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Being forced to go
electric is no ‘choice’
Jenny Green claims “replacing gas with electric is a natural choice.” (“Transition from gas to electric a winner,” Page A12, April 17) She fails to mention that San Jose is considering forced electrification, not choice.
The draft plan states “new policy requirements will be necessary to ensure building owners transition away from fossil fuels.”
Switching should be a homeowners’ choice, not a city mandate to “ensure .. transition”.
Upgrading a meter is an expensive process. PG&E recently quoted a neighbor $25,000 to upgrade the electrical service from 100 to 200 amps, and that doesn’t include rewiring or purchasing new appliances.
Only 13% of greenhouse gas emissions come from residential and commercial sources; making cuts in only 13% of the entire sources will have little effect in reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions.
We prefer gas and propane cooking so we don’t have all our eggs in one basket – when the power goes out we can cook our food rather than letting it rot in unpowered fridges.
Michael Goldberg
San Jose
More in-patient services
needed for mentally ill
Re. “His neighbors tried to save him. But the systems was too broken,” Page A1, April 17:
The “system was too broken.” Shameful. It is beyond time to take action to bring back mental institutions for the chronically mentally ill and give the weary, taxpaying community respite.
How sad that people like Kenyon Graham are not getting a compassionate, warm and stable environment in the broken community model because there are too many ineffective mental health programs, not enough beds and apparently not enough gumption from elected officials to design an “involuntary assignment program.” Such a program could conceivably respect the needs of our unhoused mentally ill who may be suffering from anosognosia, and untrained community members who experience dangerous and/or frightening behaviors.
Community members help fund programs through tax dollars and yet these programs continue to fail those who are mentally ill and unhoused. We must learn from past successes and failures to create new and better models that work for and protect the rights of everyone.
Tina Morrill
San Jose
Judges shouldn’t make
public health decisions
Re. “Do I still need to wear a mask to fly or ride after ruling?” Page A1, April 19:
It is deplorable that a lone judge can jeopardize the progress we have achieved in combating the pandemic and endanger the lives of millions, as fresh cases are rising in the United States and around the world. The primary duty and purpose of our government is to defend us from foreign, domestic and health risks. This judge, as have some GOP governors, handicapped the Biden administration from its heroic efforts to contain the virus spread.
Matters of public safety and health should not be litigated in a court of law. The governments, state and federal, should have the right to mandate restrictions, based on science and expert counsel.
I sincerely hope that this ruling is quickly annulled and reversed.
Rameysh Ramdas
San Jose
Zero-tolerance school
policies hurting POC
As a Latina woman, I see the downfall of people of color pursuing higher education. Immigrant families and Black families are often in lower-income areas, and this is where zero tolerance schools are, and where gang violence is high.
Learning about the school-to-prison pipeline and zero tolerance schools opened my eyes to an area where youth are not being heard. Zero tolerance rules are implemented in many schools, and this stops young people of color from succeeding. Getting expelled or suspended for minor infractions pushes the student to the street. This can lead to gang affiliation, drug use and worse.
Schools need to implement procedures that teach the student and that keep them in their regular scheduled classes instead of suspending them and making them stay home. We need to do what we can to save our youth with education, not incarceration.
Elizabeth Huitron
San Jose
Bill offers hope
to Alzheimer’s caregivers
April is National Stress Awareness Month. Therefore, this is an opportune time to discuss the stress endured by millions of Americans caring for loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. As someone whose father became chronically depressed from years of caring for my mother who suffered from Alzheimer’s, I understand how complicated it is to navigate this ever-changing and costly health care maze.
Fortunately, Kate Possin of UCSF has found that the university’s comprehensive dementia care program reduced the burden and depression of caregivers.
This provides confidence that the bipartisan Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act (HR 2517/S 1125) will allow caregivers to more seamlessly navigate the medical and social support systems and to obtain more timely access to care.
Thanks to Rep. Zoe Lofgren for co-sponsoring this act and for her previous support of policies fighting dementia.
Roger Gonzalez
San Jose
Source: www.mercurynews.com