There is no reason President Trump should have to participate in impeachment hearings
Right the injustice done to Fitzgerald
As interim police chief, Ed Kraus presided over an appalling 10 police-involved shootings. Yet City Manager David Cooke and Mayor Betsy Price rammed through his permanent hiring, a cynical attempt to make the highly suspicious termination of former Chief Joel Fitzgerald irreversible. Instead, Fitzgerald should have been reinstated.
Under Fitzgerald, we achieved the largest reduction in violent crime and murder rates of any major city in Texas, and among the largest in the nation. The property crime rate also dropped dramatically.
But apparently Fitzgerald was too diligent about trying to drain the swamp at City Hall. He repeatedly warned Cooke and his team about alarming misconduct in the city information technology department. Just last week, our municipal water department suffered a computer security breach, compromising thousands of residents.
The city must rescind Kraus’ hiring, reinstate Fitzgerald and oust Cooke. Until then, voters must not reauthorize the crime-control sales tax, soon up for renewal.
- Lee Spieckerman, Fort Worth
Editor’s note: The writer is an adviser to former Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald.
Why so little love for Mavericks?
I have been a subscriber for more than 30 years, and I am unhappy with your paltry Dallas Mavericks coverage. We have a first-place team with one of the best young talents in the league, Luka Doncic.
The national papers cover the Mavs more than you do, though. If I am lucky, I may find a boxscore from two days ago. Will I have to subscribe to The Dallas Morning News to have coverage?
- Barry Shannon, Fort Worth
Take a tip from Mister Rogers
I would just like to say thank you to the makers of the movie “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” in which Tom Hanks does an outstanding job playing Fred Rogers. The movie’s message is that we all can overcome our fears and weaknesses when someone cares like Mister Rogers did.
If everyone watched it, including world leaders, our world would be a much better place.
- Gerald Grieser, Hurst
Can’t quit fighting for our kids
During my first meeting with activist Abdul Chappell to discuss the Build a Better Hood foundation’s history and mission, he welcomed a young man, J.J., and asked him why he wasn’t in school. The boy responded that he had been suspended. The young man was quick-witted and had an infectious personality.
It hit me: Where would J.J. be without Abdul and the foundation? The school system had failed him. His mother was at work, and he lived in an area with one of the highest crime rates in the city. Build a Better Hood provided J.J. and others with a safe educational environment away from the streets.
Last week, reports surfaced that young Javarus Jackson — J.J. — was a victim of homicide. (Dec. 6, 5A, “Friends of Fort Worth teen found dead in disbelief”) He had a bright future and was taken far too early.
These senseless deaths cannot keep happening. We must protect and invest in our children.
- Jason Adams, Fort Worth
Not up to Trump to prove innocence
A Saturday letter to the editor suggested that President Donald Trump needs to prove his innocence by participating in the impeachment hearings. (11A) What country is this writer living in? In this country, one is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
- Angela Benvenuto, Arlington