Columbus Heat dome shows why city needs climate change master plan - The Columbus Dispatch

Columbus Heat dome shows why city needs climate change master plan

Heat dome has Columbus on melting iceberg. We need an action plan.

- Columbus schools is failing our students
- Columbus on a melting iceberg
- LGBTQIA+ soldiers and community deserve all the love.
- Joe Biden and his cohorts are inept

Columbus on a melting iceberg

Columbus is experiencing its first heat dome. This is the new reality of our changing weather.

The tipping point to avoid severe climate change was years ago. City leaders must adapt immediately to this compounding threat.

Unfortunately, their priorities are on growth, not having any master plan, such as those in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo and Dayton.

We are passengers on the Titanic and have hit an iceberg. Instead of helping us to the lifeboats, our mayor and city council are obsessed with adding more folding chairs so everyone could enjoy the string quartet.

Leadership demands the ability to have a vision for our future and the strength to make it a priority. Time is not on our side.

Resign and let someone else do the job, or just do your job and be a leader. It's not supposed to be easy, but you chose to do it.

Choose to adapt to climate change tomorrow.

Glen Tuomaala, Columbus

Columbus schools is failing our students

It is time for Columbus City Schools to be held accountable for its lack of fiscal responsibility.

CCS was invoiced by Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP between December 2022, and November 2023, a total of $554,766.38 for the superintendent search. After spending that money, CCS hired the acting superintendent.

CCS passed a levy worth $100 million annually. According to CCS, it was needed due to the expiration of $450 million in pandemic funding.

Did the district knowingly create positions or programs that would require funding beyond the pandemic money?

The district said it would spend $60 million on school improvements. The board had decided prior to the levy passing to close 20 schools.

CCS is failing our students.

They spend $17,000 per student and received a 2-star rating on the latest report card. They have a 79.6% graduation rate. Only 35.6% of third graders and 26.8% of sixth graders are proficient in reading. Only 14.7% of seventh graders are proficient in math.

It is time for parents and taxpayers to demand a better return of investment for our children. We need to hold CCS accountable. Our children deserve the best.

Lisa B. Chaffee, director, Parents Rights in Education, Ohio

LGBTQIA+ soldiers deserve love

I am proud of the strong support LGBTQIA+ people have received from the Columbus community.

As a veteran of the U.S. Army, I feel proud to have served with LGBTQIA+ soldiers.

Those soldiers, despite facing decades-long discrimination, have demonstrated their exemplary character through their selfless service. Their service has not only made our country safer, but they have shown us what true patriotism is: courage and sacrifice.

I believe we can and must show the same level of support for our veterans as we do for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Sadly, last year, the annual Columbus Veterans Day Parade was canceled due to lack of financial support and low attendance.

I humbly ask our great community to once again step up and support a worthy cause. Please contact Ohio Mil Vets for ways to support the parade. If you are unsure or maybe you don’t know a lot about our country’s great military, then I encourage you to visit the National Veterans Memorial and Museum here.

Maj. Michael T. Kossbiel, U.S. Army Reserves

Joe Biden and his cohorts are inept

I read with sadness the June 18 article about the cancellation of the Landfill Solar Farm Project. This green project would have helped the city reach its ambitious green energy goals.

However, as stated in the article, increased labor costs, increased interest rates and increased equipment costs made the financial model unfeasible. These are all results from the Biden administration’s massive deficit spending policy.

How many worthwhile projects will need to be canceled before the voters in America wake up to the fiscal malfeasance being practiced by inept Joe Biden and his cohorts?

Michael Federer, Gahanna

Thinking of vaping? Don't even start!

Despite what targeted marketing campaigns by big tobacco companies may want people to believe, vaping is not harmless.

Short-term health effects of vaping include shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, restlessness and difficulty concentrating or sleeping. Vaping can even worsen symptoms of anxiety and depression, and dermatologists believe that it can be damaging to our skin, leading to aging and premature wrinkles. If you were to listen to tobacco ads, though, you might never realize that vaping is causing these health problems.

The best way to quit vaping is to never start.

For youth who are playing sports, marching in the band or trying to be active and enjoy the summer heat, vaping could limit the heights they can reach.

Being active is a lot more fun than experiencing negative health effects and aging, so instead of taking a hit, keep playing and don’t vape.

Tawnya Lewis, Hilliard

Trump is on a team of one

President Joe Biden is a team player, a team made up of younger experts in their field, loyal to the country and the Constitution.

Former President Donald Trump, a self-proclaimed genius, demands that his team be loyal first to him.

Biden listens to his team and makes decisions with them. Trump claims to have all the answers.

If something happens to Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris knows the players, the policies and nothing will change.

Do we want a team player with the best experts and advisors in the country, or a vengeful dictator, a convicted felon who peddles sneakers, Bibles(printed in China) and is willing to sell gas rights to anyone who contributes $1 million to his campaign?

Since Trump demands complete authority, his isolationist policies illustrate his inability to ever be a team player.

The choice is yours.

Diana Nasman, Waverly

Unmasked inflation concerns

Inflation is on the minds of many and an issue in the upcoming 2024 election.

The Dispatch June 18 edition featured an article about the excitement over the upcoming Halloween season and that retail stores will be featuring Halloween items earlier than usual.

Americans spend over $12 billion on their Halloween fetishes, so retailer Spirit Halloween will be hiring 50,000 workers to roll out paraphernalia ahead of "school opening" supplies.

So much for the 'inflation' factor for American consumers. Nothing will prevent consumers from gearing up for the October 31 extravaganza.

When Americans cast their votes November 5, they should remember that inflation may not be the issue many are concerned about.

John Seryak, Reynoldsburg