Control access, collect the fare, improve safety

During part of my career I had to travel a great deal. Mostly to our larger metropolitan cities. Many of which had light rail or subway systems incorporated into their mass transit system. New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta to name a few. All have things in common. A combination of above- and below-ground routes. Their routes were determined by geography and impact on the community. For the most part it seems it was thought out and laid out well before it was built.

They all have one thing in common: You pay for your ride as you enter the station or facility. A controlled entry point to collect the fare. Which in larger stations acts as a security checkpoint as well.

The question I have is this: When the developers of our light rail debacle did their research, what led them to believe that an honor system would work to collect passenger fares or have any impact on the safety of those using the trains?

I have ridden the subways and light rails in all of the cities I mentioned above with family and colleagues and felt safe doing so.  I have ridden the light rail system here and no longer do so because I don’t feel safe riding them.

We are scanned when attending any event, entering schools, many office buildings, airports and even Amtrak. But we can walk up and get on a commuter train without any scanning at all, or anyone there to collect our fare. The Community Service Officers cannot cover all of the trains to make any real impact on the amount of money being lost by those not paying the fare.

I can’t imagine what it would cost to retrofit the stations to require payment before entering. I can see a safer ride on the trains and a great increase in the fares actually being collected. Maybe the Metro Transit System should look at that before they consider any more expansion.

Rick Anderson, Forest Lake

Loons and rivers

If you look at F944 long enough, you may notice that the white and blue waves together constitute two loons reflecting each other. If you want to read further meaning into F944, the fact that each of the waves has three “feathers” might be said to refer to the fact that Minnesota is the source of three continental watersheds — the Red and Rainy rivers north toward Hudson’s Bay, the St. Louis east to Lake Superior and, of course, the Mississippi south to the Gulf of Mexico.

Whether these associations are intentional does not matter. The fact that they occur is enough to propel F944 to the lead in my mind. A state flag’s message should be multi-layered as you see it in various settings over time.

Mathews Hollinshead, St. Paul

Would rather fly the old flag

I just wanted to say that I am not in favor of the old Minnesota State Flag being completely replaced. I have read articles about it and seen the new designs that have been approved by the committee and one of those new flags will become the new official state flag.

Disappointing … Why not a loon flag?

These designs lack what the original intent of the change was. I would rather fly the old flag than any of the new ones. I also think it would have been wiser to build on the existing flag than completely removing it.

Thank you.

Carren LaBrasseur, St. Paul

‘GIGO’

Computerworld reported “As generative AI platforms ingest greater oceans of data and get connected to more and more corporate databases, researchers are sounding an alarm: the tools are highly inaccurate and becoming more inscrutable.”

In I.T. we had a term for this kind of information system behavior. GIGO — GARBAGE IN = GARBAGE OUT. This brings into question the integrity of what information corporations are reporting to themselves and each other. Either AI systems are incredibly dumb or corporations are hoping no one will actually analyze their collected information.

Joe Danko, North St. Paul

Not the place

On Sunday, Dec. 3, my wife and I and two friends attended the European Christmas Market at St. Paul’s Union Depot. The event was utterly charming with good food, unique crafts, and abundant holiday cheer.

We passed a bandshell just as Christmas carolers were set to begin performing. The singers raised their songbooks and emblazoned on each one was the phrase, “End the occupation,” referring to Israel’s supposed occupation of Palestine. Behind the singers was a banner demanding an end to Islamophobia.

Irrespective of one’s feelings about the Israel/Palestine situation, I found this to be in the poorest of taste. The singers have every right to hold an opinion about the ongoing situation in the Middle East. But is a quaint Christmas fair the right forum in which to voice it? Absolutely not. I would suggest that the organizers of next year’s event respectfully ask participants to leave their politics at home.

Thomas L. Bonnett, Mendota Heights

Justice delayed, justice denied

I just finished reading an article in the Pioneer Press that talks about one of former President Donald Trump’s lawyers arguing in an Atlanta courtroom that any effort to put Mr. Trump on trial, or to hold him accountable for any of the various crimes he’s accused of, before the 2024 election, would amount to “election interference.” The attorney is quoted saying, “Can you imagine the notion of the Republican nominee for president not being able to campaign for the presidency because he is in some form or fashion in a courtroom defending himself?”

I believe what the attorney is obviously overlooking is that Mr. Trump put himself in this position by his own misdeeds and reckless acts, many of which can’t be denied as they have been documented by video/audio recording (i.e. his conversation with the Georgia attorney general asking that 10,000-plus votes be miraculously found, his illegal removal of government documents found stored at his Mar-a-Lago residence while denying their existence, or his over three-hour refusal to call for his supporters who stormed our Capitol building on January 6th to peacefully leave).

Mr. Trump has been indicted on these and other actions months ago, and there is an old adage: “Justice delayed is Justice denied.” The fact that these trials are imminent and will require Mr. Trump’s presence, keeping him from the campaign trail, should not prevent them from be scheduled and conducted ASAP. If any other citizen, you or I, were in a situation similar to Mr. Trump’s, do you honestly think a judge would delay a trial because our personal agenda’s or schedule may be inconvenienced?

Mike Miller, Lakeland

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