Owe it to our children
to tackle climate change
On Saturday, at the Farmers Market Pavilion in Morgantown from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the Sierra Club will host an Earth Day Celebration. We welcome everyone to join our festivities as we celebrate the wonders of the world and especially of our part, West Virginia. From the forests and the mountains to our white water rivers, we enjoy much natural beauty.
We would like our children and grandchildren to be able to enjoy that beauty, but unfortunately climate change will increasingly affect their lives. We owe it to them to take action and fulfill our responsibility to future generations. Climate change is real and this event will emphasize solutions and positive steps we can take to meet the challenges of our changing climate.
Please come and enjoy the displays, music and activities. We have invited the Avian Conservation Center to bring some of its birds, the Kitchen Science show, Botanical Garden and many more.
John Bird
Masontown
Let’s fix tax laws to give
working people a chance
Tax time is a reminder that priorities matter. The 2017 tax law, which heavily favored large corporations and the wealthy, is a perfect example of putting the wrong things first.
But the new Working Families Tax Relief Act does it right. It would significantly boost income for working families by expanding the earned income tax credit (EITC) and child tax credit (CTC), and give families an additional tax credit for raising young children. That’s more money for basic necessities, home repairs, maintaining a car to get to work, and in some cases, education to get a higher-paying job. This bill would benefit 44 million families and lift 11 million children above the poverty line.
Priorities matter. It’s time we fixed our tax laws to give working people and children a fair shot to get ahead. Congress should make expanding the EITC and CTC a priority in any upcoming tax legislation.
Peter McCumber
Morgantown
Let’s keep Kawecki on
Morgantown City Council
I was surprised to see that The Dominion Post endorsed Barbara Parsons over Bill Kawecki for council representative from Morgantown’s 2nd Ward. I have attended several events over the past few years and was impressed by the fact that Kawecki was present at each one, representing the city.
Some events were university events, like welcoming foreign visitors at the reception for the Council of International Programs, and others were community efforts at places like the Botanic Garden. The council during his tenure has done many good things, some difficult, such as enacting the city fee.
Nobody likes taxes, but everyone complains when the roads are filled with potholes. With this user fee funds have been used to pave many city roads, and just this week some potholes along Stewartstown Road were repaired, even though that section of road is outside city limits. In addition, this council has conducted business without rancor toward each other. Imagine that, a governing body that works together.
A person could also make the decision to choose Kawecki over Parsons just based on a candidates forum sponsored by Mountaineers for Progress and the League of Women voters.
The Dominion Post endorsed Parsons due to her practice of looking at all the data and her critical thinking ability.
However, she did not know the current council has a Strategic Plan and also, that its members pulled it out of the filing cabinet to see how well it was being followed. How often does that happen?
As the question and answers continued one consistent fact was noticed. Kawecki knew what the council has done and clarified issues that others were not sure of. While it is natural for challengers to call for change, they also should know what the status quo is.
Bill has the institutional knowledge needed to avoid repeating past mistakes, and demonstrated a keen interest to continue to serve the city and complete some of the initiatives that have begun. So, I urge you to keep Bill Kawecki in office and vote for him during voting ending on April 30.
Larry Harris
Morgantown
