Trump’s actions contradict campaign promises

Wow! “Prices could go up, or prices could go down, nobody really knows what’s going to happen. There could be a disturbance for a while….” This is what Donald Trump said Feb. 13.

Will somebody who voted for Trump remind me what he ran on? I thought it was lower prices, day one. End the war in Ukraine, day one. America First, improve the lives of regular Americans by lowering grocery prices, day one.

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Instead, it looks like we are raising prices, deserting Ukraine, firing many Americans, and cutting off important programs such as science and health, VA, and food programs for kids — programs that cost the least in the scheme of things.

Oh yeah, there is the ongoing hypocrisy in the new Department of Justice.

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I guess the Trump mandate is: 1) Forget the law. 2) Acquire new beachfront property, as in Gaza, Greenland, and Canada. 3) Raise prices, enact tariffs. 4) Mass firings of government employees. 5) Lower taxes for the wealthy.

Maybe President Musk — oh, I mean Trump — should look at cutting costs in some areas of the Department of Defense. Remember the old saying… the hammer that costs $400? Sure would like to see some of that fixed, but you do it the right way, not with unknown computer programmers doing heaven knows what with our information.

As far as the standard immigration line Trump ran on, most of us agree there are huge problems. But fix the path to citizenship — DACA people can probably pass the citizenship test much better than the average American. I’m still waiting for Mexico to pay for that “big beautiful” wall!

Susie Straus, Glenwood Springs

Preserving Mesa County’s iconic landscapes

What potential lies in barren land if not irrigated? A desert’s a desert, a canvas waiting for a purpose. It is land without homes yet brimming with possibilities. It could be a sanctuary for wildlife, a haven for native plants, a place of beauty and tranquility. So be Mesa County, a land of potential beyond Grand Mesa and the Colorado and Gunnison rivers.

Driving east on I-70, the view of Mount Garfield symbolizes the desert, and the stark foreground frames its majesty. It screams “Mesa County.” For the last decades, this view has been taken for granted. In recent years, visual blight along this view has appeared like a slow-growing cancer. What appeared to be worthless land for development, protected by the Bureau of Land Management, is surprisingly mostly privately owned. It begs the question: Do the powers that be care or have the power to protect this iconic view through ordinances, zoning, and enforcement?

It’s time we all united for land preservation. The news is brimming with alarm and controversy in these dynamic times. Whether it’s the BLM headquarters in Grand Junction or other leadership in similar organizations advocating for more drilling, the question remains: Without valuing our iconic landscape, how can we expect others to do so?

It might only be until derricks — or worse — litter the precious escarpment to Mount Garfield and the Book Cliffs that it will fulfill the sad legacy: “Grand Junkyard.” But together, as a community, we can prevent this.

Fred Stewart, Grand Junction

Transparency needed in wildlife damage payments

Wolves are once again being used as a scapegoat by Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-District 8. This time, he is trying to get a sneaky bill passed in the Colorado General Assembly that, if enacted, would hide information about game damage compensation payments. It would be a handout to property owners without full public oversight.

While proponents of this bill have been trying to frame it as a “wolf issue,” it would actually hide important information about all claims that property owners make when damage is done to their property by any covered wildlife.

The Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) allows the public to hold government accountable. When payments are being made to property owners for wildlife damage, the public has a right to know who is getting paid. Without disclosure, corruption, fraud and handouts to bad actors are inevitable.

If the politicians pushing this bill are actually concerned with protecting sensitive personal information like phone numbers and addresses of private residences, then they should write a reasonable bill balancing the need for public oversight with protections for individuals. It should provide uniform application to all open records requests, not something targeted to help ranchers hide from accountability.

Let’s be clear, I am all for helping our ranchers transition to living with wolves. In fact, one of the things that makes wolf restoration in Colorado unique is how we are showing up for both our wildlife and our people. There is a generous compensation fund for damage to livestock. The Born to Be Wild license plate has raised over $650,000. Colorado State University has The Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence, which has a fund for wolf conflict reduction work. Finally, the nonprofit community has also shown up to help in the field and to provide materials, training, and resources to help ranchers make this transition.

Secrecy is not the answer when taxpayers have bent over backwards to ensure that property owners are generously compensated for damage done by wolves and other covered wildlife.

Ryan Sedgeley, Montrose