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It's darkly humorous to hear Coralville's mayor and the head of the rain forest project celebrating the fact their $50 million gift from the taxpayers won't be redirected to aid victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Rather than assist the desperate and displaced, that money will go towards their unnecessary pet project. That's one problem with having a tight focus on your own interests -- such narrowness of vision can become chronic. If a referendum were held, I doubt even 10 percent of voters would want all those millions to go toward this ill-planned scheme, when it is needed elsewhere to help Americans rebuild their lives.

Philip Ahrens

Iowa City