There are better reasons to visit Holyoke By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor There are all sorts of ideas running through my head this week. *** I sympathize entirely with the folks in other parts of the nation who have had to endure days and days of record-breaking heat. Our more limited exposure to it has been enough. Walking around last week was like strolling through a giant bowl of hot soup. I've noticed that our cats all five of them actually seem to lose most of the bones in their body in this weather. They lay about in the heat they don't like to stay in the parts of the house with air conditioning and seem to have as much internal support as a gummy worm. Lucky the Wonder Bichon, however, loves the air conditioning. Whatever bichons were bred for, it sure was not for survival in hot weather. *** Can someone please explain why pot-bellied middle-aged men think it's acceptable to roll up the bottom of their shirt and walk around with an exposed stomach just because the thermometer hits 90 degrees? Do they think they look good? I bet they're the same guys with spray bottles of Axe and other man perfumes stashed away thinking a couple of squirts will render women incapable of rational thought and ignore their obvious lack of fashion sense. *** Remember how libraries used to have amnesty days when people could return their over-due books without a fine? How about those gun programs in which people could turn in unwanted firearms? Pretty good ideas I say, and that's why I'd like the city of Springfield to use it for unwanted cars. Let's get a fleet of tow trucks into one neighborhood after another and get the dead cars out of the back yards. The city could donate them to charities that solicit unwanted autos. I can quickly point the dead cars out to city officials in my neighborhood. *** About 80 legislators have signed a letter to Transportation Secretary John Cogliano that criticizes a suggestion of a system-wide increase in tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike to help pay for the repair costs of the Big Dig. The thought that anyone other than the construction companies should be held responsible for the repairs is ludicrous. The taxpayers shouldn't have to fork out a single dime. There is $180 million in a Turnpike repair fund that clearly should be used until we can wring it out of the hides of the companies that screwed up in the first place. (A tip of the hat to Jack Villamaino for alerting me to this issue.) *** Holyoke Police Chief Anthony Scott recently had his department conduct a prostitution sting that resulted in the arrests of 18 prostitutes, 23 male customers and two others on unrelated charges. I applaud Scott's attempt to clean up the streets, but he received little cooperation from the courts. Either they released those arrested on their own recognizance or the cases were continued without a finding. Perhaps the judges involved with the cases don't understand that prostitution regardless if you think of it as a "victimless crime" is not an activity anyone wants in their neighborhood. Interestingly enough, the "johns" came from far and wide. The men arrested came from Holyoke, Granby, Easthampton, Greenfield, Hatfield, Springfield, South Hadley, West Springfield, Westfield and Longmeadow. There are a lot of good reasons to visit the Paper City, but streetwalkers aren't one of them. It would be nice if the judiciary agreed. This column represents the opinions of its author and no one else. Send your comments to mdobbs@reminderpublications.com or to 280 N. Main St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028.