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BART bailout plan
is misguided
Re: “Bay Area bailout of BART, MUNI goes off the rails” (Page A12, May 26).
As a local elected official, I worked tirelessly for almost three decades to bring BART into Santa Clara County. But after watching the BART Board completely mismanage BART finances for almost the same period of time, I’m dumbfounded that anyone would think it’s a reasonable proposition for Santa Clara County taxpayers to bail out the BART board malfeasance with a 30-year tax measure.
Exactly why my state senator, Aisha Wahab, would sponsor such a bill is hard to understand. Fortunately, state Sen. Dave Cortese, Mayor Matt Mahan and Supervisor Cindy Chavez have stepped up and called out this legislation as the financially irresponsible bill that it is.
Once this misguided legislation is defeated, perhaps Wahab can turn her attention to figuring out a way to finally get Santa Clara County a permanent seat on the BART board.
Robert Livengood
Former Mayor of Milpitas
Repurposing building
would be faster, cheaper
Re: “100-plus homes might replace big office building on key San Jose site” (Page B1, May 25).
Considering our current shortage of affordable housing this article makes no sense.
The plans call for first demolishing the current building and then starting from scratch, thus adding cost to the project. At least one of the engineers/architects in the Bay Area must be able to come up with a plan to modify the existing structure for residential use.
Interior space could be used for server farms or the like that would generate profit for the project.
Marion Baldwin
San Jose
Vouchers would give
parents a real choice
Re: “Yes, end teacher union’s control” (Page A13, May 26).
It was never the intention of our country’s founders that education be controlled by one political party through the teachers unions.
Competition is the hallmark of America’s success, and it strains credulity to say schools run by the teachers unions couldn’t be improved with competition from private schools. Poor parents deserve the right to move their children from disruptive public schools into private schools more conducive to learning and socializing.
Parents should receive vouchers equal to the money saved by not having their children in public school.
Ed Kahl
Woodside
International law
should apply evenly
I for one want to live in a world where everyone, including the leaders of nations, is held accountable for upholding the rules of international law.
Just as Vladimir Putin will be held accountable for the slaughter of innocent civilians in Ukraine, so must the leaders of Hamas be held accountable for the atrocities of Oct. 7. In the same vein the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians in Gaza is a war crime that sits at the feet of Benjamin Netanyahu. While most of the world will agree that Israel has every right of self-defense and is fully entitled to go after Hamas, international law requires they take every reasonable step to protect innocent civilians, which Israel has not done.
It is a tragedy that so many politicians want to attack the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for just doing his job.
Chris Worrall
San Jose
Gettysburg article
offers map for future
Re: “Gettysburg Address offers special significance on this Memorial Day” (Page A12, May 26).
Thanks to the Mercury News for publishing Professor Rahim’s excellent and important article.
I doubt whether that opinion piece would have been published in Florida or Texas, which is sad.
Actually, it is doubly sad since the article pointed out what our priorities have been historically and what they should be in the future.
George Licina
Santa Rosa
Source: www.mercurynews.com