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S.J. residents should
support mayor’s efforts
Re: “Answer to homeless problem in San Jose? All of the above” (Page A8, June 9).
Mayor Matt Mahan’s column reinforced my belief that we have an outstanding mayor who clearly takes his responsibility as the leader of our city very seriously.
Recognizing the tragedy of homelessness as a primary challenge, he has formulated a very well-thought-out, detailed plan and is determined to put it into effect. As he said, “We can, and must, make San Jose” the first city in California to adequately address this issue.
I hope all of us living here will support this effort in every way we can.
Genie Bernardini
San Jose
Perhaps latest critique
will get through to VTA
Re: “VTA needs new leader after its BART debacles” (Page A8, June 9).
Thank you for finally advocating that VTA executives be held responsible for their longtime practice of hiding the truth from the taxpaying public. They have been doing this for many years beyond the tenure of general manager Carolyn Gonot. The civil grand jury and VTA audits have criticized them for this.
VTA’s response to all those audits was to simply deny all allegations and continue the deception. Hopefully, your editorial will finally get some traction with the VTA board, so we can see real progress in solving our local transportation problems.
Rich Crowley
San Jose
Taxpayers on hook
for other 49ers costs
Re: “Cost of security at 49er games becomes highest in the NFL” (Page A1, June 9).
Regarding the dispute between the city of Santa Clara and Levi’s Stadium owners over the costs for public safety, another aspect that is never discussed is how the Niners stadium is causing the public to subsidize the additional public transit to serve the games.
Public transit, like police, are subsidized by taxpayers, and the city of Santa Clara, having no involvement in operating public transit, didn’t and doesn’t require anything from the stadium project to fund additional costs incurred by VTA. Consequently, taxpayers are subsidizing the 49ers stadium project to provide increased transit service to events at Levi’s Stadium.
The city of Santa Clara from the beginning never adequately analyzed the additional costs incurred by VTA. The VTA Board also didn’t care because it is composed of city mayors who all deferred to the city of Santa Clara “to get along.” That leaves taxpayers paying the extra costs.
Michelle DeRobertis
Oakland
Racial lens no way
to teach ethnic studies
Re: “Schools in crossfire over ethnic studies” (Page A1, June 10).
Like many people, I was baffled and dismayed at the sight of college students pledging support for Hamas as “resistance fighters.”
The current battle over how the mandated ethnic studies curriculum for local school districts will be implemented is crucial. Comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa is not an “apples to apples” comparison; it is a political discussion, framed in a lens that assumes all ethnic studies is “racial.” As such, the “liberated” view does not belong in an ethnic studies curriculum.
I applaud the work by the Alliance for Constructive Ethnic Studies.
Nora Rousso
Los Gatos
State should not make
cuts to health care
We are concerned about Gov. Newsom’s budget plan and the continued redirection of state funding out of health care to fill gaps in the General Fund, especially as those cuts profoundly impact children, seniors, the disabled and low-income households, and communities of color. Further reductions in health care workforce training, particularly of community health workers, and cuts to programs that help families navigate and enroll in Medi-Cal are short-sighted and ignore the potential to generate revenue for the state through federal matching dollars.
We acknowledge the state’s bleak budget forecast and the governor’s desire to find solutions, but we urge him to reconsider these across-the-board cuts and retain the existing programs that have proven to be successful and an investment in our people. Our state budget must reflect California’s commitment to protect all its communities, and his current budget proposal falls short of that promise.
Dolores Alvarado
CEO, Community Health Partnership
Morgan Hill
Trump always plays
down to supporters
Re: “Justice, not politics, drove Trump verdict” (Page A8, June 9).
I loved the line from Jerry Meyer’s letter to the editor on Sunday: “The most obstinate fabricator of ‘rigged election’ stories in American history is convicted of criminally meddling in his own 2016 presidential election.”
The irony is palpable.
So much of Trump’s act seems geared toward a third-grade audience: the juvenile nicknames for his competitors, the bullying and promises of revenge, the shameless bragging and outrageous exaggeration, the complete disregard for decorum.
Patrick Mahoney
Sunnyvale
Source: www.mercurynews.com