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Book offers answers
to homelessness crisis
Gubernatorial candidate Michael Shellenberger’s recent book, “San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities,” is a study of why the homeless crisis in California is getting worse despite spending billions of dollars and having so many programs.
He notes that not all homeless are the same. Most chronically homeless have addiction or psychiatric problems. These must be seriously addressed, and they are not. Building single-occupancy housing would take until 2045 to house our current 150,000 homeless. Communal shelters could accomplish much more in a much shorter time. The current system is disorganized and inefficient with multiple private organizations duplicating services with tax dollars. He recommends state-run facilities for drug/alcohol rehab and psychiatric care instead of jail. He looks at systems in Portugal and Amsterdam that work.
For those who are serious about improving homelessness, I encourage you to consider his solutions.
Gary Peer
Danville
Elect Lena Tam for
District 3 supervisor
As Alameda, San Leandro and Oakland voters decide whom to vote for to fill the Board of Supervisors District 3 seat previously held by the late Wilma Chan, I urge them to consider who would best balance out the composition of the Board of Supervisors by lived experience. All five members of the current Board are men – two Black and three White – and three live in Oakland. One out of every three county residents is Asian American, and they constitute the largest ethnic/racial group.
The candidate who is most prepared to fill this seat is Lena Tam. She has served on the Alameda City Council, on the Healthcare District Board, as chair of the Alameda County Planning Commission and on numerous nonprofit boards.
Lena is recognized for her diligent work ethic and consensus-building leadership style. She is the daughter of Chinese immigrants.
Serena Chen
Alameda
Old school lessons
are best for math
After tutoring math for 14 years to fourth-grade students in Oakland schools where math scores are low, it is apparent to me why there remains the achievement gap.
The techniques of instruction for the past few decades have not worked, in my judgment, because they have not emphasized retention. What worked in the distant past was that math facts (multiplication tables) were drilled into students in the third grade: repetition was emphasized in the early years over understanding, which came in later instruction. It may seem archaic, but it worked.
Getting it right early on does not prevent critical thinking in later years. Not mastering multiplication in the third and fourth grades prevents keeping up with learning division, etc., in the fourth and fifth grades. I believe teachers know this. It seems an easy fix if they continue to drill and ask students to master those skills in the early grades.
Norm Budman
Oakland
We need a new plan
for Seven Hills Ranch
I request that the county consider alternative, preferable plans to the Spieker proposal for Seven Hills Ranch.
While the consultant’s draft environmental impact report has said that the environmental impacts can be mitigated we ask that you use common sense and consider that very nearly all of the natural environment at the site will be completely decimated. The proposal includes the removal of 400 trees, the leveling of all but one hill, and the nearly complete paving and building over of the site.
To state that such impacts can be mitigated is nonsensical. We are asking for sensible, not supersized — a plan that truly respects the environment, doesn’t require unenforceable and ineffective mitigation, and recognizes the property’s unique location next to the existing Heather Farm Park. We ask that the county not amend the General Plan for this.
Yulia Kalk
Walnut Creek
This election, let’s
throw the bums out
Hello fellow voters. How have the last couple of years been for you? Have you enjoyed being repeatedly kicked while you’re down by our increasingly authoritarian elected officials? Had enough? I have.
In the upcoming election, I won’t be looking for a D or R after a candidate’s name to guide my voting. I’ll be looking for the word “incumbent.” That person’s opponent will invariably get my vote.
It’s time to clean house. Throw the bums out.
Clayton Florance
Martinez
Source: www.mercurynews.com