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PG&E trying to shift
liability to customers
Re: “New law could make PG&E bills higher” (Page C1, April 13).
The proposed fixed rate based on income shows that PG&E wants your money whether or not you actually consume their electricity.
First, letting PG&E access income data violates privacy laws.
Second, the proposed income levels are ridiculously low for California, so virtually all PG&E clients would pay at least $30 and most would pay $50-$92 a month, in addition to their actual energy charges.
Third, apparently this applies to all clients who are hooked up to the grid, even if they provide PG&E more energy from solar panels than they use. PG&E got a huge reduction in the amount PG&E will pay for energy from new solar panels; this will completely quash going solar. It also would penalize clients who already went solar on the assumption they could defray installation costs over time.
This is another example of PG&E scrambling to shift the burden of its liabilities onto customers.
Susan Wright
Oakland
Utilities should not
charge income tax
Re: “New law could make PG&E bills higher” (Page C1, April 13).
Taxpayers do not elect utility company executives. Yet PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric want to add a monthly charge not based on energy use but on income levels.
Utilities cannot charge taxpayers an income tax. What’s next? A fixed monthly charge based on income to buy gasoline?
Harry Vantine
Danville
Jailing Holmes punishes
kids in name of revenge
Re: “Holmes loses bid to delay imprisonment” (Page A1, April 12).
Regarding the imprisonment of Elizabeth Holmes, the article pointed out that her children’s loss of their mother for at least 9 1/2 years would be a hardship. She has a newborn baby and a toddler, both of whom are innocent.
Separating a mother from such young children is a crime against the children. The baby should be breastfed for a healthy start, and both children need a strong bond with their mother. There is no reason to ruin their childhoods. Holmes is not a violent offender and isn’t a threat to society. Give her house arrest for 9 years but let her nurture her children.
This should not happen to any mother whether they are rich or poor, Black, Brown or White. This lengthy sentence is cruel. The children’s needs are more important than society’s need for revenge.
Diana Navon
Berkeley
Ukraine is no repeat
of Iraq war errors
Re: “U.S. repeating Iraq mistake in Ukraine” (Page A6, March 24).
A recent letter to the editor explains neither the faulty reasoning behind the invasion of Iraq nor its failure to produce a functioning democracy in comparison to Ukraine.
Ukraine is surely a quagmire but not in the same terms as Iraq. Ukraine had a functioning, democratically elected government. Iraq was an abysmal failure under a dictatorship.
Now, after more than a year of bloodshed in Ukraine, our leaders are not repeating that same mistake as Mr. Dunlap suggested. There were no early fantasies of decisive victories. We didn’t involve ourselves. The administration keeps feeding more and more lethal weapons into this conflict because Russia (the aggressor) rejects negotiations in the futile pursuit of military victory. We don’t need to accept the limitations of our military power and support.
Perhaps we just let Russia have Europe back? Not an option. Russia cares not to seek a negotiated settlement.
Stephen Pustelnik
Los Gatos
New ‘goodbye’ is
a sign of the times
I went to the nursery one day after the shooting in Kentucky, two weeks after the shooting in Nashville.
I purchased some herbs and upon checking out the clerk sent me off with the new goodbye. Instead of the traditional “have a nice day,” she said, “Stay safe.”
So here we are, no more “nice days.” No, we are telling people to stay safe as if we live in a war zone because we do.
Athena Simons
Clayton
Source: www.mercurynews.com