Readers Write: Transit options, coronavirus, Minneapolis parks, priests and primary voting, Trump's salary

Counterpoint writer Doug Shidell's proposed alternatives to both gasoline- and electric-powered cars are imaginative but hardly practical, especially for people over 30 years old ("It's not about electric vs. gas, we need to turn away from cars," Feb. 29). Electric bicycles, electric scooters and even electric golf carts have one major obstacle: our lengthy winters. Shidell admits as much, sort of. He writes, "Winter is a bigger issue, but if a good winter solution isn't found ... ." Let's face it, there is no good "solution" for a Minnesota winter. That is why all of those nasty orange or green electric scooters disappear from our sidewalks, lawns and parkways at the end of October, along with the ride-share bicycles. Snow, ice and slush are just around the corner. No matter how well streets, bicycle paths and sidewalks are shoveled, thawing produces puddles during the day that refreeze during the night. This is a fact of life in Minnesota that no amount of wishful thinking is going to change. In addition, riding around in an open golf cart on a subzero day is an excellent way to contract frostbite or hypothermia, especially for older people. Why would anyone stay in Minnesota during the winter if Shidell's transportation "solutions" were imposed?

I do not hate bicycles. I have ridden them since 1956 and ride my present bicycle for recreation from April through October. However, I cannot carry two bags of groceries on it, or any cargo bigger than a paperback book and maybe a beach towel. Nor am I about to risk life and limb on one of those nasty electric scooters that terrorize me while I am walking during the summer. If bicycle fanatics wish to ride in the dead of winter, so be it, but do not expect me to do likewise! I intend to keep driving my warm, comfortable car for as long as I am able.

With the possibility of a catastrophic epidemic of coronavirus, the important and often-neglected issue of sick days comes up. Every industry job, every grocery store, big-box store, cable company, plumbing company, home health care, maid service, hotel, delivery service, coffee shop, car mechanic — just about every hourly job in Minnesota and, yes, the country has an extremely limited number of sick days. That forces people to go to work and interact with others while contagious for fear of losing their job and income and not being able to survive day to day. This has to change now if there's any real chance of heading this virus off. It's time to put everyday hardworking people first and making profits last.

Yikes! The census is coming up and there still is a need for workers, yet with the threat of the coronavirus, who will be willing to door-knock and enter homes?

Enough already about the coronavirus! With an overabundance of focus on the coronavirus, causing people to get jittery, it's no wonder stocks are tumbling. Calling the virus a pandemic is merely a projection — not a concrete fact. My suggestion is for the news media to cover more stories on the air and not go the long-distance marathon on one.

I am guessing that the president's full response to the coronavirus will be to toss boxes of Kleenex into the crowd at his rallies. A president who has no use for truth or science is not likely to lead an effective response to a global medical emergency unless some infected fast food worker spreads some virus onto his fried chicken or burger.

Seems our politicians are treating the coronavirus as Rahm Emanuel said: "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste."

Where is your pride, Minneapolitans? You have a national — international — reputation for your amazing parks and the story behind their origin and development. Until recently, this story has been told by the dedicated Minneapolis Parks Legacy Society volunteer guides working directly from Theodore Wirth's home, using the very settings and tools he used to design the Minneapolis park system. It's a story that distinguishes Minneapolis, and it's been enthralling tour groups ranging from schoolchildren to park professionals.

Now the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is weighing drastic cuts to the space and dates the volunteers will have to impart the tale begun by Wirth that established the parks that so distinguish and enhance Minneapolis ("Parks superintendent will rent entire Wirth home," Feb. 20).

Minnesotans have a reputation for modesty, but it seem like something akin to poor judgment to so minimize a volunteer program that is successfully telling the unique story of Minneapolis' parks. As a former Minneapolitan who's still a Minnesotan, I can assure the Park Board it's not bragging to help people understand and appreciate a heritage that makes Minneapolis so distinctive and livable.

I was a bit shocked to see such a negative reaction to St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda's request that priests not vote in Tuesday's presidential primary ("Catholic clergy is asked not to vote," Feb. 29). A priest's primary duty is the salvation of souls. In an era of deep polarization, it's easy to see how a public party affiliation could jeopardize a priest's ability to perform that duty. Moreover, in an era where both parties are raging dumpster fires from a Catholic perspective, it's good for clergy to distance themselves from public support of either party, lest they give the impression of tacitly endorsing either party's more evil positions.

A Trump-supporting letter writer disparaged Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren for not returning their salaries to taxpayers while "touring the country lecturing us" (March 3). He reminded readers that President Donald Trump, a self-avowed billionaire, donates his $400,000 salary to charity. What he failed to mention is the unprecedented cost to taxpayers for Trump's habit of playing golf. Since his inauguration, Trump has made 247 daytime visits to golf courses — mostly to his private clubs at Bedminster, N.J., and Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. — at a cost to taxpayers of over $130 million, according to some estimates.