Letter to judge: Take further steps to protect those facing eviction
Dear Editor,
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing widespread disruption in our community and threatens our economic, physical, and mental health. Many organizations are stepping up to support our community. However, there is much fear and uncertainty and the last thing families need to be concerned about is the possibility of eviction or foreclosure.
We at Mountain Voices Project (MVP) applaud officials like Attorney General Phil Weiser, who over the weekend, called for a statewide pause on eviction proceedings, stating, “In this emergency, evicting any Coloradan from their home would exacerbate the public health and economic crisis we are fighting together,” and put the decision in the hands of the State’s District Judges.
We would like to thank Judge James Berkley Boyd, Chief Justice of the 9th Judicial District, for his recent order suspending all hearings but those “concerning public safety.” However, we wish to urge Judge Boyd to join the courts of Denver, Mesa, Weld, and Boulder Counties to explicitly declare a moratorium on all eviction proceedings during this emergency.
This clarification will serve to calm our community.
This effort to maintain our community fabric requires forbearance and sustained goodwill from all involved. As such, MVP urges all landlords to commit to not evict tenants and all lenders to suspend foreclosure proceedings during this pandemic.
MVP is a broad-based organization comprising 28 regional institutions including faith-based, educational, and social-impact organizations. When MVP speaks, it speaks with a voice that represents over 15,000 people. We are building relationships among diverse communities, from Parachute to Aspen, for the common good.
With compassion for those who need it most right now.
Mountain Voices Project,
Institutional Leaders
Rob Stein,
Roaring Fork School District Superintendent
Father Bert,
St. Stephen Catholic Church
Rabbi Emily Segal,
Aspen Jewish Congregation
Bertha Lopez,
Madres en Acción
Richard Gonzales,
Colorado Mountain College
Ross Brooks,
Mountain Family Health Centers
Lara Beaulieu,
English In Action
Lori Mueller,
Youth Zone
Pastor Jeff Carlson,
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Jamie Nims,
Two Rivers Community School
Michael Hayes,
Discover Compass
Pastor Charla Belinski,
Snowmass Chapel
Episcopal Partnership of Garfield County
Lindsay Lofaro,
Buddy Program
Kyle Crawley,
Stepping Stones
Elaine Grossman,
Valley Settlement
Cindy Kahn,
MANAUS
Pastor Daniel Self,
The Orchard
Audrey Hazelton,
Glenwood Springs Elementary School
Paul Freeman,
Glenwood Springs High School
Cecilia Rios,
La Esperanza de Emily
Reverend Laurie Bushbaum,
Two Rivers Unitarian Universalists
Gail Schwartz,
Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley
Niki Delson,
Carbondale Age-Friendly Community Initiative
Nowhere to hide on airliners
As the media reports Coronavirus transmission, devastation, deaths, closures, lack of supplies, impact, and the use of common sense; the confusion continues surrounding exposure guidelines. Was the virus driven here by car, bus or moped? Ships? Yes. They’ve been quarantined. However, the most likely culprit transports mass quantities of people by air. Imagine pretending to social distance on an airliner while breathing everyone else’s recycled breath in an enclosed tube. What familiar phrase just popped into your head?
Deborah Evans,
Carbondale
Listen to medical experts and scientists
The top priority of the current administration in Washington is money — the economy. Do they care that brave women and men who are caring for COVID-19 patients need many more masks, gowns, etc.? No. Do they care that our fellow citizens who are fighting to stay alive need respirators? No.
We need to listen to medical experts and scientists who are telling the truth and genuinely trying to help us get through this terrible time.
Wash your hands! Stay well!
Nancy Hess,
Glenwood Springs
Shut down travel between states, counties
All measures taken so far in Colorado including the new “stay at home” order are necessary, but I believe to make this really work, and I think it can, states and counties need to self contain. So yes, this would involve shutting down air and automobile traffic between states and counties to preserve the situation of each place and not to export or import the virus.
This is what didn’t happen in Europe. They didn’t close the borders until it was too late. One can see the states in the U.S. as similar to the countries in Europe because of size, population, etc.
Self containment in addition to self distancing. Maybe an idea to propose to Gov. Jared Polis.
Veronica Whitney,
Carbondale
The ‘cure is worse than the disease’ coronavirus debate
Yes, there is a point at which the cure could be worse than the disease in that a collapsing economy could cause the health care industry as well as other industries to collapse. This collapse would lead to many more deaths, and not just those from the coronavirus as there would no longer be care for cancer, heart attacks, vehicular accidents, lack of medicines, malnourishment, etc. But are we anywhere close to that point yet?
It’s all too easy for elected federal and state officials to say that they would be willing to die to save their (grand)children’s future when these same officials are the ones most likely to receive one of the scarce hospital beds, even scarcer ventilators, and intensive care due to their (justifiable) importance in keeping our government functioning. They are therefore more likely to survive a bout with the coronavirus. It’s easier to make these “dying” claims when you aren’t actually staring mortality in the face.
And yes, I too am concerned about what kind of world I’m leaving my descendants.
So what level of near-term deaths and stress on the health care system are we willing to accept to preserve our economic future? And how much would this increase in deaths itself stress the economy, defeating the very purpose of relaxing the restrictions?
I would argue to let the facts and data guide us in making this decision, not unsubstantiated claims that the suicide rate will go up if we let the economy slowdown continue — claims made by the same officials who said we didn’t need to worry about the coronavirus. Until we did.
Politics (by both parties) got us into our present state, but only science and data will get us out!
Jerome Dayton,
Carbondale