I have been following the Timothy Brooks-Robert Ash case since day one. I knew Robert Ash and know his family. I was enraged, disgusted and totally sick to my stomach when I heard of the manslaughter ruling. In my mind I thought that if justice and common sense has been lost in Placer County this country is headed downhill for sure. How could something so obvious (the murder) be considered an accident or anything less? How can an innocent man – no, an innocent, good, decent, loving, kind human being – be stabbed to death in broad daylight by an irate killer who hunted him down be considered a “good boy” that meant no harm. Thankfully there are still people like Jamie Bate (“‘No gray here’ for victim’s wife” Sierra Sun Nov. 2) in this world who aren’t afraid to publish the truth. As for the judge in this case, if that were his wife that was stabbed to death by Timothy Brooks would the ruling still be the same?Eric DeanLoomisParking positivesWith all the negative comments on the parking meters, my wife and I thought it was important to point out one of the positives: All the empty parking spots downtown will provide more room for fewer trains at next year’s Railroad Days.Rusty and Carol PauliTruckeeExciting times in downtown Truckee The Truckee Downtown Merchants Association has long been a proponent of managed parking for the historic downtown area. The TDMA believes strongly that by implementing a managed parking system our customers, our employees and the community as a whole will benefit by insuring that the historic downtown remains vibrant and vital. With all the growth in our community, we have had to make adjustments to accommodate the demand for parking. The downtown merchants appreciate the support of our local and visiting customers and want them to find parking in the downtown convenient and abundant. We believe the parking management plan will facilitate that end. The current plan creates separate areas for our employees to park and frees up over 100 to 150 parking spaces a day for customers simply by moving our employees into designated areas off the streets. To facilitate our customers many businesses will be taking up to $1 off customer purchases at the point of sale because we believe we should be paying for your parking. Each business will set its own policy on reimbursement. For our employees an employee parking pass cost $1 per day. Many merchants will pay all or part of their employee’s parking costs.The pay-and-display meters only take coins (paper money gets stuck) – nickels, dimes and quarters. If you need change, see your friendly merchant. You can buy as little as 3 minutes time (that costs a nickel) or 15 minutes (one quarter) or half an hour or 4 hours but if you use a credit card you have a $2 or two hour minimum. Pretty simple stuff. Try it, it’s so easy. Profits generated from the parking district will be used for downtown beautification and expanded parking facilities. More trees, more flowers, more street lights and more parking spaces.We all benefit from a healthy, vibrant downtown where there is history and diversity, shopping, restaurants, bars, music and most of all the wonderful ambiance of our town. Stefanie Olivieri President Truckee Downtown Merchants Association