I hadn’t been downtown in years and was shocked at the state of our city.

Everywhere I looked was under construction and dirty. No trolley system to help you get from one side of town to the other. The businesses are empty. The Alamo “reimagine” stuff ruined our downtown. It will destroy our tourism business. I am disappointed in our city leaders for allowing it to happen.

Our downtown is not pretty like it used to be.

Roy Valdez

Keep an eye out for inland animals

Allow me to backtrack on a couple of letters about the environment.

Many years ago, McAllister Park was opened to the public. At the time it was designated as a nature reserve. Look at it now, ball fields cover the whole place.

The Express-News published my letter years ago asking for water for the animals. Go kick the ball somewhere else, be decent and give the animals space. They are landlocked.

Let’s do it for our fellow beings and please, for me, harm no creature.

Jimmy Gonzales

Business

Ralph Lauren does not surprise

Re: “Don’t step on Spurs legend: Gervin sues over shoe name,” Business, 20 February

It was no surprise to read how Ralph Lauren used the name and likeness of George Gervin on his shoes without permission.

When I was president of the San Antonio Polo Club, I was shocked to find our US Polo Association in court against Ralph Lauren over his claim of exclusive use of the word “polo.” To my dismay and dismay, he won the case.

Despite us riding the horses and hitting the balls, he questioned the fact that we are the sport of polo.

We are allowed to continue publishing our monthly polo magazine with the disclaimer that we are not associated with Ralph Lauren.

Richard Bennett

Need better bank explanation

Re: “What happened in these bank failures,” Business, Wednesday:

I’m a big fan of Express-News columnist Michael Taylor and his ability to break down complex subjects into easy-to-understand parts, but I think he was wrong on this comment.

First, he wrote that dispersing deposits among a large number of banks “would probably mean the short-term death of thousands of small and medium-sized banks and credit unions.” It seems to me that your large deposits are at risk in the country’s biggest banks, when you spread them out, you have to use small and medium banks to do it.

Second, he hopes that banks will offer “more attractive rates to savers to retain and attract more deposits,” rather than investing in US Treasuries. Raising interest rates also increases banks’ costs, making them potentially less profitable, and using those funds to pay off former (large) depositors sounds an awful lot like a Ponzi scheme.

Finally, his attempt at humor in the penultimate paragraph accurately echoes the first two letters of “Silicon” and “Signature,” but can also be inadvertently read as anti-Latino.

Reagin S. McAllister

The banks need regulations

We know who is responsible. We cannot forget the banking crisis of 2008, when thousands lost their homes. In 2009, President Barack Obama and the Democrats passed the Dodd-Frank Act to regulate banks and prevent another financial disaster.

In March 2018, President Donald Trump and his party rolled back key regulations put in place by the Dodd-Frank Act, which eased restrictions on medium-sized banks. Silicon Valley Bank CEO Greg Becker lobbied for these changes, arguing that his bank was not a risk and did not need regulation.

On March 10, Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, in part because of these lower regulatory requirements. Banks need regulation and Congress should act.

Adam Castillo

The authorities

Voters, take note

I’m still amazed at how much Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gets away with while he continues to hold office. How can he use taxpayers’ money to make up for his own misdeeds?

Paxton fired the four whistleblowers who believed he was abusing the power of his office. Taxpayers have already paid $200,000 of Paxton’s legal fees. Paxton remains indicted on securities fraud charges for which he has yet to go to trial.

How Paxton was re-elected is beyond my understanding. He is supposed to uphold the law, not abuse the law!

Mrs. William Buchanan, Boerne

Thank you for serving

Veteran handled the situation correctly

Re: “Free to speak your mind,” Your turn, Monday:

A letter to the editor says a guy approached him at the grocery store and told him he was too old to wear an Air Force T-shirt. The letter writer is 75 and handled the situation diplomatically.

I don’t know if I could be as diplomatic in this situation. The critic is probably one in a million.

I am 85 years old and have not been active in the Air Force since 1964. During election season I go door to door to work for the Democrats. I always wear my Air Force Vets baseball cap. No one challenges my hat because of my age, and I always get a “Thank you for your service,” even from the Republicans I often meet.

By the way, my response to the thank you is, “Thank you for paying the taxes to keep the planes going.”

David H. Plylar