Letters to the editor for Nov. 26

Port Commission took too long on Oyo Hotel

I find Port Commissioner Joe Downing’s lack of initiative and foresight on the matter of the Oyo Hotel-Housing Authority plan for senior housing more than disappointing. He seems a bit perturbed that he has to get off his duff and provide a service for his community.

Hopefully voters will opt “to punt” when it comes time for Mr. Downing’s re-election.

John Montrose, Olympia

Remembering domestic violence victims

Come Saturday, Nov. 27, the local Zonta Club of South Puget Sound will place orange pinwheels near the Tivoli Fountain at the Capitol Campus to recall the 83 homicides in Washington state in 2019-2020 in the context of intimate partner violence.

Per the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence which collates data semiannually, these murders include “domestic violence victims killed by abusive partners; children, friends and family members of domestic violence victims killed by abusers; law enforcement officers killed by abusers; abusers killed by domestic violence victims, often in self-defense; abusers killed by friends, family, or bystanders intervening on behalf of a victim.”

Why at this time of year do we use these pinwheels as a visual reminder of lives lost? Zonta, a 101-year-old international organization dedicated to working for women’s equality, asks its members to observe annually the 16 Days of Activism. This time frame from Nov. 25 (International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women) to Dec. 10 (International Human Rights Day) is used to educate and promote action for a world in which no woman lives in fear of violence.