While I might argue with a lot of your choices for Orchids and Onions (Opinion article, Aug. 4 to 10), I absolutely must protest your praise for Eric Lesser who almost cost taxpayers $700,000 to perform yet another study on “high-speed” rail between Springfield and Worcester and Boston.

The very concept of high speed rail between cities that are only 30-45 miles apart is ridiculous. It couldn’t be “high-speed” with towns that close and with the existing twisting roadbed. It would still take two hours, give or take, which would not be appealing to more than a handful of people. It would cost hundreds of millions of (our tax) dollars in landtakings, even if they tried to run it down the middle of the Pike. It would require subsidies forever.

It’s time to bring some fiscal sanity back to the State Senate, and we need to start by getting rid of Lesser. He has supported scores of bills in his short tenure, every one of which would cost more taxpayer money. Last week he voted to override tens of millions of dollars of the governor’s line-item vetoes, throwing the new budget out of whack again. But this year he and his Washington DC money have a fiscally sane opponent, Chip Harrington, of Ludlow.

Chip is running to protect us against exactly the kind of wasteful spending Lesser is known for. My bet is that Chip would rather spend money actually improving existing commuter rail service to the insurance companies in Hartford, or beefing up the Hampden County Court system. Chip is supported by Gov. Baker and would work with Baker rather than against him. We simply can’t afford another Lesser term.

R. Patrick Henry Jr.
East Longmeadow