I know the feeling of driving around Pershing looking for a parking space, seeing a half-empty parking garage immediately to the South and wondering why the public can't park there. So I know what Stephanie Claycomb is talking about in her letter of Nov. 3 ("Why close parking").

For exactly that reason, the City Urban Development Department has offered to manage that parking lot for the owner, the state of Nebraska. We want to help them open their lot for public night parking. Our proposal is on their desk for their consideration. We would love to be able to get more use of this underutilized state asset.

The garages Ms. Claycomb cited as closed on Kelly Clarkson's performance night were not city garages. About half of the downtown off-street parking is owned by the private sector or other government entities. City of Lincoln garages account for 4,200 garage stalls of the total 9,100 garage stalls downtown.

The good news is that the city of Lincoln is planning to double our downtown parking with the addition of at least 4,400 new parking stalls as part of the proposed Lincoln Haymarket Arena project. The public will have an opportunity to vote on moving Lincoln forward in May of 2010; stay tuned!

David Landis, city of Lincoln

urban development director

No Child failing students

In regard to the flawed No Child Left Behind system, I would like to point out the feelings of the students the program is affecting.

Although No Child Left Behind has good goals, they are next to impossible to obtain. Some students are not able to reach these goals for various reasons. A school is only allowed to have a small portion of the students in their school "fail" (about 80 percent must pass during the 2009-2010 school year), or the whole school is considered a "failing" school.

What if a school has a student body population that has primarily English Language Learners or special education students? Should these schools be punished for having a diverse culture? I think not.

Some who are failing the standardized tests are actually very smart. They just tend to learn at a slower pace because they are learning a new language.

In some elementary schools around the country, they have had to eliminate the things considered unnecessary. These eliminations include recess, physical education, art, music and computer classes. When I was in elementary school, these subjects were the highlight of nearly every student's day. If a student were to miss a class, it was a punishment for wrongful behavior.

What happened to a student's grade being private? How must young children feel to know that everyone in their school knows they failed their test? Everyone would know who was forced to skip recess, or their special classes. The self-esteem these children have is probably decreasing by the day. And yet the only concern is to pass a standardized test?

Marie Finley, Lincoln

Include mental illness

Our current health care system is in need of a systematic improvement. Many Americans find themselves with coverage that does not suit their needs. Those who suffer from mental illness can find themselves without coverage at all. NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Nebraska sees the detrimental impact our present care system has on those with mental illnesses, who are especially vulnerable.

The Senate Finance Committee recently passed some legislation that NAMI believes is a good starting point for reforming our health care system. Several provisions within this legislation are particularly important to NAMI and individuals struggling with mental illness.

First, the Senate Finance legislation would stabilize insurance for Americans who already have coverage. Once stabilized, reform would offer better coverage to patients who are paying their premiums and guarantee their coverage even if they become ill. This should apply to mental illness as well. NAMI is committed to working for full insurance coverage for mental illness in all private and public plans.

The next goal must be to provide those who do not have insurance with affordable options and quality care. Discrimination is all too common among patients with a mental illness; they often find themselves with very few options or none at all. NAMI strongly believes more options should be made available to these individuals.

Insurance exchanges where individuals or caregivers can shop for policies, compare choices and buy insurance could offer one solution.

Without these widely agreed-upon goals, health reform will not be successful.

Jonah M. Deppe,

executive director, NAMI Nebraska

A new tax idea

Please, let's tax junk food and place a heavy fine on people who drive holding cell phones.

It will help keep the community safer, fitter, and bring in some money.

Nancy McClelland, Lincoln

Use diplomacy, not war

When are we going to learn that the United States cannot solve all of the world's problems? Our military has been stretched perilously thin with our wars in the Middle East, and the request for more troops to Afghanistan will leave very few troops to defend our borders here at home.

We can't stop people from crossing illegally into the United States because our National Guard is off fighting wars in other countries. There are better ways to make peace in the world than to send our young, productive people off to die or be maimed in a foreign war. What a waste!

If we send in more troops now, what happens when more are needed and they are not available? Why should we keep propping up corrupt leaders and nations that don't want us? In the present situation in Afghanistan, they can't even hold an honest election. If we keep defending corrupt governments, they will never clean up their own act.

The United States is less safe now than it was at the start of the Middle East wars. We can't change a fanatical movement by bombing Baghdad or by propping up corrupt politicians or by sacrificing our brave young soldiers at a crucial time in their lives. I would rather see them defend our homeland than get sent off to some foreign land.

Wars will never end. There will always be tensions between nations, but we must emphasize diplomacy and work with other members of the United Nations rather than continue to think war is the answer to everything.

Robert D. Thomson, Lincoln