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District can’t afford
Concord High change
In regard to Concord High changing their mascot from the “Minutemen” to the “Bears,” I don’t understand the need for it. Minutemen were heroes. But my main concern is the cost. I work at an MDUSD school where every week the plumbing fails or the air/heat breaks down. The list is never-ending.
The cost to reoutfit the band alone would be over $100,000. If you include football and all the sports uniforms … I can’t even imagine.
Our schools are deteriorating. We need to address our infrastructure. Please. Let common sense prevail.
Toni Keosian
Concord
Airport expansion bad
news for environment
Re: “Oakland airport’s expansion will exacerbate climate change, groups say” (Page A1, Aug. 15).
The planned expansion of the Oakland airport, which is used primarily for short-haul flights, will increase demand and use of the airport and worsen pollution and the climate crisis.
It is disingenuous to claim that Oakland flights would increase anyway without the project. The increased capacity would allow airlines to add more flights daily, causing increased stress-inducing noise pollution and small particulate emissions among surrounding low-income communities that already suffer massive environmental injustice.
We must choose other scenarios for meeting the high demand for travel, especially for short-haul distances. Most of this traffic would be better served by high-speed rail, eliminating the additional air and noise pollution from even more frequent flights across Oakland and Alameda.
Fully 11% of California’s CO2 emissions come from air travel. Has the climate crisis not yet convinced officials and the public that we have to change our ways?
Susan Wright
Oakland
Keep spotlight on
Santa Rita Jail deaths
Re: “Lawmakers seek jail death transparency” (Page B2, Aug. 16).
The Interfaith Coalition for Justice in Our Jails appreciates your article, which focused on the San Diego Jail. This devastating problem lives here at the Alameda County jail, with over 70 deaths since 2014. We have conducted three somber rallies, calling on county supervisors to take some leadership on jail conditions.
As in San Diego, most deaths occur to people within the first traumatic days and weeks of incarceration, before they are even charged. Guards and the medical service contractor fail to properly handle mental illness and substance abuse. And the dual sheriff/coroner role often compromises family/community access to death information. The movie “What Happened to DuJuan Armstrong?” documents these issues.
We urge continued coverage of this problem, particularly for our Santa Rita Jail.
Karen Rachels
Oakland
Moms for Liberty
don’t speak for all
Re: “‘Fear and hate are the issue’” (Page A1, Aug. 17).
To Moms for Liberty: You don’t speak “for America.”
You are an extremist minority group. You hurt innocent people you don’t know, often children, and you don’t care. You have the right to speak your distorted and hateful messages, but that right does not extend to actions. It’s sad we have to block your book bans and racist curricula revision and gender strictures with legislation — such a waste of resources just to extinguish your hate.
My suggestion: Put a sock in it.
Steven James
Walnut Creek
Put Pink Poodle
story to bed
I’m amazed at how much effort and print has gone into the investigation of the supposed Pink Poodle incident regarding the San Jose Fire Department.
I understand that those in certain sectors of our public safety should always maintain a quality standard. In this case, no one was assaulted, nobody’s house burned down, there were no egregious text messages, just a bikini-clad woman stepping off a fire truck. Meanwhile, there are unsolved freeway shootings and homicides, carjackings and sideshows happening all over the Bay Area. If an emergency came up during their “joy ride” of 20 minutes, I seriously doubt that would decrease their response time.
Let’s focus on the real problems and put the Pink Poodle to bed.
Kevin Moore
Livermore
Don’t give Trump
free advertising
It’s happening again. Donald Trump makes headlines in our newspapers and other media on a regular basis. This gives him free advertising not available to many who do not support him.
Free advertising won him the election in 2016. What a disaster for American democracy. Did he Make America Great Again? He doesn’t read, he cannot spell, he does not pay his bills with his own money. He often chooses to ignore his own lawyers. His ego is his entire life’s focus. I believe strongly that we cannot afford to provide him with a position of power.
I appreciate the responsibility of the media to report the news objectively to the American people. I would suggest, in fairness to others, that news pertaining to Trump be allocated to inside pages of the newspaper and that it be presented without pictures. I strongly disapprove of the free publicity available to this man.
Judy Malinowski
Livermore
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Earth’s climate can’t
take GOP agenda
Re: “Far-right climate strategy: Drill more” (Page A1, Aug. 6).
While the world is burning and flooding, the Republican plan for America is to repeal environmental regulations and drill, drill, drill.
They would have us believe that the most crucial issue facing us is that some guy in San Francisco is wearing a dress. It’s become clear that voting Republican is voting for global suicide.
Jim Hogan
El Sobrante
