Be sure documentation is in order to be able to vote

In the process of applying for TSA Precheck, I discovered that you verify citizenship with a valid passport or a government-issued ID, accompanied by an official, state-issued birth certificate in good condition. I was born in the 1940s, and my mother gave me a birth registration certificate, not a birth certificate. I have ordered an official copy from my birth state. $15.

The most common name change is for a woman when she marries. This is not as common now as it was for us older ladies. Nearly 50% of the voting population may have a problem when trying to vote. Be sure your documentation is in order. Not everyone has a passport, and not everyone can afford the $15 fee.

— Barbara Willis, Longmont

There are no shortcuts to being a good writer

Education’s embrace of AI-assisted learning shows promise for information and research in many fields, but in regard to writing, it seems a slippery slope into careless conformity and loss of individual character. Anyone taking writing seriously knows it is an arduous task for which there are no shortcuts worth following. There are pitfalls enough.

— Robert Porath, Boulder

Boulder’s orange traffic cones

It might be better for the Daily Camera to print a list of the unconed zones. Today, you can go up and down 19th Street between North St. and Iris Ave. without seeing cones.

— Karen Morgan, Boulder

Why does the city want to sell Iris Fields?

So the city is proposing a ballot measure to increase an existing tax (the Public Realm Tax) for parks and recreation, yet wants to sell the Iris ballfields for potentially $20 million?

— Madeline West, Boulder

Grappling with something other than my big fears

I really enjoyed the article on which grappling dummy to buy (“Top grappling dummies to improve your ground game”). I had never considered this question before, and now realize how relaxing and empowering it could be to grapple with something other than foreboding fears of an imminent takeover of my native land by brutish billionaire fascists or the possibility of a portion of West Pearl Street being denied to automobiles, even Teslas.

I now feel fully informed and able to prepare myself properly for any good grapple (which I formerly incorrectly believed to be a blend of organic grape and apple juices) should the need for one arise.

— Earl Noe, Boulder