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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor, Dec. 17 Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Dec. 17, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Dec. 17, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News A disservice to Ashland In the commentary published Dec. 11, “Embrace the brave new Ashland,” columnist Jeffrey Gillespie and the Tidings do a disservice to Ashland citizens by once again conflating the problems of homelessness, expensive housing and the indifference of a few citizens with criminal behavior that has made residents and guests feel unsafe, even as it threatens the very existence of local businesses and other organizations that support the city. If Gillespie had been paying serious attention to these issues, he would know that for months now (even years), the pretty darn progressive City Council, the hard-working and prolific Chamber of Commerce, the more-than-careful Ashland Police Department and hundreds of concerned citizens have been working mightily to fairly and respectfully sort out the aforementioned unlawful and immoral behavior from the innocuous actions of people who are simply homeless, attempting to somehow get by. Thousands of Ashland person-hours have been spent, not only investigating how to best respond to the difficulties and costs caused by significant harassment and other illicit activities, but also how to reach out and help those on the street who are in genuine need. Hundreds of thousands of Ashland tax and donated dollars have been spent toward alleviating the challenges faced by the latter group. Gillespie uses ad hominem, over-generalization, and other fallacious reasoning attempting to paint what he calls “the general mentality” and “the real culture” of Ashland as heartless, selfish, and classist. Tidings columnists should pay closer attention and engage in better analysis. Jon Lange Ashland A cautionary tale I found the Dec. 9 guest opinion by Beth F. Coye to be illuminating. She presents a lucid description of what’s been occurring with the Normal Neighborhood Plan and the major points we should all be paying attention to. For me, the most compelling concern is point 3: "Who pays for outlying infrastructure?" Through 20-plus years of transportation planning, I’ve had a front row seat for quite a number of California cities' forays into the arena of "planned growth" and deferred (read: publicly funded) developer infrastructure schemes. Like NNP, concerns were routinely soothed by assurances; “Don’t worry. It’s in the future.” (As if that’s a real answer). In reality, "the future" arrived on a regular basis. When it did, developments which had not initially been required to pay up-front infrastructure fees or outright infrastructure funding either swam or sank with a taxpayer-funded life vest. If cities with names like Stockton, Modesto and Fresno mean anything, then you know the life vest was often worn by a drowning victim. Development infrastructure funding had often been waived, paid with public funds on the assurance that it would be reimbursed by buyers’ fees/assessments as each unit was sold. When the bubble bursts came in the 2000s, many lots and available homes went unsold. These cities’ insolvency issues can be attributed in good measure to those losses. It could happen here, also. I strongly caution the city to require up-front, developer-funded public infrastructure for all developments, including NNP. Andrew Kubik Ashland Paul made sense I just watched the Republican debate on TV and it was hilarious. But Rand Paul came on and ruined it. He was serious and made sense. Poor guy doesn't have a chance. Larry Ware Medford DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Dec. 17, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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