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Restaurants shouldn’t
cater to COVID-19 fears
Contrary to Robert Zanker (“County right to punish recalcitrant eatery,” Letters to the Editor, Page A8, Nov. 3), for government officials to demand that restaurants “card” people for their vaccination status is a major infringement on the right of businesses to conduct business as they see fit. I supported mandates from health officials in the beginning of the pandemic, when we did not know how dangerous it was and had no vaccines. But these mandates were only supposed to be temporary.
Continuing to allow unelected health officials to act, essentially, as dictators is no longer warranted now that we have effective vaccines that protect most people against serious illness and death, along with natural immunity in millions who have already had the virus, and now that we have a much better understanding of how dangerous COVID-19 is.
Zanker is free to eat at any restaurant. But neither he nor government officials have the right to demand that restaurants cater to his fears.
Christopher Andrus
Dublin
All businesses should
honor COVID rules
How irritating that a burger chain thinks it can ignore government policy because it doesn’t agree with it (“In-N-Out shut down for ignoring rules,” Page B1, Oct. 27). The chain is setting a horrible example for its customers and other businesses and slowing down the recovery from the pandemic.
All of the customers who refuse to be vaccinated will flock to their restaurants, making it a breeding ground for COVID not to mention the other businesses that will follow in their footsteps thus causing a massive spread all over again. I do not want to continue having these restrictions either, but the only way we can overcome this is to follow instructions until this is resolved. Until then, all businesses should comply.
As of Nov. 4, California had the most recorded COVID cases in the U.S. at 4,680,273(https://covid19.ca.gov/state-dashboard/). Therefore, we cannot afford any more misconduct with safety policies. All businesses and people need to simply follow the rules until COVID is back under control.
Ahmad Zeidan
Fremont
PG&E’s solar cash grab
would worsen fire danger
As we learned from your editorial (“Study confirms California’s worst wildfire fears,” Page A8, Nov. 3), PG&E has been found to be criminally negligent regarding maintenance on power lines and tree trimming. But they are also lobbying the California Public Utilities Commission to add fees that would essentially double the cost of rooftop solar for Californians.
This is exactly the opposite of what we need. In order to achieve energy independence and reduce the probability of wildfires and power outages, we need to make solar power accessible to everyone. Let’s call on Gov. Gavin Newsom to reject PG&E’s power grab and help assure a cleaner, safer, brighter future for California.
Susanna Porte
Berkeley
Author misplaces blame
for homelessness on rich
It’s the rare book that gets reviewed in the East Bay Times, so in theory, the review should be something to savor. Unfortunately, Ethan Baron’s interview of “Jack Pot” author Michael Mechanic was disappointing (“Realm of the super-rich,” Page E1, Oct. 31). F. Scott Fitzgerald long ago wrote that “the very rich are different from you and me,” so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise to read that today’s super-rich are privacy obsessed and (given the pervasive climate of hate) no surprise they feel sensitive about how they are perceived.
What is a surprise is the author’s contention that they are somehow at fault for homelessness and “tearing at the soul of America.” Homelessness is at bottom both a drug abuse and a mental health issue. And, as far as affordable housing goes, I recommend “The Poor Side of Town” by Howard Husock for a comprehensive look at how wrong we got things over the past 60 years.
Harold Mantle
Walnut Creek
Letter on taxing the rich
misses the big picture
In response to Daniel Mauthe’s letter (“Columnist ignores that rich are already taxed,” Page A18, Oct. 31), the argument that the rich pay the most taxes only holds water in the scope of income taxes.
The flaw in the cited article is that, unlike most other individuals, the ultra-rich can store their wealth in other, non-income sources, like capital gains, which are taxed at a lower rate. This is why the graphic, which only reflects income-based wealth, seems to show that the wealthiest pay the most taxes. Furthermore, they can better abuse loopholes in the law, which is why we see stories of billionaires paying little to no tax. ”]
Secondly, while the impact of government requirements in public schooling can be debated, it makes no sense to say that schools should not receive funding on the chance that they might come with requirements, especially in a time when many schools are facing budget problems.
Stephen Xia
Saratoga
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Because of an editor’s error a Letter to the Editor on Oct. 31, on Page A18 misspelled the name of a letter writer and left off her affiliation. Kandea Mosley is president of the League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville.
Source: www.mercurynews.com