Votes by Raleigh City Council contributed to the city’s affordable housing crisis.

Raleigh housing

Regarding “Raleigh city leader wants investor home data, praises N&O series,” (May 3):

When Mayor Pro Tem Nicole Stewart had previous opportunities to stop homes from being removed from Raleigh’s housing supply, she did the exact opposite.

In 2020 she stripped a ban on using Accessory Dwelling Units as short-term rentals, thus removing potential affordable housing for Raleigh residents from the market. She did so again in 2021, when she removed a purposed regulation that would have prohibited the short-term rental of an entire home for more than 120 days.

Both actions created more opportunities for investors to remove long-term rental housing options for Raleigh residents. Stewart, Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin and most of City Council voted to expand opportunities for short-term rentals used by visitors while shrinking opportunities for long-term rentals by Raleigh residents. These votes only contributed to Raleigh’s affordable housing crisis.

Michael Lindsay, Raleigh

Abortion pills

Regarding “Next battle over access to abortion will focus on pills,” (May 7):

As a woman who has exercised her right to have an abortion, I know that most women do not make the decision lightly. Having an abortion is a choice a woman lives with for the rest of her life.

Access to abortion medications is not and should not be a public issue or an issue where politicians can force choices on women. Access to abortion medication is a privacy right and should be between a woman, her doctor, and partner if she chooses to share that information.

Women who seek abortion medication should not have to fear being prosecuted due to a choice they’re making regarding their own bodies.

Legislators should start imposing laws that support free prenatal care, as well as financial assistance for mothers in need. These laws could help change women’s situations so that if they become pregnant they won’t feel they needed to end the pregnancy due to financial hardship.

T.M. Bettencourt, Fayetteville

Book bans

Too often we read or see news reports of what a friend calls “virtual book burning.” Whether it’s far-right proponents banned from lectures on college campuses or protests like the one in Wake County about Michael Printz’s book “Out of Darkness,” such events stifle opportunities for honest discourse harm our society. The vast majority of college students are eligible to vote and should be trusted to weigh all viewpoints. And, protecting high school students from “sexually explicit” literature is laughable given the fact that over half of U.S. teens have had intercourse by age 18, according to a 2017 report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

Scott Leonard Johnson, Chapel Hill

Child tax credit

As tax season ends it’s a perfect time to remember how many could get much-needed help if Congress extended the Child Tax Credit.

A core component of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, the CTC cut childhood poverty by an astonishing 30%. Unfortunately, it expired in December and if Congress doesn’t reinstate it, nearly 4 million children could slide back into poverty.

More than 1.2 million N.C. families, including more than 2 million children, stand to benefit if the CTC is expanded or made permanent.

For nearly the exact same cost as President Trump’s tax overhaul, which largely benefited the wealthiest Americans, Congress could vote to extend much-needed relief to families across the country. Surely Congress can make this happen.

Brady Blackburn, Durham

Disinformation?

Regarding “DHS disinformation board’s work, plans remain a mystery,” (May 6):

Development of the Biden administration’s new Disinformation Governance Board is a surprisingly bold and Orwellian attempt to block free speech. It is 2022’s version of Orwell’s 1984 Ministry of Truth, which would be laughable if it was not serious. But it is serious and should be shut down. I’ve asked N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein, though he is a Democrat, to join other states in suing the Department of Homeland Security to stop this and support our First Amendment rights.

Kevin O’Neal, Cary

This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Votes by Raleigh City Council contributed to the city’s affordable housing crisis.."