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Oil companies must
reveal what they knew
Re: “State sues oil giants over shifts in climate” (Page A1, Sept. 17).
Permission to file the lawsuit holding oil companies financially accountable for knowingly contributing to climate change is good news indeed.
What would be truly remarkable is a public statement from the oil companies acknowledging their long-term campaign of misinformation and lies along with requiring them to share the data on what they knew.
A hefty fine is the only legal recourse available. Nonetheless, educating the public about the oil company’s duplicity would help build public support and involvement in addressing climate change.
Eleanor Levine
Oakland
Self-driving cars
are a bad investment
I have lived in San Francisco on and off throughout my life. I still love this beautiful city, despite the current problems.
Over the past two Saturdays, I enjoyed North Beach and the Inner Sunset. In both areas, I saw two self-driving Waymo cars plow through crosswalks with pedestrians. Not yielding to pedestrians in a crosswalk is a violation, CVC 21950.
In this brewing age of digital tyranny, we cannot ignore the human right to safety. Who should get the traffic ticket? There is no need for driverless cars. Allowing for this tech gizmo is a dangerous waste of investment.
Kelly Newman
San Mateo
Dyslexia imparts
leadership skills
Re: “Take Newsom at his word; he might never run for president” (Page A6, Sept. 15).
This has to be the most ignorant column I think I have ever read. So please elaborate on how this one deficit could be the reason for not being a good leader. The writer’s ignorance about dyslexia and related neuro differences is showing. Maybe do some research before writing about such a topic. Try reading “The Dyslexic Advantage” by Brock L. Eide and Fernette F. Eide as maybe a start.
Is leadership defined by being able to read a speech? I’ve met Gavin Newsom. We talked about his dyslexia in depth. He actually has strategies and created accommodations that make him excel at other things (besides being able to read a teleprompter). The writer needs to learn more. There are tremendous strengths in dyslexics’ brain wiring that could make him an amazing leader and possibly a president. The column’s thesis is totally flawed and extremely disappointing.
The writer is totally unaware and it shows. Please do better next time.
Stuart Shader
Pleasanton
Lottery must pay
schools what is owed
Re: “The hidden price tag of California’s public schools” (Page A1, Sept. 17).
Most of us were enticed to vote for the lottery because of the financial benefits our schools would reap if it passed. It didn’t take long before most of us realized we were deceived by the sweet talk of our politicians.
Finally, an audit was conducted that revealed the lottery had shorted the schools millions of dollars since 1984. State Sen. Ling Chang introduced Senate Bill 891 to collect the money the lottery was shorting our schools, but our governor shelved the bill at the start of COVID. I wrote to the governor then and two weeks ago. I never received a response.
We need our politicians to inform us of what happens to unclaimed jackpots, will the schools get the money due them from 1984 with interest, etc. It is ridiculous that a bill has to be introduced to collect what the lottery owes our schools. Just pay up.
Laura Latt
San Ramon
State tax money
must be spent here
Re: “Bill lifts travel ban to anti-LGBTQ states” (Page A1, Sept. 15).
Like most, I have no problem with any LGBTQ+ circumstance. Where I do have a problem is the state of California demanding tax from me [and you], and spending part of those funds in Mississippi or Tennessee or any other state.
I neither live in nor have property in those states, a choice I made in part because of their specifically chosen, hurtful policies. Aside from that, today’s issue notes that California retained its position as the number one state in the nation for poverty. But we can afford to fund Kansas? California math and English scores continue to plummet, nevertheless, this state will spend to influence people on the other side of the continent?
Funds obtained from California’s citizens need to address the civic concerns of this state. No public money should ever be used on or for moral issues, and certainly not outside of our state’s border.
R Cote
Castro Valley
Banning pride flags
stomps on free speech
Re: “California school board rejects resolution to affirm LGBTQ students’ rights” (Sept. 15).
Having a school board here in California vote to oppress their students by banning pride flags from being displayed at school is horrifying. Not is it only unjust in that it singles out and oppresses a protected class, but it also goes against precedents set by the Supreme Court.
In the case of Tinker v. Des Moines(https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/facts-and-case-summary-tinker-v-des-moines) in 1969 the Supreme Court ruled that students still have their freedom of speech while in school and that schools have no right to infringe upon that freedom unless the student was causing a significant disruption.
Like the students in that case with their anti-war armbands, the students in the Temecula Valley Unified School District are expressing themselves and their opinions in a quiet and non-disruptive manner. Having pride flags in school is not being “social justice warrior-ed” as a board member put it, but instead shows needed support for LGBTQ+ students.
Brenna Lafferty
Brentwood
Source: www.mercurynews.com