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Lower bridge tolls with
infrastructure money
With the latest incoming federal infrastructure funds let’s see if we can, as Walmart does, roll back the price of the bridge tolls.
Shouldering the cost of our buses and boats and roads and bureaucrats’ pet projects on the backs of the people who need to cross the bridge to get to work is simply unfair. Bridge toll increases are out of control. Let’s stop using bridge tolls as so-called “cash cows.” I know “we” voted for this, but many of the yes votes came from counties that have no bridges to cross.
Let’s get our tolls lowered to the point where the funds are used to maintain the bridges and nothing more.
Joe Strupeck
Concord
Reinstate Armstrong
as Oakland chief
Re. “Police chief plans to ask that he be reinstated,” Page B1, Feb. 5:
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao put police Chief LeRonne Armstrong on administrative leave while she was in Washington. Her action was hasty, ill-informed, incorrect and unpopular. She criticized him in a statement by claiming the decision “is critical for the safety of our community,” as though the chief on duty was an immediate danger to people.
Mayor Thao has said nothing about the rampant carjackings, robberies and vehicle smash-ins in Oakland, but she rushed to seize an unfounded complaint against the chief created when monitor Robert Warshaw snatched a discipline case from him.
I started an online petition to put Chief Armstrong back on duty now. Within two weeks more than 1,500 people signed. Dozens have joined press conferences, including community leaders Carl Chan and Councilmember Noel Gallo.
It is time to stanch the damage — to public safety in our city, to Chief Armstrong, and to the mayor’s political standing.
Charles Pine
Oakland
Pride flag removal
sends wrong message
Unfortunately, my district (John Swett Unified) has condemned showing equality for our students, and has taken down all pride flags on the flag poles at school sites deeming them “unnecessary.”
Students worked hard for several years to get those flags up through the district, and now it’s sad they have chosen to not fly them. Although this may seem like a small thing, it has greatly impacted students and has them questioning their belonging at school.
I just hope with a little light shining on this, something can change.
Mikala Surman Mikala
Rodeo
Spaying/neutering helps
pets live longer, healthier
During the month of February, it’s important to recognize National Spay/Neuter Awareness Month. Spaying and neutering help protect against serious health problems such as ovarian, uterine and testicular cancers and can decrease behavioral issues. A University of Georgia study concluded that the life expectancy of neutered male and spayed female dogs was 13.8% and 26.3% longer, respectively.
Additionally, spaying and neutering prevent unwanted litters, helping reduce overcrowding at animal shelters and combat pet overpopulation. Spaying and neutering can be performed as early as eight weeks old, although the average age for this procedure is around six months.
Affordable spay and neuter options are widely available, including financial assistance from the Contra Costa Humane Society for residents of Contra Costa County, which went into effect in January 2023. Let’s do our part in protecting our beloved pets by spaying and neutering them.
Keren Rivkin
San Ramon
McCarthy favors power
over standards
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says Rep. George Santos’ standing in Congress is a matter for the voters to decide. He refuses to censure or expel.
McCarthy doesn’t care about morals, ethics, social standards, congressional standards, upstanding financial dealings, honesty, spirituality, you name it, because Santos offends all that. We’ve come a long way from Republican outrage over Bill Clinton dallying with an intern.
What is important to Speaker McCarthy is devotion to his leadership. He could care less about political fraud. The country, or at least McCarthy’s campaign donors, are depending on Republicans to save corporations and the wealthy from long-overdue increases in taxes. Brazen debasement in a suit and tie, whether Santos or McCarthy, is acceptable when the stakes are so high.
Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
Source: www.mercurynews.com