This was y’all’s job

Re: “Let’s use federal funds to plug ‘orphan’ wells — As long as there are no onerous strings attached, this can help tackle the backlog of 8,600 abandoned wells,” by Jim Wright, Wednesday Opinion.

Wright’s op-ed on wanting federal money to plug abandoned wells across Texas is disingenuous. He lauds the work of his Railroad Commission, which in reality has been negligent in its duties in the enforcement of plugging wells for years.

Now he wants to make taxpayers fix something that is the responsibility of the operators of those wells and the responsibility of the Railroad Commission. All of the various operators who had any participation at any time in the life of those wells should be forced to cough up the funds needed to stop this breach of solid citizenship instead of leaving a destroyed environment for our children.

If they don’t pay up, then put liens on all their mansions, their businesses, their boats, their properties, garnish their bank accounts; treat them like the lawbreakers they are. Bankruptcy claims are a dodge. They had little respect for the law or ethics in fulfilling their obligation to landowners, nor for Texas as stewards of the land.

Warren M. Lynn, Fort Worth

Let the industry clean this up

Obviously, a backlog of 8,600 wells is a problem. While I don’t understand much about the oil and gas industries, I do understand when I read about the huge profits they are amassing. I don’t think we should use federal funds for everything — there is a limit. The oil and gas industry should use some of those profits to take care of their own problems, leaving federal money to be used where there are no backup funds.

Carol Stephenson, Mesquite

While we’re conserving water ...

North Texas water officials are asking us to conserve water by watering less. Keeping plants and grass alive supports the ecosystem. Haven’t heard any mention of people not using water to replace what evaporates from swimming pools or turning off fountains.

Cynthia Stock, Garland

This is not a true Texan

I am a 72-year-old Fort Worth native who has lived in Texas my entire life. I’ve lived in the country and cities in the north, center, west and south of this great state. I had a horse before a bicycle. I have owned more trucks than cars. I was a construction worker before I was an executive. I baled hay and sat in boardrooms. I know a little about Texas and being a Texan.

A true Texan is honest, kind, trustworthy, speaks the truth, works hard, does what’s right and acts with character and dignity. A true Texan does not blame the Uvalde massacre on mental health issues after defunding mental health care programs. A true Texan would not remain beholden to the National Rifle Association and forgo the personal responsibility for enacting reasonable gun laws in this state.

A true Texan would not ship over 5,000 asylum-seeking immigrants from our border to Washington, D.C., and New York to make a political statement while creating huge difficulties for both the immigrants and the cities.

Abbott might technically be a Texan since he lives here, but he sure doesn’t act like one. We need a governor that is a true Texan.

David E. Voss, Dallas

Fallout from abortion law

When the Texas Legislature passed their anti-abortion law, they irrevocably hurt women’s health care. I ran across two such examples this week, neither having to do with a woman seeking an abortion.

First, a young woman close to our family had an IUD removed in a clinical setting. But the IUD broke off and the doctor refused to render any more service because of the backlash possible from the ridiculously written bill in Austin. A procedure was needed, but the doctor would not perform it. The woman had to go out of state to have the remaining parts of the IUD removed.

The second occurred when a neighbor’s daughter had a miscarriage. Her doctor prescribed a drug to clear remaining scar tissue, so she could have children in the future. Her local pharmacist would not fill the prescription until she could prove that the miscarriage was not a self-inflicted attempt at an abortion.

Irony here. Both examples are from couples trying to have children, not trying to get rid of unwanted pregnancies.

John Lawrence Crawley, Dallas

Please back this legislation

It’s back-to-school time for children around the world. Yet 616 million students globally won’t be attending due to school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely disrupted children’s access to quality education.

The READ Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 bill would enable the U.S. to continue to lead on global equity for both boys and girls to have access to education. The longer vulnerable children are out of school, the less likely they are to return, and the World Bank estimates that this generation of students will lose $17 trillion in lifetime earnings.

The U.S. has long been a leader in supporting developing countries as they work to educate their children. This bipartisan legislation would strengthen the effectiveness, impact and accountability of this work, helping to ensure that children and youth have access to a quality education, regardless of where they were born.

I am asking our members of Congress to cosponsor the READ Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, so we can continue this important work for millions of students worldwide.

Marie Tilden, North Dallas

Show us the connection

Regarding Thursday’s front page, I hope there are many others who want to see a connection between “A history of neglect” and “Council considers $1 billion bond” stories. I am fortunate to have lived in areas of Dallas where our streets and sidewalks were nice and safe. Let’s support spending money to make other parts of the city nice and safe.

Beth Weems Pirtle, Dallas