Letters to the editor for the week of June 21, 2024

The end of the festival

On behalf of the Omaha Summer Arts Festival Board of Directors, we would like to thank the hundreds of volunteers, thousands of attendees, generous donors and sponsors, the City of Omaha, and the amazing staff who have made the Omaha Summer Arts Festival one of our favorite events of Omaha for 50 years.

Most of all, we thank the millions of people who have attended the festival over its 50 years to purchase original art, enjoy free entertainment from local, regional and national artists, and bring their children to do art activities at our Children’s Fair. . We hope that the end of the festival will inspire the creation of new free public art showcases in the future.

Vic Gutman, Omaha

Founding Executive Director

D-Day article

I would like to thank Steve Liewer for writing the June 4th article titled “Offutt Lab ID’ing Remains from D-Day Landing Craft”. I was given advance notice that this article, which mentioned my father’s ship LCI (L) #92 and the military men on board who died, was to be published. However, I did not know that my father, Herbert E. Nolda, would be mentioned. Thus, it made the article even more meaningful to me.

When I was writing Dad’s book, “Sailing the Troubled Sea — A Nebraska Boy Goes to War,” I asked him if he talked to these servicemen who came aboard the afternoon before D-Day. He said he visited some of them, but was busy with his duties as a crew member aboard the Coast Guard vessel. I am so sorry that the men in the forward hold of the ship died before they had a chance to fight when the ship ran into a mine.

I appreciate the Omaha World-Herald publishing this front page story to keep alive the memories of the brave men who walked into the maelstrom at Omaha Beach on that monumental day in June 1944.

Valerie Vierk, Ravenna, Nab.

Bring back the ball girls

Here’s a question for the College World Series: Where did our ball girls go? It’s been a while since we’ve seen one of these young ladies throw a foul ball to a young fan or make ESPN’s top ten plays. For me they were part of the experience of the best game on earth in Omaha.

Imagine if the CWS, NCAA and MECA decided to enhance the ball girl experience with a Caitlyn Clark, Jordy Bahl, Angel Reese or any past or future student athlete.

Gerry Jorges, Bellevue

Embracing women’s sport

Given the recent talk of trying to bring an NHL team to the Omaha metro area, perhaps the first significant foray into the world of major league sports, I think it might be wiser and more worthwhile to make an effort to bring a WNBA team to Omaha . instead.

Nebraska has a long tradition of embracing women’s sports, and the WNBA’s stock appears to be on the rise. It makes a lot of sense.

Matthew Burton, Lincoln

Great services, great company

Our power went out around 3am last week. By the time I realized it and called, the power company already had a crew on site. Power was restored by 5 am. Great service from a great company.

Thank you to Omaha Public Power District and its employees.

Ron Cronkhite, Omaha

RIP, Rosenblatt

It’s the 2024 College World Series, and yet 14 years later, we’re still seeing articles and comparisons between Rosenblatt and whatever the new stadium’s name is today. Fans, I’m with you, I miss certain aspects of Rosenblatt, but not to the extent that we have to go on, year after year, about his demise.

The real discussion should have been some of the remodeling missteps that occurred under the demands of the NCAA’s 5-year renewal program and the desires of city officials at the time. Who needed a stadium club? Who decided when they rebuilt the press area and left the roof to add a second deck with suites and seats as well as external ramps to allow fans easier access to the arriving seats? Who decided not to develop the area west of 13th street to include more parking, restaurants and hotels?

The downtown park is perfect for CWS. It’s a blank canvas with very little character of its own, allowing the teams and players to shine and create the atmosphere. I hope it’s another great series and we finally allow Rosenblatt Stadium to RIP

Yano Mangiameli, Omaha

A misinterpretation

My father taught at Benson High School for 35 years. As a professor of American government, he taught me to appreciate the United States Constitution. I wonder how many people who quote the second amendment actually read it: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

In 1791, following the Revolutionary War, the new American government relied on local militias (similar to today’s National Guard) to help protect our new nation from a “cruel and oppressive government or rule” (tyranny), granting local militias the right to bear arms. These militias were armed with single shot pistols and long guns.

On June 14, 2024, the US Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on bump stocks. Our founding fathers drafted the Constitution as a framework to guide us forward in 1791 and make common sense decisions 233 years later. I think we disrespect our founding fathers when we interpret the second amendment to mean one or any citizen carrying an automatic weapon.

Weapons of war. Weapons designed to kill as many people as quickly as possible. Far from a handgun or a single-shot rifle. We dishonor the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School, Pulse Nightclub, and the Mandalay Bay Hotel massacre in Las Vegas—far from a comprehensive list—when we cite the Second Amendment as our right to bear weapons of mass destruction.

I oppose citizens owning and carrying automatic weapons. I read the Constitution. I think our founding fathers would be disappointed in our lack of common sense in our interpretation of the 2024 Constitution.

Kurt Davey Omaha

Sign the appropriate petition

The Protect Our Right initiative states that the right of all persons to abortion shall be without interference by the state or its political subdivisions until fetal viability. What the? This will remove 50 years of common sense protections for women and girls against unsafe abortion practices. For example, after passing a similar constitutional amendment, Michigan quickly repealed informed consent laws and state licensing and inspection requirements for abortion facilities. Nebraska doesn’t want to lose those protections for anyone considering an abortion.

“Protect Our Right” is not the initiative for Nebraska. We all know that within ten weeks of conception, the newly conceived baby has its own DNA, its own fingerprints, can detect a heartbeat, has fully formed eyes and can move its fingers and limbs.

Instead, sign the Protect Women and Children initiative petition. It will protect babies in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and keep the safety measures on the Nebraska legal books.

Angie Wingert, Omaha