Kudos to Leon Reed Jr., but too bad Gov. Abbott couldn’t meet him halfway

Rangers just keep getting slammed

Wil Myers of the San Diego Padres should be ashamed of himself. Isn’t it an unwritten baseball rule that you don’t hit a grand slam against the Texas Rangers in the first inning (Aug. 19, 1B, “Grand slam in first inning sends Rangers to 6-4 loss”)?

Rangers pitchers are serving up so many grand slams, we soon should see them in Denny’s commercials.

- Tom C. Burke, Fort Worth

Defund police? Take it further

Since the “defund the police” movement has been getting a lot of press and catching on in major cities around our country, why don’t we apply this thinking to our state and federal representatives? Whenever one of our legislators does something illegal, whether it be misusing campaign funds or using tax dollars for family vacations, let’s punish all of them. How about an across-the-board 40% pay cut?

If we really think that defunding our police would make them better at what they do, then it should do the same for our elected officials.

- Ron Bernier, Granbury

Let’s try to meet in the middle

Shout-out to Fort Worth’s own Leon Reed Jr. for completing his 200-mile walk from Fort Worth to Austin. (Aug. 19, 1A, “Fort Worth attorney completes walk for changes”) I appreciate your strenuous efforts to open a dialogue with Gov. Greg Abbott about police reform. This is a difficult and complex issue that will be resolved only when leaders listen to all parties.

When the governor’s plans changed and took him up Interstate 35 to Fort Worth, he could easily have met Reed halfway. How refreshing would that have been?

- Anna McElhany, Fort Worth

Gentle wildlife killed needlessly

Thanks to your inflammatory Aug. 9 story about a colony of “swamp rats” in Krauss Baker Park (1B, “Nutria spread through park in south Fort Worth”), the city killed all of the nutria. (Aug. 19, 1A, “No happy ending for nutria colony at park”) Many of them were barely weeks old.

I visit that park regularly and had grown quite fond of those mild-mannered, laid-back rodents. Watching them glide gracefully in the creek and carefully tend their young was calming during this stressful time.

Was there documented evidence of damage done to the park or nearby roadways by this colony? If Fort Worth doesn’t want nutria taking up permanent residence, it should address the root problem: visitors feeding wildlife. And if we can change humans’ behavior, the creek will be cleaner and nutria will be less likely to settle there.

- Karen L. Weber, Fort Worth

This demeaning term is OK?

Columnist Mac Engel is always quick to point out bigotry in everyone else. So, I would like him to know that I find his use of the term “Karen” as a pejorative to be offensive and demeaning. (Aug. 19, 1B, “Padres’ Tatis does not owe an apology for grand slam”)

Ironically, he used the term in a column mocking Rangers manager Chris Woodward for invoking “unwritten rules of baseball.” Yet on the same day in a different column, he chastised NBA referees for not following an “unwritten code”?(3B, “Mavs’ Cuban should blast NBA refs over ejection of Porzingis”) A little self-examination might be in order.

- Michael Gulinson, Granbury