You can’t read if you can’t see
To the editor:
The Clark County School District decided to conserve energy and take one bulb out of each light fixture. With two out of three light bulbs left and classes hovering around 40 students, the dim light in my room is becoming a strain on my eyes as well as on the students. It is difficult to grade papers and see the board with less light.
The district is also taking measures to cut our health insurance plan, so while I am struggling to see in the classroom, I am also fearful of going to the eye doctor, knowing that my insurance will not work much longer.
I realize being conservative is necessary, but while I am in the trenches trying to teach our oversized classes, I would appreciate being able to see without ruining my vision.
Just as a side note, our school temperature is set at 63 degrees. Instead of freezing our students, it would seem to be more beneficial to set a normal temperature and increase our light.
Jessica Maloy
Henderson
Broker shenanigans
To the editor:
In response to Duane Williams’ Wednesday letter, in which he says a listing real estate agent is required by law to present all offers to the client, I would like to offer the seller’s side.
I recently listed my property for sale with a broker who did not present any offers for four months even though properties immediately in the vicinity were selling. He knew that I was under stress because I had purchased another property and was faced with double payments. He kept reminding me of this.
My suspicions were aroused when he presented a “low ball” offer which had a suspicious “sweetener” in it for the buyer. The seller was to allow a 3 percent allowance of the sale price to “help buyer with closing costs.” This, I suspect, was a kickback from buyer to broker for such a sweet deal. The broker would benefit far more in a deal such as this than if he had presented an offer within the fair market value range.
Call me paranoid, but I strongly suspect that this and other unethical things are going on in the real estate market. I rejected this offer and told this broker that I would rather donate my property to charity than submit to his offer.
Anthony J. Marinelli
LAS VEGAS
Bank fees
To the editor:
The latest Dodd-Frank meddling has cut the amount banks can charge for debit card transactions, so they are adding monthly account fees to make up the lost income. People who thought debit transactions were free need to face reality: Whether they pay higher prices to the merchants or pay the banks directly, the service has a cost.
You can bash the banks for all their sins, but they still have to pay their employees and provide the computers to run their debit and credit operations.
Tom Keller
Henderson
Patriotic protests
To the editor:
In response to Wednesday’s editorial on the Wall Street protests, “We’d all love to see the plan”:
I take it you don’t keep up with the news — or history. Your editorial states, “All of which begs the obvious question: What precisely is the grievance, here?” So you haven’t read the 637-word manifesto issued by the Occupy Wall Street group stating exactly what their grievances are? Of course not. If it’s not on Fox News or doesn’t come out of the mouth of Michele Bachmann, it can’t exist, right?
Then you quote and headline your editorial with the ultra-liberal words of John Lennon. Why not quote Pat Boone or Hank Williams Jr.? They’re the musical artists who subscribe to the Republican way of thinking. I guess “The Wang Dang Taffy-Apple Tango” or “I’ll Think of Something” could have fit the bill.
Boy, it’s a good thing you weren’t around in 1776. There’s a little document you may have heard of called the Declaration of Independence. Not a lot of “plan” in that document, either. Just a statement of grievances. It got results. Sounds like you would have been against that one, too.
Randall Buie
Henderson
Cancer cuts
To the editor:
As we are looking to Congress to improve our nation’s fiscal standing, health care programs will have to endure difficult but necessary funding cuts.
That said, I must raise attention to a truly dangerous proposal under consideration by the budget “Supercommittee” that would reduce Medicare payments for cancer-fighting drugs by a colossal $3 billion.
Cuts of this magnitude will significantly weaken the nation’s cancer care delivery system and hinder access to care for cancer patients.
Data from the Community Oncology Alliance indicate that nearly 200 community-based cancer practices have closed over the past three years due to funding instability, and hundreds more are struggling to survive. These proposed cuts will undoubtedly lead to more closures in the community setting — and ultimately, cancer patients will bear the brunt of these cuts as they will be forced to look elsewhere for their care.
Community oncology centers provide treatment to more than 80 percent of cancer patients nationwide. Given that more than half of all U.S. cancer patients are Medicare beneficiaries, many community practices simply will not be able to endure the additional burden of these deep, devastating cuts.
I applaud our lawmakers who are working to ease America’s financial burden. However, I sincerely hope they will build a plan to strengthen our country’s financial bottom line without hurting cancer patients’ access to life-saving treatment.
James Sanchez
Las Vegas
The writer, a medical doctor, is practice president of the Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada.
