Letters: Yes on Prop. 4 | San Ramon schools | Beach access | Smoke-free protections | Foster care fix | Centering humans
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Prop. 4 funds are
needed now; vote yes
Re: “Now isn’t the time for unfocused Prop. 4 bonds” (Page A6, Sept. 11).
If only we had the luxury of waiting for the perfect political and economic conditions to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of the climate crises.
We don’t have that luxury. With each passing day, the costs — measured in human lives, irreversible carbon emissions, decreased quality of life, and dollars and cents — are increasing. The time to invest is now.
It’s disappointing to see the editorial board’s position on Proposition 4, a $10 billion climate bond that will invest in proven solutions. Proposition 4 will shift us from disaster response to disaster prevention before the damage becomes too costly and unmanageable — preventing wildfires, providing safe drinking water for everyone, and protecting our forests, beaches and coasts.
TOGETHER Bay Area’s member organizations are waiting for significant investments, like Proposition 4, to implement over 150 projects across the Bay Area. We encourage voters to vote yes on Proposition 4.
Annie Burke
Berkeley
Reelect Shelley Clark
for San Ramon schools
I am writing to encourage San Ramon Valley Unified School District Area 2 voters to reelect Shelley Clark to the School Board this November.
Shelley Clark’s experience and qualifications are extensive. She has endorsements from a growing list of district teachers, librarians and students.
I recently spoke with Shelley and was blown away by the concern she has for our kids, their emotional well-being and their academic achievements.
Let’s ensure our students have the best possible advocate on the board. Vote for Clark this November.
Katie Mahon
Danville
Keep a light on Khosla’s
flouting of beach access
Re: “Beach Brouhaha begets billionaires bickering: Musk trolls Khosla over limiting public access” (Page A1, Sept. 23).
Many thanks to Paul Rogers for continuing to follow the saga of Vinod Khosla’s refusal to provide access to Martins Beach despite the law.
Like many parents, my husband and I often took our children to that spot in the years before Khosla illegally closed it. His practice of flaunting a 50-year-old law and denying access to people who might be the children and grandchildren of employees who built his fortune is nothing short of outrageous.
Enormous fines are appropriate, and I hope the courts have the courage to impose them.
Robbie See
Pleasanton
Newsom must uphold
smoke-free protections.
The Legislature recently passed the Cannabis Cafes Bill (AB 1775), allowing cannabis consumption sites to serve food and beverages. Cancer advocates are appalled and are calling on Gov. Newsom to intervene.
If signed, this bill would violate Proposition 64, which prohibits smoking marijuana wherever smoking tobacco is prohibited. It would also weaken and make it harder to enforce the state’s law requiring restaurants to be smoke-free. This could undo many years of progress in protecting our right to breathe clean, smoke-free air.
Secondhand marijuana smoke contains many of the same carcinogens and toxic chemicals found in secondhand tobacco smoke, affecting lung function and increasing the risk of heart disease. We should be ensuring smoke-free policies are strengthened to cover marijuana smoke.
I join the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in urging Gov. Newsom to prioritize public health and veto AB 1775.
Tina Tankka
Lafayette
State must act to fix
foster care flaw
California’s foster care system is nearing a crisis. Nearly 9,000 foster children could be displaced because of an insurance shortfall caused by a poorly worded state law. The law unfairly holds Foster Family Agencies (FFAs) liable for incidents beyond their control, leading insurers to pull out of the market.
As a pastor who has worked with foster families, I’ve seen the stability and care these homes provide. Now, these children face further trauma because of government failure. We need the state to act now by providing at least a year of stop-gap insurance, giving FFAs time to recertify and stay operational. It’s essential to fix this law so foster families aren’t punished for things they can’t control.
Children deserve protection, not bureaucratic failures.
Matt Hall
Martinez
Prioritizing humans costs
rare polar bear its life
Re: “Rare polar bear showed up on shores of Iceland; police shot it” (Page A2, Sept. 21).
I was heartbroken when reading that police killed a polar bear in Iceland. Last week I attended an event in San Francisco hosting Jane Goodall that taught me to uncover the article’s anthropocentric narrative.
The first anthropocentric claim: Polar bears are a non-native species. But while humans cannot live in Iceland without electricity and heat, polar bears can survive on their own in Iceland.
Second claim: The polar bear was rummaging in the elderly resident’s garbage. But, at our Tahoe house, we have bear boxes to prevent this. The resident was tempting the bear with poor garbage management practices.
Third claim: The story says, “The loss of sea ice from global warming has led more hungry bears to land.” Climate change is human-induced — polar bears are forced for their own survival to find alternative sources of food and a new way to live.
Until we share planet Earth with all living organisms, we will destroy them and ourselves.
Andrea Bloom
Pleasanton