Readers write for Feb. 9, 2011

The policy recommendations outlined in the story "State may loosen grip on sex offenders" (Feb. 6) has ramifications for my family.

That's because zip codes 55404 and 55407 -- both overlapping the east Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis where I live and work -- have the highest per capita Level 3 sex offenders in the state. Our neighborhood, already fragile, also has one of highest poverty rates in the city.

How do you build strong communities under these conditions? My children stand on the corner in front of a sex offender's home each day waiting for their school bus.

We need leaders to make sure that neighborhoods like ours don't continue to bear a disproportionate share of these offenders.

JOANI ESSENBURG, MINNEAPOLIS

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The article about balancing the rights of sex offenders vs. the safety of Minnesotans says that state officials recommend supervised release for two violent sex offenders. Am I missing something?

They can't be mended. If our challenge is prison space and money, let's legalize drugs, tax and control their use, then use the money to keep these criminals incarcerated for the duration of their lives.

MICHAEL MEYER, LAKEVILLE

Let me see if I have this straight: The well-to-do kids from Eden Prairie's Bearpath neighborhood will be bused across town to a new school next year ("Busing fight feels like lots of drama on a smallish stage," Jan. 30).

This is being done to level out the economic disparity that exists at a school with a large population of Somali children.

Some studies show that poorer schools produce poorer results. Makes sense, I guess.

Now, the lower-performing students can continue to underperform, but the overall school numbers will be fine thanks to the smart rich kids?

This sounds like a Ponzi scheme for educators. Tom Petters would be impressed.

NATHAN ANDERSON, PLYMOUTH

Every adult should read Dr. Ralph S. Bovard's commentary on health care. ("Rationing is not the only alternative," Feb. 8.) There would or should be an uprising in this country.

DARLENE PETERSON, SHAKOPEE

GARY DANYO, ST. ANTHONY

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I would prefer local talent, rather than a professional pop singer, be used to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl.

DALE VANDER LINDEN, DELANO

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RICH OSBORN, EDINA

Jason Lewis isn't a fan of the Legacy Amendment, so he must not be a fan of Minnesota's lakes ("How are those Legacy funds working out?" Feb. 6). If he doesn't realize that our lakes turn green and get choked with weeds earlier every year, then he doesn't get out much. A majority of Minnesotans care more about our environment than he does.

JIM DOOLEY, APPLE VALLEY

The editorial on abortion surely mystifies me ("Reject new limits on abortion rights," Feb. 7). We cannot escape the fact that a woman's unborn baby is most certainly human and not plant, animal or inanimate object.

Reason also tells us that because only a living thing can grow, an unborn baby must be a living human being. Given this, can we deny that when a pregnancy is terminated a living human being is killed?

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Abortion isn't a "right," as the editorial claimed. It's the ending of an embryonic human life. Period.

MARY CINQUEGRANA, WOODBURY

Why does this newspaper ignore high school wrestling ? In case you haven't noticed, we have some of the best teams and individual wrestlers in the country. Yes, basketball and hockey are more glamorous sports, but wrestling deserves coverage, too.