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More letters to the Editor

These letters to the editor appear online only and not in the Tucson Citizen’s print edition.

‘Feel-good’ proposals

The Arizona House has approved a ballot measure to make English the state’s official language (“Official-English measure gets House approval,” March 24).

As cartoonist Tommy Tomorrow once noted, making English our official language makes as much sense as declaring the sun our official source of energy.

English is already the de facto official language of every state, and nearly all immigrants are highly motivated to acquire the language or improve their skills.

According to the 2000 Census, only 1 percent of the U.S. population cannot speak English. (In 1890, 3.6 percent of the population could not speak English.)

Politicians should spend their time on legislation that actually serves the public interest, not with “feel-good” proposals that do nothing.

STEPHEN KRASHEN

professor emeritus

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, Calif.

Mental health program helps teens

Re: the March 23 online letter (“Criminal pharmaceuticals”) questioning the validity and purpose of the Columbia University TeenScreen program:

Much of the letter contained misinformation. TeenScreen is a national mental health and suicide-risk screening program that offers parents the opportunity for their teens to receive a voluntary mental health check-up.

Research confirms that TeenScreen is effective in identifying youth at risk for depression, suicide and other mental health problems.

TeenScreen does not involve diagnosis or treatment, as the letter insinuates. I encourage anyone with questions to visit www.teenscreen.org for complete and accurate information.

Far too often, youth suffer mental illness in silence. Programs such as TeenScreen provide parents and communities an opportunity to catch these young people before they fall.

LESLIE MCGUIRE

director

Columbia University TeenScreen Program

New York City, N.Y.

Citizen Online Archive, 2006-2009

This archive contains all the stories that appeared on the Tucson Citizen's website from mid-2006 to June 1, 2009.

In 2010, a power surge fried a server that contained all of videos linked to dozens of stories in this archive. Also, a server that contained all of the databases for dozens of stories was accidentally erased, so all of those links are broken as well. However, all of the text and photos that accompanied some stories have been preserved.

For all of the stories that were archived by the Tucson Citizen newspaper's library in a digital archive between 1993 and 2009, go to Morgue Part 2

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