Jennifer Kiggans

Housing market

I read about how mortgage rates and red tape are stifling the housing market. Mortgage rates are average when compared to historic trends. The National Association of Home Builders touts hyper-regulation as the curse of housing availability. This is sometimes an issue, especially when upper class neighborhoods prohibit smaller lots, higher density or rental housing. Often it is an attempt by localities to preserve open space.

The real problem is a lack of undeveloped land upon which to build. Building further out into the countryside exacerbates the problems of sprawl with its accompanying traffic, pollution and the cost of extending utilities, emergency services and school utilization.

Norfolk has two excellent examples of how to address this problem: Ghent Square and East Beach. Both developments eliminated blight and provided a wide price range of housing opportunities. Not the total solution, but a rational approach to providing more housing.

These two developments have one thing in common: the use of eminent domain to assemble the land. Eminent domain is the right of municipalities to identify blighted neighborhoods, force the sale of properties within that neighborhood by paying market rates for each parcel, and demolishing obsolete houses, roads and infrastructure. They then build back new infrastructure and housing.

The understandable abhorrence to the government taking real property stands in the way of solving the housing crisis. It is a difficult choice for our elected representatives, who at some point may have to take the position of their constituents who cannot find housing.

James E. Gehman, former assistant director Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Norfolk

Keep Kiggans

U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans served in the U.S. Navy as a helicopter pilot. After honorably serving her country, she became a nurse-practitioner for a practice that specializes in geriatric patients. She cares about our military personnel and, I believe, makes her decisions based on what is best for our country. She has a mind of her own and doesn’t always agree with everything the president wants. We need to keep her in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Joyce Campbell, Virginia Beach

Religion in schools

I will never forget the student who stayed after biology class one day to tell me that her religion prevented her from learning about evolution. I asked her how she knew and to have her parents call me with any questions or concerns. Their homework that night was to look up the definition of evolution. The next day I asked a few students to write their definitions on the chalkboard (just dated myself), then asked them to raise their hands if they understood that life on Earth had changed over time. All hands raised, to which I responded: “Good, then evolution (defined as change through time) is fact. We are going to study the theories on how these changes occurred, including Darwin’s theory of natural selection.”

Having been raised Christian, I never learned about the diversity of religious thought until I entered college where freshmen were required to take a course that studied literature, art and architecture throughout recorded history. Today, the majority of high school graduates are taught little about the history of the development of our ethics and laws. Our ancestors killed, raped and slave traded their way through history to create their own centers of power and wealth, often using religion to justify their deeds. We need to remember and acknowledge this history, the good and the bad. I can’t think of anything more important for our children to learn. Public education and funds have an obligation to open minds, not promote religious indoctrination.

Rustin Godfrey, Virginia Beach

Election letters

We are no longer accepting letters related to Tuesday’s primary elections. We will publish those we’ve received through Friday.