Letters to the Editor

Protestors never told ‘no’

Editor,

Not only did the City give G8 protest organizers Kellie Gasink and William Pleasant everything, I find it very offensive that Pleasant and Gasink accuse the City of holding them back.

Someone needs to ask them why the City had to pay for a certified electrician and where were the portable toilets. How dare they go to City Council on Thursday and thank the City for everything we did for them and later bad mouth the City in front of their people.

Someone needs to ask where is the Free Speech Wall? I can tell you. Once again the city had to clean up their mess. Taxpayer money paid for city employees to take down the wall the next day. They did not even show up to help. The City is still in possession of the wall.

After everything they say about the City, they actually have the nerve to ask us to pay for their debt. I'd like to see all of their receipts for this debt.

They were never told no to any aspect of their event. The City footed the bill for SCMPD to police the parade route. Why is it that they feel they should not have to pay for City services that everyone else pays for to hold special events? If they wanted to be treated fairly then they should have been more forthcoming with what their plans were during the festival.

Many times the City offered help and suggestions to make the event run better, but we were rebuked. We have done many other special events. You would think that inexperienced organizers would appreciate help from experienced planners.

A city employee

Cops are the bigger threat

Editor,

A recent issue of Connect reports that an official news release from the Savannah Police Department declares that some activists “have a propensity for violence and inciting civil unrest” (“A peace of their minds, June 16).

This seems ironic coming from an organization ready to use batons, pistols, bean-bag shotguns, rubber-bullets, tear-gas and criminal prosecution to ensure that their rules are kept.

For all citizens and patriots (you know, people who like our Constitution), should it not seem that a militant force trained to subdue the public voice of dissent has a much greater "propensity for violence and inciting civil unrest" than a group of a "couple dozen bored college-age protestors"?

Which group poses the greatest threat to the public's safety and civility?

Clay Beardshear

SRS vote a ‘travesty’

Editor,

In the last few years our region has faced threats from new activities planned for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site. However, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s plan to clean up SRS’s high-level nuclear waste on the cheap poses a more immediate threat that could lead to dire consequences if it is not stopped.

Do Sen. Graham and the DOE really think the danger from this waste will go away simply by calling it “low level” and covering it with grout? The grout will fail and the waste will contaminate the groundwater and the Savannah River, eventually reaching our area. How can saving $16 billion in cleanup costs possibly compare to completely writing off the Savannah River?

Furthermore, if Sen. Graham’s plan is so good, why did he sneak it into the Senate’s Defense Authorization Bill? This is a sign that his plan is not completely on the level.

We all owe Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Fritz Hollings of South Carolina a great debt of gratitude for leading the fight to remove this plan from the bill. It is a travesty that Georgia’s senators, Zell Miller and Saxby Chambliss, voted to keep it in.

Fortunately the House version did not include this plan, so there’s still a chance it can be killed in a conference committee.

Regardless of the final outcome, Sens. Miller, Chambliss and especially Graham must be held personally responsible for selling us out and forcing us to once again flirt with disaster. Coastal Empire and Lowcountry voters would be wise to remember this when both our states’ soon-to-be senior senators are up for reelection.

Jody Lanier

Cortellino up on SRS issues

Editor,

Regarding SRS and its environmental issues, Caine Cortellino, one of the Democrats running in the 12th Congressional District race, has in fact visited the SRS site. He did so not only as a candidate but also because he has worked on behalf of alternative energy resources and the environment.

I believe the voters of the 12th District should know he is interested and informed on a very important aspect of the District's makeup. Namely the impacts to Augusta on jobs/economy as well as Savannah and it's environmental well-being.

Holly Tompkins