LED streetlights make sense
How does responsible leadership explain turning their back on a local job-creating, crime-educing, cutting-edge, environmentally friendly, money saving manufacturing opportunity in our community?
This appears to be a project that would actually have a long-term payback beginning in a relatively short period of time. The cost savings of LED lights versus older, high-pressure sodium streetlights has been documented for years. EPB's Smart Grid technology provides immediate access to accurate energy consumption versus "meter reading." The Smart Grid technology enables outages to be narrowed down to the exact fixture versus having someone drive around to look for outages. Lights can be turned off, turned on, dimmed and set to flash mode using the Smart Grid technology, which has already played a major role in making our streets and parks safer.
The governor said of Global Green Lighting, "This is another symbol of how Chattanooga is leading our country in manufacturing." The county mayor was quoted as saying, "GGL shows how our local companies and workers are competing in the worldwide economy."
Mayor Andy Berke and the Chattanooga City Council, please help the taxpayers of Chattanooga understand how we're about to let this seeming no-brainer get away.
MICHAEL KIRK, Hixson
Justice for Nigerian girls
Why did Hillary Clinton not declare Boko Haram a terrorist organization back in 2008? Nigeria advised her not to.
The same Nigerian president who is afraid to send his troops to rescue the 200 kidnapped schoolgirls. The same man who is even afraid to visit Chibok and face their grieving families.
Everyone is calling for something to be done - that is every democratic country. Islamic countries are typically quiet. They do not care for women's rights. They care only for their political gain. And our president has done nothing but state that there will not be "boots on the ground" in Nigeria. This statement only signals to Boko Haram that America will not seek them out. The only action from the White House was a Twitter campaign.
Really? Could not Navy SEALs extricate these little girls before they are sold as sex slaves? Aren't they about the same age as Mr. Obama's two girls? What would he do if they were abducted? Would he not rescue them? The only difference is that these girls are somebody else's girls. Is this not a righteous cause?
Wrong is wrong no matter where it is done, and right is right no matter what it costs. If there is not justice for everyone, there will be no justice for anyone.
GERALD WHITELY, Ringgold, Ga.