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Apply high-speed plan
to local commuter rail
Letter writer Gene Ozawa (“U.S. has a lot to learn about high-speed rail,” Page A18, Oct. 31) neglects to mention a few key facts about California’s high-speed rail.
Other countries with HSR lack the convenience and speed advantage of air transportation between SFO and LAX. Also, European HSR trains travel through populated areas that serve multiple destinations, unlike our proposed HSR that would transit through mostly empty agricultural land. Other HSR systems don’t have to tunnel through fault-riddled mountains.
But the writer is correct that we need high-speed transportation to speed people to their jobs and homes. But that need can only be filled with high-speed commuter rail – not an HSR train to Los Angeles.
Ed Kahl
Woodside
Folks who already have
high-speed rail like it
With all the articles and letters, pro and con, about high-speed rail, one datum never gets mentioned: In places that already have high-speed rail, they like it.
Bill Langlois
San Jose
Urge SJ City Council
to save Coyote Valley
As a member of San Jose’s General Plan Task Force, which overwhelmingly voted to preserve Coyote Valley for nature and agriculture, I am disheartened by the Planning Commission’s rejection of the Task Force recommendations.
Their vote means our beautiful valley is still very much in danger of being paved over and filled with giant warehouses.
There is broad consensus in our city and across the state that we must protect this precious natural resource with its fertile farmland, critical flood plain and wildlife habitat and linkages.
But it will take all of us speaking up to ensure that money doesn’t win this battle.
Please let your City Council member know that you want Coyote Valley preserved for nature, for the health of our community and for our children.
Smita Patel
Member of General Plan 4-year review task force
San Jose
Consider inevitable cost
overruns before voting
Your excellent Oct. 29 editorial, “BART extension needs independent review of total cost,” (Page A6) points out the many time and cost overruns on government projects.
Here’s the Heimlich Rule of 3 – take the stated cost and multiply 3, do the same for time to complete. If you can live with these more “real” costs and time – go for it, otherwise don’t vote for it.
Alan Heimlich
San Jose
Push Congress to pass
climate mitigation policy
The climate crisis has arrived. As Quakers inspired to care for our creation and current and future generations, we call on lawmakers to enact just carbon pricing.
Congress is now considering climate policies in budget reconciliation legislation that will be fundamental to the United States’ response. Carbon pricing is a powerful tool to help put the U.S. on the path to reducing carbon emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030. These new policies must also improve social equity, create green jobs, address accumulated injustices and foster inclusive participation to channel funds that will improve local air quality in heavily impacted neighborhoods.
We urge Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla and Reps. Anna Eshoo, Ro Khanna and Zoe Lofgren to meet this historic moment by supporting the inclusion of a just carbon fee in the budget reconciliation legislation.
Chris Bacon, Anna Koster and Mark Metzler
San Jose
State must do more
to help mentally ill
California is the eighth strongest economy in the world, and we do not care for the mentally ill. They live on our streets in deplorable, unsafe, and unsanitary conditions and experience mental health crises daily. The state needs to build mental health hospitals with enlightened treatment. Deinstitutionalization of mental hospitals has been an abject failure.
One-third of the homeless suffer from serious mental health disorders. The county jail has become the mental health facility of choice. They are not equipped to deal with mental health crises. The community mental health system that was supposed to replace the mental hospitals is a joke. There is no treatment and people are not cared for; this is the reason they do not stay.
California’s governor and the politicians need to wake up and do something for the suffering souls in the land of plenty.
Frederick Casucci
San Jose
Comic skips humor,
satire for profane insult
The reference in the Nov. 1 Mallard Fillmore strip goes beyond satire or humor in referencing, “Let’s Go, Brandon.”
According to NPR, “the phrase isn’t actually supporting a guy named Brandon. Instead, it’s a euphemism that many people in conservative circles are using in place of saying “(Expletive) Joe Biden.”
As nothing more than a replacement for a profane insult, it is neither opinion, satire nor humor, and it is improperly placed in the comics section.
Jeff Mitbo
Saratoga
Source: www.mercurynews.com