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Sharks must enforce
mask rules for fans’ sake
At the Sharks game, we were dismayed seeing so many people not wearing masks. On the rare occasion when a roaming usher told them to mask up, most refused to comply.
It was extremely uncomfortable sitting next to an unmasked man who yelled loudly like any fan would and coughed without covering his mouth. Unmasked fans were allowed to ignore the mask policy, so to protect myself I turned my back to him as much as I could while using my scarf to cover my masked face when he was yelling.
The Sharks should insert the words “Put your mask on now!” whenever they pan the audience on the large screen and it shows the many unmasked fans. Ushers need the authority to insist on masks in the seats or do what Boston does … two warnings and you’re out.
No wonder people are afraid to go to the games.
Tanya Freudenberger
San Jose
Government within rights
to require police vaccine
The government must be very careful when it decides to limit freedom. It must compare the restrictions with the gains.
Let’s look at the case for forced vaccinations of police. We have lost more than 730,000 people in about two years due to COVID in the United States – about 1,000 a day, equivalent to about two jumbo jets a day.
In this case, the government has a right to act. The police are public servants, employed by the government, with (often unwelcomed) contact with the public. So, the government properly puts limits on police – what they wear, what courses they take, etc.
Policing is a tough job, and we are all in their debt. I think it would have been more effective to give a bonus to those that are vaccinated, but I think the government is within its rights to impose the restriction.
Cliff Gold
Fremont
County workers taken
care of without ‘hero pay’
Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith feels that all county employees deserve a $2,500 “hero pay” bonus for performing their work during the pandemic (“Why Santa Clara County workers deserve hero pay,” Page A6, Oct. 19).
This is a very nice taxpayer “gift” to more than 22,000 county employees who are already beneficiaries of steady employment, vacation pay, generous retirement pensions — not to mention an average salary of $100,000. We’re grateful for the job they did under trying circumstances, but they had it much better than the majority of hard-working people in the private sector who lost their jobs or businesses as well as all their financial security.
Jeff Smith’s comments reveal a peculiar bureaucratic insulation that clouds our appreciation of the real heroes of the pandemic.
Dick Pfaff
San Jose
Workers’ comp system
stacked against workers
Sunday’s op-ed by Steve Poizner (“How to fight back if denied a prescribed medical treatment,” Page A16, Oct. 17) discussed some of the problems in getting quality medical care and how to fight denials of care by health insurance companies. Unfortunately for those who are caught within the workers’ compensation system, it is far worse.
First, the companies pick the doctors. Then if they don’t want to pay for the treatment, they pick the reviewing company. If the treatment is still denied the worker can appeal the denial to an anonymous doctor who never sees the patient. That anonymous doctor’s word is final.
Unlike in group health where most cases of denial are overturned by Independent Medical Review, in workers’ compensation, it is only about 10%.
Is it the hand-picked doctors whose treatment is inappropriate or are the carriers unreasonably denying care? Either way, it is the injured worker who is paying the price for a broken system.
Gilbert Stein
Aptos
Path for boomers
to give back
Akaya Windwood and Bill McKibben make a good point in their Oct. 19 op-ed, “Boomers have money, time and skills to work for the common good.” (Page A6)
Here in Silicon Valley, where tech salaries are high and it’s hard for nonprofits to compete, community-based groups have a tremendous need for the skills retired boomers can provide. For those who may be wondering how to make the transition, South Bay environmental nonprofit Green Foothills runs a Leadership Academy that trains local community leaders and supports their advancement into roles at nonprofits and public agencies, with a focus on environmental advocacy and racial equity.
The program welcomes people of all ages (18+), with an annual application deadline of Oct. 30. People with diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Anyone interested can learn more at https://www.greenfoothills.org/leadership-academy/.
Andrea Fraume-Valencia
Leadership Academy Director, Green Foothills
Palo Alto
Source: www.mercurynews.com