Letters are posted as we receive them during the week, and before they are printed in the paper, so check back frequently to see new letters. If you'd like to send a letter to the editor, use this postmarks submission form, or email your letter directly to [email protected]. Thanks for your patience.

Dear Editor,
    Are you aware that legendary Texas radio guru Woody Roberts recently passed away in Austin? I worked with Woody at KEXL in San Antonio in the early Seventies and we have been texting for the last couple of years, though we haven't seen each other since those hazy daze of radio. I know no details except he moved into the Holiday Renaissance in January of 2023 and I called the facility to do a check up on him as his texts stopped and was informed he had passed without any other details. I never knew his family members and do not know his current close friends except maybe Eddie & Genie Wilson, former owners of the Armadillo World Headquarters and Threadgill's in Austin. I have not been in contact with Eddie either since the closing of the Armadillo so many years ago. I'm assuming someone else might have notified you but one never knows. I am very saddened by Woody's passing and do know that he has been suffering from a long term illness and had recently had surgery and cancer was involved. Woody wasn't very forth-coming with me as to details of his life or illness so I don’t have more to add. But I do know that Woody was an extraordinary radio leader and innovator who led an extraordinary life in the Texas radio and music scene and was loved and admired by all who came his way. He will be sorely missed.

Dear Editor,
    In response to your article on the Zilker Vision Plan describing opposition misinformation and unrest at the city hall meeting [“Parks Board Recommends Zilker Plan Despite Misinformation-Fueled Outrage,” News, May 26]: I was there to try to learn about the plan and figure out what was this "misinformation" I kept hearing was being disseminated. I never heard anything other than actual vision plan details put into question by informed citizens and most of the opposition I witnessed was calm and clear. Yes, there were some who jeered, clapped and booed but the majority of the concerned citizens speaking - for or against (such as the former city arborist) were asking valid questions. For example: Why try to build an underground parking structure right on a sensitive waterway? Many of us agree there is a need for better parking at Zilker Park. The reason for the drama at city hall, in my opinion, is that no one wants a parking garage dug right on Barton Springs for obvious reasons. Only one Parks board member had alternative parking suggestions. Most of the dissent focused on the the garages. Your article exaggerated the unrest and minimized the bizarre lack of examination of the plan by Parks board members.

Dear Editor,
    I am concerned about the plan to reduce Barton Springs Road down to one lane in both directions in order to allow parallel parking along the road. This road connects to a major east/west thoroughfare, Bee Cave Road, which continues all of the way to Hwy 71, and is the main artery into Downtown for thousands of people.
    With so few east/west thoroughfares in our city (Ben White, Red Bud Trail, RM 2222 and Hwy 183), reducing the lanes on this one will cause a nightmare. Also, we all know how many people struggle with parallel parking in general so backups will be ongoing. Barton Springs Road already experiences backups through the park on weekends. There is a pedestrian crosswalk with lighted signage connecting the pool side of the park with the Great Lawn. Additional pedestrian bridges will help pedestrians and others access both sides of the park. But to decrease lanes on a much needed and used roadway in order to allow parallel parking is unacceptable and ridiculous.

Dear Editor,
    The official state motto of Texas is Friendship. I think we may have forfeited that motto.
    In the last 10 years Texas has had as many as 84 hate groups located in our state, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. In 2021, Texas had 2,064 homicides, according to Statista.com – the most of any state in the nation. Texas had nine mass shootings in the last 14 years, according to the Texas Tribune. We have had brawls at school board meetings, medical staff at hospitals physically attacked, some even killed, drive-by shootings have become commonplace, and then there's the 88th Texas Legislature...
    There were 141 bills filed negatively targeting the LGBTQ community alone, according to EqualityTexas.org. The Legislature didn't stop there. They targeted voting rights, cities, and the environment. ... Have I missed something?