walk up Tumamoc to enjoy the views.

Renee Mumford

Tucson

No to status quo

Re: the Feb. 7 article "Bush '07 budget not expected to erase much of U.S. red ink."

Once again it is budget time at the capital, and the president continues to try and lead us down the primrose path seemingly unaware that we are fed up with the current status quo.

We should not allow any more tax cuts for anyone until we can pay for the costs incurred by this administration. How can anyone accept such a cut knowing it comes at the expense of the poor, the sick and the sufferers of Katrina? Worst of all, our children will have to pay for the current fiscal recklessness once the president is long gone. I used to assume that parsimony was a conservative attribute. Apparently, this is not so.

John Mijac

Realtor, Tucson

Historian gets it right

The constant concern, of late, about our constitutional rights and executive privilege brings to mind a suggestion made by the noted historian Alistair Cooke.

In his book, "Alistair Cooke's America," he says, "It would not be a bad idea, and would save us from the spouting of much florid and impractical rhetoric, if a president were required on the day of his inauguration not to make a speech, but to stand before the Chief Justice of the United States and recite the Bill of Rights."

William Richter

Retired, Green Valley

Park lovers need to respond

Many thanks to Jim Kiser for his excellent Feb. 10 column "Speak out vs. policy shift that threatens parks" on the need for citizens who care about the welfare of America's national park system to express their views regarding the Bush administration's proposed management-policy changes. Some of the changes have the potential to seriously undermine nearly a century of wise protection of these irreplaceable natural and cultural treasures. Everyone who loves the parks should respond to the National Park Service's Draft Management Policies document before it's too late.

Russell D. Butcher

Tucson

Old West tradition is fading

The recently announced closing of the Hidden Valley Inn is representative of all the unfortunate trends taking place in Tucson.

I, for one, will miss this marvelous place and wish we could have Tucson as it was only 15 years ago. So as the Sons of the Pioneers always closed their show with Dale Evans' song, "Happy trails to you, until we meet again."

Anne and John Cowles

Retired, Marana