Readers write for Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009

I was surprised that your Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board endorsements focused on City Hall politics and never referenced our significant renewable energy issues.

Will Minneapolis continue its almost complete dependence on coal and nuclear power with the resultant smog, mercury pollution, acid rain, hazardous waste and storage problems, or will it harness the hydrological power of water flowing through one of the many tunnels that have diverted water from the Mississippi River since before Abraham Lincoln was president?

These tunnels, still in existence, which once spun underground turbines for drive shafts and belts for Minneapolis' grain and lumber mills, could instead be used to spin underground turbines for electricity if the Park Board approves.

Park Board Commissioner Carol Kummer deserves reelection due to her efforts to harness this clean and renewable energy alternative. Carol has shown that climate change is not just somebody's else problem and that we have to act globally by working locally.

WES SKOGLUND, MINNEAPOLIS;

FORMER STATE REPRESENTATIVE

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Liz has been a fixture at Park Board meetings for years, a vocal and active advocate for fiscal responsibility and transparency. She cofounded an organization to further these goals and is extremely knowledgeable.

Liz has great financial skills and has been a fixture on several volunteer fronts -- an active parent volunteer at her son's school, on many neighborhood committees, even as an election judge. Her civic-mindedness and excellent knowledge of the issues facing the Park Board make her a candidate who can hit the ground running.

KELLEY LEAF, MINNEAPOLIS

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The Star Tribune Editorial Board missed the mark by endorsing Jason Stone for Park Board in District 5. The headline indicates the board needs new energy and fresh voices. I can guarantee that Steve Barland would provide both. He may be an "outsider" to the political scene, but this is precisely the new blood that is needed.

I truly believe Steve Barland can and will take this understanding of the essence of the Park Board system and translate it into positive action on the fiscal challenges it faces as well as the ongoing need for strong, vibrant local parks for Minneapolis youth.

GREGG KISPERT, BLOOMINGTON

Health care during a pandemic is not business as usual, and wait times are inevitable in overworked clinics and emergency rooms. As frustrating as it may be to wait a few hours for an answer on a phone line, given a choice between waiting in a crowded emergency room or in the comfort of my home, I'll take home any day.

So congratulations and thanks to those who worked hard to create the Minnesota FluLine (1-866-259-4655). The FluLine is the first statewide system in which nurses are empowered to issue antiviral prescriptions over the phone. This simple solution to help get flu medicines to patients, regardless of whether they are insured, reflects the best of Minnesota's health care and public health partners.

Our state's nonprofit health care providers and plans collaborated with the Minnesota Department of Health to figure out how to support health care access without adding to the burdens borne by hospitals and clinics during this pandemic. They figured out how to have insurers cover claims for those who are insured, while allowing the state's stockpile to be tapped for those who are un- or underinsured. The FluLine has interpreters available for non-English speakers.

ELLIE GARRETT, ST. PAUL;

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR,

PUBLIC HEALTH & HEALTH POLICY,