Opinion
‘Welcome to the grit’
She left crying. Tears of dreadful worry and modest thanks for nothing more than validation. I wouldn’t roll the dice on it happening in the first place, but this young…
Letters to the Editor
Opinion
Listen to whistle for ‘train speak’
Train whistles are legal warning sounds given when they cross streets to alert drivers and pedestrians. When I lived in Durango on Third Avenue, I loved to listen to them…
Opinion
Headlines show ‘our priorities’
The juxtaposition of the headlines in The Durango Herald on July 29, reporting $12M spent for a wildlife overpass and 400 unhoused county residents illustrates our priorities. Would they have…
Opinion
New projects have ‘continued expenses’
Your editorial on “Spend excess revenue on new purposes” on Saturday leads me to believe that Bernie Sanders is in town. You are suggesting that we take windfall revenue and…
Opinion
‘Durango here because of train’
Durango is here because of the train. I’ve lived here more than 50 years and am proud to live with this beautiful, historic and world-famous train. For a few years,…
Opinion
Don’t listen to ‘retro-dinosaurs’
Stay firm, City Council! Don’t listen to the off-Main business owners who see sour grapes in improvements to Main Avenue or to the retro-dinosaurs who feel that everything should remain…
Opinion
‘People want whistles toned down’
I must disagree with a recent letter about loud train whistles. Most folks I know “are negatively affected” by the loud train whistles that come by at least six times…
Opinion
Code talker Sandoval a hero
I was very saddened to learn of the passing of Navajo code talker Samuel Sandoval. I had the honor of introducing him at his talks at the Cortez Cultural Center…
Opinion
‘Count me yes’ on redesign
My hand is raised in favor of a downtown redesign. In 40 years of residence, the physical has changed little as use and business have grown. The timing is right…
Opinion
‘Thousands of ditches nothing less than beloved’
Dave Marstoncca Annette Choszczyk lives in rural western Colorado these days, but when she was a kid, the Highline Canal in Denver was her summer paradise. “To us, it was…
Opinion
Durangoans ‘duped’ on e-bikes
I am shocked by the number of people in Durango riding electric bikes. This is bike-town USA! Home of world-class athletes and a biking mecca. We don’t need a motor.…
Opinion
‘Doubt majority negatively affected’ by train whistle
Re letter on Wednesday about the train whistle. First of all, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is the historic cornerstone of Durango. Durango businesses, such as stores and…
Opinion
1,000+ responses ‘not consensus’
To expand on previous letters to the editor about the historic Main Avenue redo, 1,000-plus responses to the questionnaire from a voting population of 13,000-plus in the city does not…
Opinion
Biden ‘horrible for retirement funds’
The Thrift Savings Plan demonstrates the destruction of our economy. This quarter, all funds, except the G Fund, are losing by an average of -16.37%. Horrible for retirement funds. To…
Opinion
‘Language police,’ homeless and unhoused
Since the Language Police have made it illegal to use the word “homeless” and replaced it with “unhoused,” why do you use the term “homelessness?” You repeatedly use the term…
Opinion
No charge in ‘terminate presidency’ tweet?
Why hasn’t Boebert been charged for tweeting, ”We need to terminate this presidency.” Isn’t she asking someone to shoot President Biden? John Hopkins Durango
Opinion
Main Avenue survey ‘manipulation’
Do you remember when your grade-school teachers wanted you to feel like you were part of a decision? They came up with a few things they wanted you to do…
Opinion
‘Lay off’ the train whistle
I noted that the county turned off the clock chimes downtown this summer (boo!) in response to a few complaints. It is too bad nothing is being done to address…
Opinion
‘Leave it alone’ a design choice
Not that many years ago, the city had plans to repair downtown sidewalks. Somebody in city management decided that before the sidewalk repair work was to begin, the city needed…
Opinion
How did fires start around Durango?
Durango Fire Protection District, Durango City Council, La Plata County, Bureau of Land Management, San Juan National Forest officials: Please, you are obligated to let the residents of Durango know…
Opinion
‘Pay (accordingly) for international educators’
RE: The editorial on Wednesday, “International teachers good hires.” Both my wife and I are retired international educators. We earned our degrees, a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, in the…
Opinion
‘Patriots’ sold out country cheaply
I have strived to understand the continued attachment of many conservatives to the gifted demagogue former President Donald Trump and his election lie by talking to Trump supporters. The secret…
Opinion
Spend lodgers tax on parking garage
I actually live outside of Durango city limits. My wife and I buy “stuff” in Durango and frequent the restaurants in town. Why not spend the extra funds from the…
Opinion
Take on Democratic Party logic, agenda
My take on Democratic Party logic. Shut down the timber industry in the Northwest to protect the nesting spotted owl. Stop pipeline construction in the Midwest to protect the nesting…
Opinion
‘Reject un-American’ extremists’ conduct
Extremists are appearing at doorsteps of law abiding Colorado citizens and bullying people regarding the supposedly settled 2020 election. Is their goal to scare away voters that disagree with their…
Opinion
Trump tantrums indicate parenting
A live Jan. 6 hearing in June included one young former aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, allegedly a co-conspirator in the insurrection. This…
Opinion
Main Avenue looks ‘like a carnival’
I love Durango’s historical Main Avenue with its wide sidewalks, mature trees, historical buildings, four lanes of traffic that make is accessible and parking along the curbs. It is a…
Opinion
Want thriving economy? Build it
In 1980, I was a 10-year-old Durango kid who loved riding horses, reading books and learning foreign languages. Sometime during that year, some investor opened the Durango Mall. My family…
Opinion
Durango entrance an ‘eyesore’
Dear citizens of Durango, Couldn’t we possibly do something about our long-neglected weedy entrance triangle at our most wonderful continuous flow intersection of Highways 160 and 550? It really is…
Opinion
‘Health care descended into Dark Ages’
The Supreme Court termination of health care for women is an attack on the profession of medicine as well as an attack on women and girls. How can it be…