ENTERTAINMENT
Botanical garden quite a gift for Atlanta
The Atlanta Botanical Gardens’ major renovation is a wonderful gift to our city. I’m astonished at the beauty of the new canopy walk: the tiered waterfalls and the new walking paths. The edible gardens, with exquisite fruit, flower sculptures and ponds are lovely.
I can’t believe such a beautiful haven exists in Midtown. How fortunate we are in Atlanta to have the opportunity to enjoy this new gift to our city.
Joni Pelta, Atlanta
PUBLIC HEALTH
I dislike smoking, but I dislike total ban more
I find it hard to justify Roswell’s complete ban on smoking in our parks. As a reformed smoker, I don’t like to be around smokers and don’t miss the days when airline cabins were filled with smoke’s sickening stench. I am truly thankful for the elimination of smoking in enclosed areas and for the decline of the habit. However, I recognize that smoking is a personal choice and perfectly legal.
During all the years our family has visited our parks we’ve rarely encountered a smoker. It is frivolous and wasteful for our council to enact such a sweeping law that intrudes into our personal life. For the majority of us, this is an issue that is easily avoidable by simply moving upwind. We do not need Roswell to act as our “nanny state” — especially when there are so many other infrastructure issues (such as departmental budgets, transportation and traffic) that need attention.
Emil Walcek, Roswell
POLITICS
Neither party seems to have what voters need
I’m beginning to think after watching the current political antics that we’d be better off to ignore our own party affiliations just to avoid embarrassment. It seems that neither side has successfully convinced anyone that they know which end is up on the issues. Most of the major issues at stake right now are not only contentious, but offer legitimate cause for intelligent reflection and reasonable examination of both sides before casting our votes. I’ve been a Democrat since the days of FDR, and am seriously considering going independent in November. Of course, that’s a long way off, and I may come to my senses in the interim. Someone is bound to light my fire, aren’t they? George Morin, Auburn
POLITICS
A few bigoted tea bags don’t make a party racist
I am not a member of any tea party group, but I have attended tea party events. I can say emphatically that on those two occasions I saw absolutely no evidence of racism. One tea party official I spoke with made it clear that his group would welcome anyone — regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, or political party — who believes in constitutionally limited government and maximum personal freedom consistent with good order. Of course, it would be unrealistic to assume that no tea party adherent had racist tendencies. I would guess that there are a few Marxist members of the NAACP — but that doesn’t make the NAACP a Marxist organization, any more than a few bigots make the tea party fascist.
Richard Dowis, Waleska
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