By Leslie Carpenter, co-founder of Iowa Mental Health Advocacy I have spent years advocating for people with serious mental illness and for a system that treats illness as illness — not as a crime. That is precisely why I support the effort to build a new jail and sheriff’s office. My support is not an […]
Opinion
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: There is no Human Rights Commission consensus on the new jail, yet
By Eleanor Fuller and Susanna Rodriguez, Iowa City Human Rights Commissioners On Sept. 2, a group of FORMER Human Rights Commissioners publicly endorsed Johnson County’s proposed $94.5 million bond referendum to fund a new jail and Sheriff’s office facility. For many readers, it could easily create the impression that the CURRENT Human Rights Commission supports […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Let’s have a conversation about the jail beyond Yes and No
By Finch Vandyk, Iowa City A handful of Tuesdays from now, Johnson County will vote on a deceptively direct bond measure. “Should we build the $124,000,000 new jail proposed by the sheriff?” There are two options: Yes and No. Emphatic camps have emerged on either side of those options. Yes, we should build the jail […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Vote Yes on the jail referendum
By Paul Deaton, Solon I visited the current Johnson County Jail soon after it opened in 1981. I remember saying to myself, “My God! They made it too small!” The current board of supervisors approved a referendum for the November ballot to build a new jail and sheriff’s office. I support it. Opinions on the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Photos: ‘Hate Week’ stoopidity abounds in Iowa City, Ames
Welcome to the Red Zone, the three months overlapping fall semester and football season during which the majority of sexual assaults on college campuses occur. The fourth week of the Red Zone this year is “Hate Week” in Ames and Iowa City, when students embrace their rivalry by trash-talking on bedsheets draped from their windows, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
From 2001: Five questions the mainstream media don’t want you to ask about the war against terrorism
In a world full such banal euphemisms as “collateral damage,” the polemics of Arundhati Roy are like lightning bolts. “President Bush can no more ‘rid the world of evil-doers’ than he can stock it with saints,” she asserts. If you weren’t familiar with her views, it’s because every major American newspaper and magazine has rejected her essays.
Posted inCommunity/News
From 2001: How we lost the war
E.C. Fish, a former ICON contributor and founding Little Village columnist, wrote this opinion piece for the 10th issue of Little Village, published December 2001 — less than three months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The news from Afghanistan has been good. The Taliban — who will do as an enemy since […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Support the Jefferson Street Historic District at tonight’s Iowa City Council meeting
By David Woodruff, Iowa City; President, Friends of Historic Preservation Right now on the Northside of Iowa City, two houses in the heart of the Jefferson Street Historic District are proposed for demolition. I want to urge the Historic Preservation Commission to oppose this permit and safeguard the architectural and cultural integrity of our community […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Why you should watch Bergman films
By Jim Walters, Iowa City Today, leaving New Pioneer, I saw a young man with “Ingmar Bergman” emblazoned on a T-shirt. Backing up, I said, OK, what’s your favorite Bergman film? With only a moment’s hesitation, he said, Persona (1966). Good choice, I replied. Persona contains what is arguably the most erotic scene in cinema. […]
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Letter to the editor: Can No voters trust these supervisors to fix the Johnson County jail?
By Rose Phillips, Iowa City I rarely buy stuff on Amazon. But in 2023, I bought some breast pump parts that, if I recall correctly, I couldn’t find anywhere else. Imagine someone was so bitterly opposed to Amazon’s business practices that they didn’t think anyone had the right to buy stuff from them. Imagine they […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Amendment 1 is a gift to big corporations in Iowa
By Pat Bowen, Iowa City On Election Day, we will be asked to amend the state constitution. It is called: Amendment 1. It may sound good on the surface but it isn’t. It does not mean fewer or decreased taxes for the average Iowan. Amendment 1 is backed by big corporations and their lobbyists who want […]
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Letter from Mandi Remington: We can build a safer public safety system without settling for the first plan
By Mandi Remington, Johnson County Supervisor Johnson County cannot afford to ignore the serious problems with our current jail. People who are incarcerated deserve safe and humane conditions. The people who work in our detention facilities deserve safe working conditions. And our community deserves a public safety system that is effective, accountable, and built around […]
