As a teen, I found the July 13 story “Vowing to value virginity with a purity pledge” didn’t present a comprehensive report on the value of purity rings and virginity pledges, or help readers understand the conflicting information.

The Rand Corp. survey showed that teens taking virginity pledges often delay their first sexual encounter, but some studies show that pledges have little to no effect on teens over 16. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health showed that teens who take a pledge are actually less likely to admit to engaging in sexual activity.

One in 10 teens who had admitted to sexual activity in the first interview and had taken a pledge before their second interview, actually changed their story about their sexual experiences. It also showed teens who took a pledge were more likely to neglect safe-sex practices.

A purity ring and pledges can help teens make decisions about sex, but comprehensive sex education is vital to sexual health among teenagers.

Sarah Moody
Vancouver

Will vision sustain a vote?

To speak of the Columbia waterfront development as “State-of-the-art sustainable neighborhood,” in the July 9 story without some rational discussion of the costs involved relegates plans for the former Boise Cascade paper mill site to mere fantasy.

If one reads the City of Vancouver’s “City Center Visioning Plan” and applies those standards to the Boise site, it’s clear the city is significantly short of funds to pay for its share of the entire development, as promised. That is not “sustainability.”

If investment of public money on this project is really in everyone’s best interests, then the Vancouver City Council should immediately proceed to put a $100 million bond measure on the ballot in order to pay for their share of this project in a “sustainable” way.

Let’s find out if the city’s voters are really behind this project as much as the city claims they are.

Bob Koski
Vancouver

Donations help find pets

While ground will soon break for the Humane Society for Southwest Washington’s shelter, we are a long way from the finish line.

The July 8 story, “Howling for home — Lost dogs wait behind bars,” and picture of the dog between cage bars made me sad. But at the same time, glad because it seems that the majority of us humans need to be blindsided by reality in order to step up and donate our time or money, spay and neuter our pets, and/or be responsible pet owners.

The story mentioned a year-old lost pug that ran off from a family fireworks party. The dog’s owner said, “She’s not scared of anything … so I didn’t take the precautions.” Instead of hiring a private dog search company, the pet owner could have donated the $200 fee to the Humane Society. More donations will help assure that “overworked shelter employees aren’t overlooking their pet in some back cage.”

Ann Degenshein
Camas

Liberal delusions displayed

Delusions of secular liberalism were on display July 6 with Rich Stever’s letter, “Escape GOP failed policies.” Stever seethes with classic leftist talking points and bemoans conservative “Christian family values.”

Realities of GOP policies: Two nations liberated from brutal terrorist regimes; our homeland without terrorist attacks due to rebuilt intelligence services — accomplished without widespread American civil rights violations. Taxes lowered and economy strengthened for Americans; low unemployment and interest rates — accomplished without Democrat support.

Realities of Democrat policies since gaining congressional control: The promise of lower gas prices have resulted in $4-a-gallon gas; earmark spending worse than ever, adding to our national debt; tumbling stock market and increased food prices due to a conserve-only energy policy.

Democrat leadership in Congress has been invested in defeat in Iraq from the get-go. Now, with victory in reach, one should wonder how soon our troops could be returning home had complete support been offered.

James Marchand
Vancouver

MAX too slow to keep up

The problem with Portland’s MAX lines is they are too slow. Over long distances they usually take more time than an automobile. A couple of cures come to mind.

Speed the trains up by eliminating a significant number of stops so the average speed increases. As an alternative, run express buses from distant transit centers, as was the case before light rail, to entice some of those single commuters back to public transit. The trains would still be useful as “locals” as they are mostly used now.

As long as C-Tran continues express buses from Vancouver to downtown Portland, the extra $1.3 billion to build the light-rail bridge next to the highway bridge across the Columbia is apt to be a poor investment, unless, of course, you force C-Tran to stop the buses and make the alternative a slow train. That would not be a good outcome for someone who really wants to commute from Vancouver.

Richard Leonetti
Portland

Clintons trivialized

I read with interest Gregg Herrington’s July 11 opinion column, “Did Bubba cost Hillary the presidency?” interviewing Dr. Candace Young on the subject of Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Young’s points were well taken, logical and dignified, but none of these facts was apparent from the foolish headline using the term “Bubba” to describe former President Bill Clinton. The headline gives the clear implication that the story/interview describes Bill Clinton as a corn pone goofball. In fact, that’s clearly not the case, nor did the former president figure in more than three sentences worth of quotes.

It’s always disappointing when interesting subjects are trivialized and distorted in otherwise respectable news sources.

Melinda Bargreen
Everett