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Fallon statue lesson:
Get public backing
The unanimous vote by the San Jose City Council to remove the Fallon statue has finally come after two decades of protest (“Controversial Fallon statue will be removed,” Page A1, Nov. 11).
The controversy over the statue began when it was commissioned by former Mayor Tom McEnery, handicapped from the start by failing to seek wide public support from the residents of our city. The lesson from this fiasco is that even mayors of cities should seek public support before they spend public money to celebrate a private, mostly unknown, hero.
The director of public works estimates that the costs of removal to be $450,000 and $6,000 to store it, perhaps back in its previous Oakland warehouse. There must be a lesson in this sad tale of a mayor who failed to represent his constituents, who are now forced to pay the costs, without a vote.
Gil Villagran
San Jose
As veteran and mayor,
Fallon deserved better
Our “esteemed” mayor and City Council have, in their infinite wisdom, decided to dishonor the memory of our 10th mayor, military veteran, Capt. Thomas Fallon (“Controversial Fallon statue will be removed,” Page A1, Nov. 11). All this during the same week as Veterans Day no less, the day when politicians loudly proclaim their respect and love for our nation’s veterans. No small irony there.
While Capt. Fallon was a decidedly human historical figure, he, nonetheless, understood San Jose’s and California’s need to be part of the United States of America. His contribution deserves better.
Adrian Simpkins
San Jose
Only vaccinations
will stop jails surge
Re. “COVID cases in jails continue to surge,” Page B1, Nov. 15:
That is concerning, then I read, “Vaccinations are available to people in jail custody upon request.”
We did not learn a thing when senior facilities lost thousands of older susceptible persons because of close living quarters.
This isn’t the first time that COVID has hit prisons. These people should all be vaccinated. Now tell me that the guards don’t have to be vaccinated.
David Eisbach
San Jose
Many strategies for S.J.
to reach carbon neutral
Re. “City seeks to be climate change leader,” Page B1, Nov. 10:
I am relieved that the San José City Council voted unanimously to pass a resolution to go carbon neutral by 2030. We absolutely need aggressive targets to address the climate crisis.
We will not reach our targets unless we also remove carbon from the atmosphere as well as reduce emissions.
Food-related climate impacts are not sufficiently counted within the city and county and may outrank transportation. Reducing food waste and eating a plant-rich diet are numbers 1 and 3 in terms of reducing CO2 on the Drawdown list of climate solutions.
We must prioritize transit measures such as traffic signal pre-emption, dedicated bus lanes, and transit-oriented development. Also, we must expedite climate-friendly changes to existing Measure B projects including completely replacing the Charcot Project, which is horribly out of step with climate justice for a community of color and Orchard School, out of step with health and safety standards, and the climate crisis.
Hoai-An Truong
San Jose
Minimizing debt will lead
to nation’s financial ruin
“What Biden’s proposed social programs would actually do” (Opinion, Page A6, Nov. 11 ) by Mark Weisbrot acknowledges a $28.7 trillion national debt, then goes on to say that the current reduced version of the plan constitutes “only” 0.6% of GDP.
The irony that the bigger the problem the less an extension matters is very disingenuous, or does he think the national debt is so big that more doesn’t matter? The rubber band stretches until it beaks. Ernest Hemingway said it best: “You go broke in two ways, slowly then suddenly.” Weisbrot doesn’t understand that we are still in the slowly expanding part and every extension brings “suddenly” closer. The very need in the United States clearly shows that the Great Society debt stretching ideology has failed.
The delay in approving “Build Back Better” may be a sign that the public, media and maybe even Congress are beginning to recognize the problem.
Fred Gutmann
Cupertino
Coal’s dire consequences
should speed elimination
Re. “Why quitting coal is so hard,” Nov. 13:
Thanks for publishing this article educating the readers about the potential damage coal does to the environment, a very underexposed and discussed topic.
While the article focused on the irreversible impact coal has on the environment, I want to add that coal mining is not healthy for coal miners either, as they have to inhale mineral dusts that are toxic and can cause lung diseases.
As the United States has not yet made a pledge to reduce coal, I hope these negative factors will expedite its decision toward a coal-free future.
Yiwen Guo
San Jose
Source: www.mercurynews.com