Kelly Shea / The Seattle Times

Editor’s note: Last Sunday, The Times Opinion page asked readers what the Legislature’s priority should be this session. Here are selected responses:

The environment

In laying out its priorities for the Legislature in 2015, The Seattle Times editorial board hit on an agenda that is absolutely important. But it overlooked a crucial item: preserving natural infrastructure.

We need clean water to drink, a resilient Puget Sound, vibrant forests and clean air to breathe. These are foundational to all other issues. A healthy environment underpins human mental and physical health and our region’s livelihoods.

Caring for Washington’s environment is caring for the bedrock of our state. Living in the midst of natural beauty, we sometimes take for granted the incredible natural resources that are the foundation for our state’s economy and quality of life.

Mary Ruckelshaus, Seattle

Fund public education

As the state constitution declares, the state’s first priority is to amply fund public education. The constitution is very

In his recent opinion piece “The gift of fear that keeps giving,” [Opinion, Dec. 3] Thomas Friedman says that 9/11 has kept us and our government running scared ever since. One symptom of this he says is the “gotcha” politics (especially regarding the Middle East) that’s running rampant nowadays with our lawmakers, instead of…

Those who are saying that the midterm election results are some sort of mandate as to what to do, or not to do, about immigration and affordable health care are ignoring the fact that there was only about a 36 percent turnout of eligible voters [“Obama is being hypocritical,” Northwest Voices, Nov. 22]. Our…

I found Nicholas Kristof’s column “America’s broken political system” [Opinion, Nov. 7] to be spot on. How disheartened do Americans have to become before we can transform this out-of-control wrecking ball? Despite approval ratings that are in the cellar, we continue to sustain this highly paid group of bullies and mud wrestlers. We have…

I am a college student at Western Washington University. I would like to clarify some confusion and offer advice about people’s fear of my generation not voting [“5 common tactics used to try to keep voter turnout low,” Politics, Nov. 2]. As a 19-year-old…

Gender parity remains elusive On the 94th anniversary this month of American women gaining full voting rights, how far have we come? At the ballot box, quite far. Female voters have outnumbered male voters in every presidential election since 1964. So it’s worth remembering the long battle leading up to ratification of the 19th Amendment. The first…

Take a stand Howard Schultz needs to take a stand one way or the other. [“Starbucks’ gun policy: Please don’t bring them,” page one, Sept. 19.] You can’t please everyone. Schultz needs to decide: Are guns in or out at his stores? Starbucks is a gathering place for many families and friends, many with children. Would he…

Advocates compassion Lornet Turnbull’s article on immigrants and health-care reform highlighted the challenges for many natives of the Micronesian islands residing in Washington. [“How will immigrants fare under Obamacare? It’s complicated,” page one, Sept. 5.] It was a well-done story, shining a light on how history (atomic-bomb testing) relates to today’s health-care realities. For the past two…

Charter schools should be examined Lynne Varner’s recent column reminds us of the importance of culturally appropriate school policies and self-acceptance. [“The politics of a black girl’s dreadlocks at an Oklahoma school,” Opinion, Sept. 9.] However, when Varner states that “It is understandable why many black parents have trouble trusting and in turn investing in their…

A word from a teacher I am writing in response to the recent guest column by Web Hutchins and Judith Billings. [“Let’s teach our kids to be citizens,” Opinion, Aug. 21.] The message that “Seattle can do a better job developing engaged citizens by strengthening education in civics” does not paint the whole picture, yet I…