Reader letters to the editor | East Bay Times

Letters: Reservoir room | Difference is obstruction | Empty offices | Non-native animals

Letters to the Editor — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 00:30:18 +0000

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Save reservoir roomfor snowmelt

Re. “Tiny fish hindering water capture,” Page A1, Jan. 14:

Your article on water capture ignores a very obvious reason for not filling the reservoirs at this point, and it has nothing to do with tiny fish. It’s called the snowpack.

If we fill our reservoirs now, and we get a warm atmospheric river in March, and the snowpack melts, then we have no capacity to hold that water back. Look back to the emergency spillway at Lake Oroville. With the volume of the current snowpack it would flood Sacramento, Stockton and the Delta region.

It’s easy to blame a little fish for our water deficit, but what about the expanding planting of almonds and vineyards at the same time we are expanding housing and population in arid regions of the state? Instead, we should be looking to capture water run-off in urban environments. There are 40 million people in the state, but let’s blame a fish.

Peter CalimerisPleasant Hill

Difference between Trump,Biden is obstruction

The big difference between Donald Trump’s documents and Joe Biden’s is the difference between cooperation and obstruction.

If Trump had turned over the documents when asked, several times, Mar-a-Lago would never have been searched.

Frank GrygusSan Ramon

A’s development willadd only empty offices

Re. “Vacancies on offices, rents rise at year end,” Page B1, Jan. 16:

The East Bay Times reports the office vacancy rate for Oakland, including Jack London Square, is 25%. One wonders how many vacant offices the A’s ownership development project will add to Oakland.

Please, do not approve this plan.

Mike TracyOakland

State should not importnon-native animals

California annually imports some 2 million American bullfrogs (commercially raised) and 300,000 freshwater turtles (taken from the wild) for human consumption, non-natives all. All are diseased and/or parasitized, though it is illegal to sell such products. Released into local waters, the non-natives prey upon and displace our native species.

The market animals are kept in horrendous conditions, often butchered while fully conscious. Worse, the majority of the bullfrogs carry the dreaded chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which has caused the extinctions of 100-plus amphibian species worldwide in recent years.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife should cease issuing import permits. The powers-that-be seem more concerned about politics as usual, profits and cultural/racial matters than the real issues here — environmental protection, public health, unacceptable animal cruelty and law enforcement.

The deadline for the introduction of new bills is Jan. 20. Let your representatives hear from you.

Eric MillsOakland

Letters: Water to ocean | Sites Reservoir | Healthy waterways | Expel Santos | Unnecessary travel | Standard time

Letters to the Editor — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 00:00:47 +0000

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State should not letwater run off to ocean

Re. “Tiny fish hindering water capture,” Page A1, Jan. 14:

If what the Mercury News reported in a recent edition, that “94% of the water that flowed since New Year’s Eve through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta … has continued straight to the Pacific Ocean instead of being captured in the state’s reservoirs,” then we can officially be called the “Most Ignorant Generation” since the “Greatest Generation.”

It seems inconceivable that in the midst of a long-term drought, it makes sense to anyone that with a solution at hand (which may not be at hand next year) we literally toss that solution into the ocean. We argue the necessity of building more reservoirs to store water and yet we won’t fill the reservoirs we currently have. Something is fishy here.

Manny MoralesSan Jose

Sites Reservoir couldguard against floods

California needs to build the Sites Reservoir to store flood waters from the Sacramento River. It is needed both for water storage and protection from the types of catastrophic floods that inundated California in 1861 and 1605. The 1861 megaflood was caused by a 45-day atmospheric river.

The Sites off-stream reservoir is the most cost-effective way to protect against such storms. It would store 1.8 million acre-feet of water for 5 million homes and agricultural water needs. Govs. Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown strongly support the Sites project. While it costs $3.9 billion, it is less expensive per acre-foot than other proposals. Federal funds would be available from recently passed infrastructure bills to reduce the cost. Compared to spending $100 billon on high-speed rail, it’s a no-brainer to build the Sites Reservoir.

Ed KahlWoodside

Runoff is criticalto healthy waterways

Since the rains began we have heard and seen on TV, water from rivers rushing into the ocean. And every time the refrain is, “water wasted.”

But this is not the case.

Free and swift-flowing water is necessary for the health of our rivers and their wildlife. Even more important this rush of fresh water into the ocean is needed to protect the long-neglected health of the ocean.

We simply think of water from the homocentric “me” position. This clouds our judgment and how we manage this life source. Salmon habitat is affected, reservoirs fill with silt, rivers don’t get revitalized, silt does not get evenly distributed to replenish riparian habitats.

This rush of fresh water maintains the balance of the ocean’s salinity. It brings fresh nutrients into the ocean so that ocean plants and fauna can thrive and self-sustain.

John FrancisSan Jose

GOP should take chanceto expel George Santos

The George Santos story seems to get worse by the day. Not only did he lie about his credentials but he also may have violated campaign finance rules. He has the nerve to admit to these exaggerations but says he “did nothing unethical.” One wonders when lying became ethical.

The Democrats will rightly make a big deal about this, but the Republicans should seize the initiative and throw the bum out. They would gain stature by stepping up quickly and decisively.

Neil BonkeLos Altos

End unnecessary travelto save the planet

We were glad to see Paula Danz’s letter (“We must mitigate weather extremes,” Page A12, Jan. 15), which pointed out that extreme weather fluctuation is not a coincidence, that climate change has been wreaking havoc on our state, and that we need to stop emitting heat-trapping pollution. We know many people who already understand and totally agree with all of this -– yet they continue to plan vacations across the country or abroad. After all, they reason, they’ve saved the money for travel, and this trip or that trip has “always” been on their bucket list.

With each weather extreme we read about or experience, we hope that it will finally sink into our collective conscience that we have no correct choice but to halt all unnecessary travel. Fuel-reducing technologies aren’t enough; we can’t get out of this catastrophic mess we’ve created without immediate and large personal sacrifices.

Martha and Carl PlesciaSunnyvale

Let’s just stickwith standard time

I agree with Margaret Lawson. Keep Standard Time permanent (“If we change time, change to standard,” Page A7, Dec. 30).

The time zones were set up, basically, so that at the center of the time zones, at 12 o’clock noon, the sun is at its zenith, and rises and sets at 6 o’clock at the equinoxes. Twice a year we have to go through the trauma and expense of subtracting and adding an hour. Schools, organizations or any group can “save daylight” by starting earlier in the spring and summer months. Changing the clock does not save daylight.

Hawaii, most of Arizona, and now Mexico have permanent standard time. California, too, can have permanent standard time.

We are now standard time. Let’s keep it this way. Please, no more messing with the clocks.

Curtis GleasonPalo Alto

Letters: Coddling criminals | Undermining road | Tax dollars | Recount cost | Predicting climate

Letters to the Editor — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 00:30:41 +0000

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Alameda County DAis coddling criminals

It should not surprise anyone that Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price dropped special circumstances against David Misch, one involving his alleged kidnapping and murder of Michaela Garecht in 1988, giving him the possibility of being paroled, instead of serving life in prison.

Soon after Ms. Price was elected, she said she would “seek to remove all 41 local cases from Death Row and to resentence people who were sentenced to life without parole.” She also said her “administration will begin an era of change that ultimately will make us (Alameda County residents) stronger and safer.” I beg to differ, not with the likes of Misch running around.

The voters and residents of Alameda County are being introduced to a new form of criminal justice — one that, in my view, is not going to keep them safe and favors the perpetrator.

Ninfa WoodWalnut Creek

Quarry plan willundermine rural road

The EBMUD plan to fill in the old quarry on Lake Chabot Road, located on county land between San Leandro and Castro Valley, with soil excavated during pipeline maintenance proposes to run 60 to 100 dump trucks a day along Lake Chabot Road for 40 to 80 years.

That’s right. If anybody now alive is here to see it, the site and adjacent hillside will eventually be seeded and planted with native plants.

Lake Chabot Road is currently closed because of landslides and erosion that have undermined the roadbed. It’s doubtful that it will ever be able to support the constant dump truck traffic.

Gary SloaneSan Leandro

Agencies must makebetter use of tax dollars

Re. “Prop. 13 proves costly to government programs,” Page A8, Jan. 13:

I disagree with the notion that local and state governments don’t have enough money already from other taxes and bonds for impoverished schools, understaffed government offices and infrastructure.

Our property taxes are plenty high in California and enough businesses have been run out of the state. We don’t need any more lost jobs and tax base.

The real problem is not a lack of funding but how all of these agencies use the money they have.

Herman BetchartFremont

Recount cost is worthelection integrity

The article “Are Alameda County elections actually headed to a recount?” (Page B1, Jan. 15) regarding “voters confusion about everything from the results of certain races to the future of ranked choice voting” helps me understand why people might question election results.

The District 4 Oakland Unified school board “snafu” demonstrates that our election systems are not infallible. That said, I believe that the seeds of doubt this might have cast is very troubling. The cost of letting any doubts remain will be much more costly to our society in the long run than any monetary cost of a recount now. We should not put a price on maintaining faith in election integrity.

Dennis CarlisleNewark

Predicting climate changeisn’t settled science

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently stated to “Expect record-shattering hot years soon, likely in the next couple years because of ‘relentless’ climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas.”

Last October, this same NOAA released its U.S. Winter Outlook. Researchers predicted that through February 2023, “California will still have to contend with the ongoing drought and won’t see much precipitation.” Wrong.

Scientists admittedly can’t predict hurricanes a year out with any accuracy, but they want us to believe they can predict global temperatures and sea levels years out. Real science is never “settled.”

Jon RegoClayton

Letters: Community college | It’s not CEQA | Changing office | Solar payments | Curtailing GOP

Letters to the Editor — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 00:00:15 +0000

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Community college plansmade and abandoned

I was disappointed to read the article on community college enrollment challenges as submitted by Professor Hasan Rahim (“State must reverse community college enrollment decline,” Page A6, Jan. 11) which to me indicates there has been little or no progress since I came on board in 1998.

All of Rahim’s recommendations were certainly discussed administration after administration, semester after semester, during my time. I actually attended these meetings at San Jose City College and participated in the discussions.

Meetings were held with partnering high schools and agreements were made with UCs and CSUs. What happened to all that hard work?

With regard to the Master Plan for Education, at least one SJCC college president participated in a statewide committee to update the plan. Again, what happened to all that work?

Ten years into retirement, I could hardly believe what I read.

Isabel Mota MaciasModesto

CEQA is not the causeof housing crisis

Dan Walters’ scaremongering Jan. 8 column claims that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) “stymie[s] high-density, multi-family projects” (“Environmental law’s misuse blocking housing brings calls for CEQA reform,” Page A9). Walters wields a big bullhorn, but he is sounding a false alarm. Walters never mentions that CEQA actually provides exemptions for such housing, while protecting disadvantaged communities, public health and the climate.

CEQA wisely makes government officials pause and think before approving large development projects. For example, in the UC Berkeley case Walters cites, CEQA required the university to consider alternative housing sites before paving over a historic public park and displacing current residents. That is just smart.

Californians need to know that those seeking to weaken CEQA in the name of housing are promoting arguments that independent experts have resoundingly refuted. High land and construction costs, local zoning and other factors, not CEQA, are the root causes of our housing crisis.

Gary PattonAdjunct professor, UC Santa CruzSanta Cruz

Politicians changingoffice should say so

Politicians should go all in if they seek a new office

Sandra Delvin [“Council replacement process lacks transparency,” Page A6, Jan. 10] brings up some of the shortcomings of the way members of San Jose City Council are appointed.

The two new members would be selected by people who never lived in District 8 and only one lived in District 10. We should change the law in California; any elected officeholder seeking another office must go all in. They must submit a resignation from their current office effective the end of the year no less than two months before the primary election date to be allowed on the primary ballot.

This would enable those who may be interested to jump in, but more importantly, this will ensure continued true representation of the people.

Laith NaamanSan Jose

Legislature must fixsolar payment plan

Utility companies won the jackpot on December 15, 2022, when the California Public Utilities Commission, presumably with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s blessing, passed NEM 3.0, which will force solar-generating households to sell at far below the market rate — 75% below current prices.

Solar has proven to lower electricity costs overall, so this poorly reasoned decision will only make electricity more expensive in the long run. Such a situation is only possible because utilities are given a monopoly in the electricity marketplace — we can buy from only them, rather than any neighbors who have themselves installed solar.

That means it is imperative that governments craft fair rate structures. And they have failed spectacularly with NEM 3.0.

If Newsom cares about his climate legacy, he’ll work with the California Legislature to pass a solar net metering policy that is actually aligned with energy economics and provides fair rates for all electricity consumers.

Jeremy PoindexterSan Mateo

Democrats could havecurtailed GOP concessions

Vanya Matzek (“Democrats wasted votes during speaker battle,” Page A8, Jan. 13) suggested that congressional Democrats wasted their votes during the election of the speaker and should have found a few Republicans willing to vote with them on a better Republican candidate than Kevin McCarthy.

Not a bad idea, but I don’t think there are any Republicans who would go along. But there is something Democrats could have done to improve the situation, and it would not have involved any Democrats voting for a Republican.

If only 10 Democrats abstained from the vote, Kevin McCarthy would have been elected speaker without having to make all those concessions to the far right. Would that have made him more willing to compromise with Democrats? Probably not, but we would not have had all those horrible rules he had to agree to in order to get those last few votes.

Merlin DorfmanLivermore

Letters: Wasting rainwater | Rewarding immigrants | Ignoring stats | Update comics

Letters to the Editor — Sat, 14 Jan 2023 00:30:22 +0000

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State must stopwasting rainwater

Professor Andrew Fisher’s article on increasing groundwater storage (“How California can save water from the atmospheric river,” Page A9, Jan. 8) may be feasible in the Pajaro Valley but not in the Central Valley due to the hardpan and salt buildup in the soils there.

It would be far better to build the Sites Reservoir south of Sacramento to store winter rains from the Sacramento River. But despite voters approving Proposition 1 in 2014 to build more water storage, Sacramento politicians seem to prefer sending years of excess rainwater down the Sacramento River to the ocean.

Ed KahlWoodside

Don’t reward migrantsfor breaking the law

If you don’t own a car and steal one, the law will not let you keep the car. If you embezzle, even if you are needy, you must repay the money. Similarly, if you break immigration laws, you should not be provided with food, housing, medical care or travel. Our justice system is based on the idea that you cannot benefit from breaking the law.

When people know that by crossing a border they can immediately improve their lives because of the foolish generosity of Americans, they will come in droves, as they have been. We need to stop giving away our wealth to lawbreakers; there is enough need here. Work on changing immigration laws, but don’t open the border and welcome lawbreakers with our taxes.

Denise KalmWalnut Creek

Letter ignorescritical COVID stats

Bob Wheeler would have us believe blue states with sustained lockdowns saved lives compared to red states that minimized lockdowns (“Plenty of reasons to vote for Democrats,” Page A6 Jan. 3). As evidence, he correctly states COVID deaths were higher in Florida (3,919 per million) than in California, (2,504 per million).

He conveniently ignores COVID deaths in New York, the poster child of lockdowns, which were almost the same as Florida — 3,897 per million according to the website Worldometer.

He also needs to take into consideration that about 75% of COVID deaths occur in people 65 and older, and Florida has a much higher percentage of seniors than either California or New York.

He also believes school closure learning loss is no big deal. In an affluent city like Walnut Creek with an abundance of resources, the learning gap in math and science can be closed. In Hayward, not so much.

Martin WilmingtonHayward

Paper should updatethe comics page

I am really tired of seeing political commentary on the comic pages: “Doonesbury,” which is outdated; “Mallard Fillmore,” which is out of touch; and “Dilbert,” which is just bad.

If you quit publishing dead white guys (Charles Schulz — and I love “Peanuts,” don’t get me wrong), please make room for new voices, especially women and people of color. The comics pages are still largely white, heterosexual, male, patriarchal standard fare.

Please update your comics pages. (And I’m sorry, “Cathy” doesn’t count.)

Karinne GordonPacific Grove

Letters: Mitigate extremes | ‘Cool parent’ | Violating oath | Prop. 13 reform | CEQA’s effect

Letters to the Editor — Sat, 14 Jan 2023 00:00:31 +0000

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We must mitigateweather extremes

I applaud The Mercury News for the excellent coverage of California’s recent storms and their resulting devastation. And wow, what a contrast to the extreme drought that we had been experiencing the past few years.

This extreme weather fluctuation is not a coincidence. Climate change has been wreaking havoc on our state. It is impacting weather patterns, altering the frequency and intensity of when it rains. A warming climate increases the moisture in the air, which unleashes longer, stronger and wetter storms.

We need to stop emitting heat-trapping climate pollution into the atmosphere. The longer we choose to burn fossil fuels, the more heat-trapping climate pollution we put into the atmosphere, which in turn exacerbates climate disasters and expense.

Our elected leaders must do the work to cut emissions, embrace carbon-free energy and transportation systems, and protect communities at risk — not only here in California, but also throughout the United States.

Paula DanzLos Altos

With fentanyl, don’tbe ‘the cool parent’

Thank you for your insight Johann Jacob (“Parents have critical role in fentanyl fight,” Page A6, Jan. 11).

Some adults just throw up their hands and say “they are just being teenagers” as a child starts messing around with drugs. These adults are a do-nothing lot. The result often is an escalation of drug use and in some cases death (or very close calls).

Parents, get involved, heavily. Being the cool parent is not cool.

Sue KensillSan Jose

Many in Congresshave violated oath

Mounting evidence has been provided that elected GOP representatives and senators are not eligible to maintain their positions in the House or in the Senate.

The 14th Amendment of our Constitution, Section 3: Ratified in the aftermath of the Civil War, Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment explicitly disqualifies any person from public office who, having previously taken an oath to defend our Constitution as a federal or state office holder, engaged in insurrection or rebellion.

There is ample evidence from the Jan. 6 committee and the Mueller report that Donald Trump and his allies in the House and Senate did engage in exactly that behavior. They should be held accountable and be removed from their public offices or be barred from ever holding a public office ever again.

Wilhelmus VuistCampbell

Prop. 13 needs reformfor schools’ sake

Re. “California’s Proposition 13 battle enters a new phase,” Page A6, Jan. 6:

The recent discussions of Proposition 13 have completely ignored its devastating and lasting impact on our schools, especially for marginalized students.

As a person of color immigrant who attended public high school, community college and is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, I can firmly say that my education was negatively impacted by underfunding.

It’s interesting to see how accepted and easily published this vilification of taxation is. But we never talk about the huge burden Proposition 13 put on the backs of our students. Every year it’s estimated we lose billions of dollars that should be going to our public schools from commercial properties alone. A recent legislative fix would recoup up to $12.5 billion a year.

Proposition 13 has robbed so many from my generation; and so many more future Californians will experience teacher shortages, the lack of extracurricular programs and overcrowded classrooms because of Proposition 13. People need to consider all the effects Proposition 13 has created for Californians.

Gillian GaraciSan Francisco

CEQA isn’t holding upaffordable housing

In his recent column, Dan Walters falsely declares that the California Environmental Quality Act blocks affordable housing (“Environmental law’s misuse blocking housing brings calls for CEQA reform,” Page A9, Jan. 8). His argument relies on inflammatory rhetoric rather than established fact. He ignores empirical studies by reputable authorities — The Housing Workshop, UC Berkeley Law, and Association of Environmental Professionals — finding CEQA is not a major impediment to housing.

Walters discusses a case in Livermore, twisting the facts to criticize CEQA. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs sought to halt an affordable housing project, alleging it conflicted with the city’s downtown plans and challenging the city’s use of a CEQA exemption. The court easily dismissed these arguments, ruling the project was exempt from CEQA.

Walters got it exactly backward: The Livermore case demonstrates CEQA’s affordable housing exemptions are working. With its strong set of categorical exemptions, CEQA allows affordable housing to be built, while adhering to its purpose of protecting public health and the environment.

Rick LonginottiSanta Cruz

Letters: Scenic road | Fix Prop. 13 | Gas stove ban | Nuclear weapons treaty | GOP monolith? | Internet privacy

Letters to the Editor — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 00:30:54 +0000

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Quarry project woulddestroy scenic road

EBMUD has applied for a conditional use permit from Alameda County to allow the deposit of trench soil extracted from pipeline replacement into the quarry site located at 13575 Lake Chabot Road.

EBMUD estimates that there will be 60–100 dump trucks five days a week on Lake Chabot Road for the next 40–80 years (this is not a typo), with trucks entering Lake Chabot Road in San Leandro and exiting on Foothill in Castro Valley every four or five minutes.

Lake Chabot Road, is very narrow with no shoulders, already heavy with 3,500 cars a day, bicycle traffic, wildlife and hikers. It is currently closed due to storm damage. This fragile but needed scenic road can’t support dump trucks which will make it unsafe for those of us who use it now.

Teri SchlesingerSan Leandro

Prop. 13 proves costlyto government programs

“Prop. 13 is vital to senior community” in the Jan. 10 East Bay Times (Page A6) misleads readers.

Yes, Proposition 13 is vital to the senior community of homeowners, but Proposition 13 is also unfair to them and others, as well. In fact, Proposition 13 has been exploited by the community of big businesses while also harming the senior community and others.

Proposition 13 was passed in 1978 — thanks to the deceptive slogans of Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann — as “a way to keep Grandma in her home.” But it was also a way to keep the property taxes of businesses low — especially big businesses like Chevron and Disneyland.

Because the low property taxes of Proposition 13 drastically reduced funding of local and state governments, seniors and others have suffered — impoverished schools, government offices understaffed with shorter hours, streets and other infrastructure in poor repair.

Prop. 13 needs fixing to fairly serve all.

Ruby MacDonaldEl Cerrito

Feds overreach withtalk of gas stove ban

The federal government wants to ban gas stoves. I have a stove with an electric oven and gas burners.

I don’t like cooking with electric burners. It’s difficult to regulate the heat; with gas burners it’s so much easier. Gov. Gavin Newsom also wanted to do that but not for restaurants. The government always wants to come after the little guy and make our lives more difficult.

It’s bad enough already with inflation and high gas, food and energy prices. They blame everything on climate change. Enough is enough.

Cathy LedbetterNewark

The U.S. should joinnuclear weapons treaty

Jan. 22 is a historic day. It’s the day the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force in 2021, aka the “Ban-aversary.”

This year, over 100 events across the country (including in Livermore) will celebrate the treaty with banner hangings, bell-ringings, visits and letters to elected officials, public readings of the treaty, and more.

U.S. leaders have long said we will lead the way to nuclear abolition. It’s time to make that promise real — join the treaty and lift the nuclear shadow that looms over the world.

Scott YundtLivermore

Letter is wrong to paintthe GOP as a monolith

Re. “Let’s celebrate heroes of the Jan. 6 breach,” Page A6, Jan. 11:

Thanks to Sandy White, I know who I am.

I bicycle everywhere (to save lives and the planet) and maxed out my solar. I’m not “rich” but donate 15% of my gross income to charities, regardless of whether they lean “left” or “right.” They all help people.

She proclaims “Let’s remind everyone which party (Republicans) tried to destroy our democracy and which party (Democrats) saved it.” She implies the five deaths of Jan. 6 (three by natural causes) are comparable to the 2,403 who died at Pearl Harbor — a true “day of infamy.” This veteran disagrees.

Who am I? A Republican. Therefore I am also a “Destroyer of Democracy.” She mentions no exceptions.

We are individuals, not a mindless collective. I consider ridiculous generalizations and uncompromising narratives (like hers) to be the true “Destroyers.” Obi-Wan Kenobi observed, “Only a Sith deals in absolutes.” Sandy, welcome to the Dark Side.

Stacy SpinkCastro Valley

Letters: Climate cost | CEQA works | Council disruptors | Meet in the middle | Wasted votes | No surprise

Letters to the Editor — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 00:00:11 +0000

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The cost of climateinaction is too steep

Re: “Major flooding swamps Santa Cruz Mountains,” Page A1, Jan. 10:

Tuesday’s front-page headline looks very familiar. For the past two weeks, The Mercury News has featured the storms in California, and especially the Bay Area, either as a headline or somewhere on the front page. Not long ago, the headlines featured the devastation caused by wildfires. Not coincidentally, both of these types of events occur in the same areas, as barren hillsides give way to mudslides once the weather changes.

Extreme weather events caused $115 billion in insured losses worldwide in 2022, a reminder that the cost of climate inaction is far greater than the cost of taking action. We need more policy solutions to quickly reduce climate pollution and fast-track a clean-energy future that benefits all Americans.

Renee HinsonMountain View

CEQA is effectivelyserving its purpose

Dan Walters’ Jan. 8 column (“Environmental law’s misuse blocking housing brings calls for CEQA reform,” Page A9) seems to imply that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) involves approval or denial of development proposals. But CEQA simply requires analysis, mitigation and public disclosure of those projects’ harmful environmental impacts. Furthermore, CEQA contains broad exemptions for multifamily affordable housing.

A prime example of how CEQA is working to protect the environment while also defending disadvantaged communities is the Sargent Ranch Quarry project that has been proposed on the sacred indigenous landscape of Juristac. This open-pit sand and gravel mine would cause 14 separate significant and unavoidable impacts to the Juristac tribal cultural landscape, wildlife connectivity, air quality and scenic vistas.

Without CEQA, none of these devastating environmental impacts would have been analyzed or revealed to the public — or to the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. Don’t be fooled by over-heated rhetoric; CEQA is working well.

Alice KaufmanPalo Alto

City council disruptorstrample First Amendment

Joe Mathews writes about how politicians badly treat protesters who disrupt city council meetings (“Mutual contempt — one-sided protection,” Page A9, Jan. 8). It is a sort of “plague on both your houses” type of argument.

Mathews and most other commentators miss the main point — the mistreatment of those well-behaved citizens who are there to observe, learn, and voice their opinions.

The First Amendment to the Constitution protects “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Those who disrupt a properly organized meeting and those who abuse their authority in such meetings are trampling on the rights of those citizens who are behaving and trying to exercise their rights as Americans. We should come up with a way to remove the disrupters and authoritarians and take them away from the public meeting.

The rest of civil society can then proceed upon their mission of creating a better democracy.

John CormodeMountain View

GOP, Dems shouldmeet in the middle

Re. “How minority rule could be used to implode U.S. democracy in 2023,” Page A6, Jan. 10:

Why is it we have come to assume that thoughtful congresspersons will always vote along party lines? Sure, a minority of Republicans can prevent a simple majority if the Democrats all vote against anything the Republicans bring up for a vote. Why does this need to be?

The country isn’t split 50-50. It’s more like 10-80-10 except the 10 on each extreme are allowed to hold the rest of us hostage. It’s about time centrists on both sides start talking to each other.

Phil ArnoldRedwood City

Democrats wasted votesduring speaker battle

House Democratic unity in voting for a speaker was admirable but pointless.

They could have identified a Republican congressmember that the Democrats could best work with. With the votes of all Democrats and only 5 Republicans, that Republican could have become speaker.

There is something wrong with this strategy.

Vanya MatzekCupertino

Shooting by 6-year-oldshould not surprise

On Friday, Jan. 6, a 6-year-old first-grader in Virginia pulled out a gun in class and shot his teacher.

Newport News Public School Superintendent George Parker, apparently surprised, commented, “In no way do I believe that we were fully prepared for a 6-year-old student to bring a gun, this weapon, to school and shoot his teacher.”

Let’s not pretend this is a surprise. One need only refer back to Christmas cards published byReps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, in 2021. In both cards, the representatives shared Christmas good wishes with photographs of their families, adults and children, all fully armed with guns.

Those folks were re-elected and along with the rest of their party, stand firm on “gun rights.” A teacher’s life endangered, a classroom full of children traumatized … horrifying, but hardly surprising.

Judith HurleySan Jose

Letters: No status quo | Nicaragua immigrants | Pattern of debt

Letters to the Editor — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:30:08 +0000

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Don’t settle for statusquo on climate change

I appreciate Lisa Krieger’s recent article, “When will we get a break from the storms?” (Page A1, Jan. 10), which provided both a thorough weather forecast and a historical perspective on California’s extreme weather events.

I was disappointed that it ended with the statement that “we should get used to [extreme] storm cycles,” as such a position ignores what actions we can take to minimize and mitigate climate change. A majority of Americans want Congress to act on climate change, and decarbonizing our energy supply is one of the most effective methods. Sixty-nine percent of Americans say developing alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, is a priority for the country.

We must tell Congress to enact bipartisan legislation that supports the nationwide generation, distribution and use of clean energy, and support streamlined building electrification and permitting.

Sarah HubbardSan Mateo

Article mischaracterizesNicaragua immigrants

Re. “Biden walks stretch of U.S.-Mexico border,” Page A1, Jan. 9:

Your article repeats disinformation regarding Nicaraguans fleeing repression and crime. The truth is that Nicaragua is the safest country in Central America and one of the safest in Latin America. Plus, there is no gang-related violence there.

Nicaragua is a very poor country, but since the Sandinistas regained power in 2007, poverty has steadily decreased.

Nicaraguan migration had been very low but has increased due to economic reasons. Our country’s sanctions as well as other U.S. policies against Nicaragua, and the U.S. support of the 2018 coup attempt, have hurt the Nicaraguan economy and its people, especially the poor. If the United States wants to decrease Nicaraguan migration, it should lift the sanctions and stop trying to overthrow the democratically elected President Ortega and the Sandinista government. They are supported by the vast majority of Nicaraguans.

Arlene ReedDiablo

Bush set patternof increasing debt

We should all welcome the goal of eliminating our annual federal deficit. But what is the modern origin of our current federal debt, which is now more than $31 trillion?

At the end of his second term, in 2000, outgoing President Bill Clinton had annual deficits just about down to zero. Incoming President George W. Bush had the option of continuing to reduce the debt, or even eliminating it. But, instead, he convinced Congress to cut taxes. He also pushed us into the second Iraq War and got the costly Medicare Modernization Act passed.

Over the next six years, the annual federal deficit soared to more than $500 billion per year. The 2008-09 fiscal year was our first $1 trillion deficit. Under President Bush, total debt went from $5.8 trillion to $11.9 trillion.

The pattern was set for continued annual deficits through the administrations of Obama, Trump and now Biden.

George FulmoreEmeryville

Letters: Make a difference | Ecology education | Big Tech | Hamlin conspiracy

Letters to the Editor — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:00:14 +0000

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.

In times of need,make a difference

It’s been no secret that all prices have been skyrocketing: gas, electricity bills and groceries. Many are struggling to make ends meet during this arduous time, and the high prices on basic necessities — such as eggs and vegetables — aren’t helping.

This is why our student-run, non-profit organization decided to host a local food drive. We contacted a local pantry, found a location and spread the word in our community through flyers and social media. On the day of the food drive collection, we received a variety of donations, each one making a change.

Beyond helping those in need, another primary purpose of this food drive was to inspire: We hope that more young teenagers can use their voices to make a change in our community. Some of us are more fortunate than others, and even with small changes, some donations, and a few food drives, we can help more than we think.

Chloe LouSan Jose

County picks up batonof ecology education

No education is complete without learning about ecology — all students should have access and exposure to it. That’s why the Santa Clara County Board of Education has been at the forefront of holistic immersion in nature, climate science and other environmental issues.

Building on its green legacy, the Board unanimously approved a resolution I requested supporting environmental literacy, sustainability education and climate action. We collaborated to launch the Climate Action Week Educator Guide to illuminate issues of greening school campuses.

To build on the work of the county office’s environmental education Walden West school, our Growing Gardens project to support nature-based learning and our newly-formed Environmental Literacy Leadership Collaborative, the Office of Education partnered with the County Office of Sustainability and Our City Forest to plant trees across schools.

We hosted our first Annual Environmental Literacy Summit to provide students, teachers, and administrators with a space to strengthen environmental literacy.

Tara SreekrishnanTrustee, Santa Clara County Board of EducationCupertino

Big Tech mustclean up its messes

Re. “Big Tech lost its way. How can it recover?” Page A7, Jan. 6:

Roger McNamee is correct in his op-ed “Big tech has lost its way” in asserting that “failing to regulate tech leads to catastrophic harm.” But as his time frame starts only in 2000, he misses the harm done by the “clean” high-tech industry starting in the 1970s a) to the health of its workforce – predominantly women of child-bearing age – and their offspring and b) by the toxics discharged into our groundwater and air. These impacts spread rapidly as the industry expanded globally.

With the return of semiconductors to the United States under the CHIPS Act, significant, pro-active regulation of toxics use, protection of worker health and rigorous environmental stewardship are essential, yet the CHIPs Act has no such provisions.

It is now up to policymakers and voters to push needed changes forward.

Amanda HawesSan Jose

Hamlin incident giveslife to new conspiracy

I am very grateful that Damar Hamlin survived what appeared to be a situation that looked horrible, and appeared to recover with full cognition.

Too bad for Qanon supporters that their insane assertion that Hamlin’s injury was associated with some bizarre and undocumented and unknown effect of the life-saving COVID-19 vaccine got blown up by facts. Sad.

Isn’t it terrible to rejoice in life? The spaceship to your planet leaves in 45 minutes.

George LicinaSanta Rosa