Letters are posted as we receive them during the week, and before they are printed in the paper, so check back frequently to see new letters. If you'd like to send a letter to the editor, use this postmarks submission form, or email your letter directly to mail@austinchronicle.com. Thanks for your patience.

Dear Editor,
    I firmly believe that a letter to the editor is a pretty good gauge to measure what a community has on their mind. Your instructions to send one clearly states, "letters to the editor must be signed," so when I picked up the latest issue and discovered to my dismay that the lead letter was missing an actual name! Instead it read "A disappointed teacher." Truth is at a premium in these times and you have done a disservice to your readers and to your reputation. COVID was the worst of times for everyone; sure kids suffered because they couldn't attend school and those who were experiencing poverty and lack of resources suffered the most. But let's be clear, nobody knew what to do or how to do it. We were trying to keep everyone safe, especially children. Texas public education suffered but not out of malice. So I will sign my name to this letter...

Hello Austin Chroniclers,
    I hope the move is going swimmingly. Your paper is truly the best, your writers and other people who help with creating the articles I read are simply unmatched.
    I’m reaching out today because there is one place that y’all fall short and that is every year, during the best of awards, Nickel City is included (and wins) the dive bar category. If Austin wants to vote Nickel City as the best bar, that’s fine. But it is on y’all to put them in the right category. Nickel City used to be a dive bar. No doubt about that. But have you been in the past few years? It’s clean. It's expensive. They have COCKTAILS. The staff is nice. It is not grungy. There’s nothing divey about it anymore. Please, I beg you, do not categorize Nickel City as a dive bar this year. Their prices alone remove them from that category. There are actual dives keeping grungy cranky affordable Austin alive and Nickel City ain’t it. Put them in another category. But not dive bar. Please.
    Thank you again for your arduous work and for your consideration of this extremely important matter.

To the Editor:
    I was deeply saddened to read that Texas HHSC is stripping children of their medical care (“Texas Has Kicked 1.3M Kids Off Medicaid, Most Often for Incomplete Applications,” News, April 12). Readers should know that Texas did not verify the eligibility of those removed for procedural reasons, and legislators have the power to address this issue.
    Texas chose this nonsensical and ineffective method of Medicaid renewal, and the process is not working. Most children removed from the program are eligible and are falling through the cracks. Despite knowing the consequences, the state failed to fund this unwinding process appropriately.
    There is another critical element that the article failed to mention: the extensive delays in the Texas Medicaid enrollment process. As of March, Texas averaged 79 days, much longer than the federal timeline of 45 days. This delay in processing, combined with mistaken removal, means that children owed coverage are not receiving it and will not be for over two months in most cases.
   
   It is time for the legislature to take responsibility and act quickly. They need to take a long, hard look at the Medicaid program in the state and change the renewal process to guarantee children receive the care they need.
   
   The state had other options beyond asking people to wait for care and resources. Now we cannot wait any longer. Texas children should not suffer because of the mistakes of their government.

Dear Editor,
    With an undergraduate and graduate degree from UT-Austin, I am glad to hear of this ["UT-Austin Lays Off People in 60 DEI-Related Positions," Daily News, April 2]. IMHO these positions are near fraudulent and provide little to zero benefit. BTW, I am Hispanic. I remember having some minority program (MAPS?) assistance/outreach provided to me and I found it completely pointless and unproductive. I saw it for what it was. I have worked in higher ed. all my professional career and my opinion has only been reinforced. These positions are no more than marketing ploys and administrative panaceas. They are a waste of money and resources.