LETTERS: Without clock change, students in dark

To the editor:

I read the article about keeping Nevada on daylight saving time all year long (“Hey, stop the clock (changes),” March 8 Review-Journal). The arguments seemed self-centered, with little thought of the consequences.

Putting the state on daylight saving time all year would mean that in the winter, it would be dark until about 8 a.m. Most children travel to school between 6 and 8 a.m. Consequently, thousands of children will be out on the streets in the dark. Knowing how Las Vegas drivers are, it would mean subjecting those children to the possibility of injury or even death.

And what for? So someone can sit on his patio an extra hour at night or golf longer?

Even if no accidents occurred, think of the damage to the children’s psyche when they get up in the dark to trot off to school. If you think test scores are low now, just think what will happen if the students are in the dark half the day.

The local school boards should come out strongly against such a change. This is another case where the vocal minority is trying to overcome common sense and force its will on the majority. I would like to see someone at the Review-Journal come out and champion the cause of the students.

FRANK SUTHERLAND

LAS VEGAS

Schools spend plenty

To the editor:

Michael Anthony’s letter is well taken (“CCSD should outsource, consolidate,” March 15 Review-Journal). Most Americans think that insufficient funding is the top problem with public schools in their communities. They face a constant barrage of rhetoric from public school districts that are crying poor and asking cash-strapped private-sector workers to pay more taxes to “save the children.”

In reality, public school districts are spending an outrageous amount of money, more than the cost to attend private schools and even some colleges. The Cato Institute calculated that Los Angeles spends $25,000 annually per student, and the New York metropolitan area spends about $26,900. The District of Columbia’s per-pupil outlay is $28,170 — 155 percent more than average tuition at the famously pricey private academies of the capital region.

Many school districts, including the Clark County School District, are broken. They are much like a barrel with a hole in the bottom. The taxpayers do not need to throw more money into broken barrel. Let’s fix the barrel first.

PATRICIA LEE

LAS VEGAS

Climate change

To the editor:

The news that for nearly half a decade, Florida Gov. Rick Scott has prohibited environmental officials from using the term “climate change” is absurd enough to belong in The Onion, rather than in nationwide newspapers. The story of Florida makes for a good laugh, but climate change is no joke here in Nevada.

For Nevada, the stakes are high when it comes to global warming. As Nevadans know, we are in the most serious drought since the 1970s, and global warming and carbon emissions are major contributors. In addition, a recent report showed that Nevada’s power plants dump as much carbon pollution into the air as the entire nation of Kenya.

That’s why it’s critical that the Environmental Protection Agency finalize a strong regulation to limit carbon pollution. Sen. Harry Reid must fight against attempts in Congress to block the EPA, rather than follow the lead of climate deniers like Gov. Scott. Without aggressive cuts in pollution, global warming will be no laughing matter for future generations.

DENNIS WALTERS

LAS VEGAS