Dog walkers must learn to share park
Regarding “Hundreds march against proposed restrictions in GGNRA” (April 24): It’s time for all of us who support the National Park Service land use plan for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area to speak up. The NPS is responsible for creating a plan compatible with all uses and users, and they have done so. Unleashed dog running is not compatible with all park uses, so there need to be places where it’s not allowed. There need to be places for wildlife and for families with small children or frail elderly. What the off-leash absolutists want is nothing less than everything; it’s intolerable for wildlife habitat or even public safety to take priority anywhere over their preferences. The Chronicle and San Francisco’s grandstanding politicians are irresponsible in encouraging these brats to continue their tantrum. You should be telling them to take a timeout until they learn to share. And contrary to your adorable headline, it wasn’t the dogs that were protesting. The leashed dogs in the top photograph in fact appear quite happy, perhaps disloyally so.
James Compton, Walnut Creek
Tax fossil fuels
As The Chronicle mentioned in “Nations must follow through on climate change pledges” (Editorial, April 22), countries are facing the challenge of redesigning their economies in order to meet their obligations under the Paris accord and shift away from fossil fuels. Wouldn’t it be great if our economy could redesign itself ? It can. All we need to do is provide the right price signal. A revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend — a steadily rising price on fossil fuels with all the money returned evenly to households — would do that.
Lisa Danz, Berkeley
Attacking Hillary
Regarding “Clinton must treat young voters like adults” (April 24): Yet again, we have to endure another hit piece on Hillary Clinton that belongs in the opinion section rather than the Front Page with actual news. The article repeats the usual litany of Sen. Bernie Sanders attacks on Clinton, using what Rep. Barney Frank called McCarthyite guilt by association for doing what every former secretary of state does: a speaking tour. These attacks are couched as advice for Clinton on how to woo young voters. If there is any healing to be done in the Democratic Party, it must come from Sanders’ supporters for their nasty, unfair, McCarthyite attacks on Hillary Clinton. Mark Wladika, Berkeley
Jackson’s past
Regarding “The right face for the $20” (April 23): I join Caille Millner in applauding the selection of Harriet Tubman for the $20 bill and in her reproach of Andrew Jackson for his many unforgivable deeds, but she goes too far in dismissing him as a sociopath who made few contributions. Jackson was the original 99 percenter. Rising from poverty to president, he battled the influence of the wealthy on U.S. monetary policy. He was the only president to serve as a former prisoner of war. It’s difficult to predict how the U.S. would have developed had Britain gained control of the lower Mississippi without Jackson’s 1815 victory. And he successfully deflected attempts by Southern states to nullify federal law, thus preventing an expansion of states’ rights. Perhaps Jackson doesn’t belong on our money, but he does deserve more informed, balanced treatment from modern critics. Keith Skinner, Berkeley
Train additions
Regarding “A plan for the train to California’s future” (Open Forum, April 20): A recent essay by the mayors of San Francisco and San Jose pushed for the building of a high-speed rail system that they estimate might be completed in about nine years. That sounds good. But I suggest that we should create a better low-speed system. “Low” is a relative term. Conventional trains, powered by diesel or electric engines, can cruise at 75 to 80 mph. The passenger train that crashed a few months ago near Philadelphia was moving at over 100 mph. We already have the tracks up and down the Central Valley and parallel to Highway 101. We could run a train every five minutes if we wanted. If we had more frequent service, more people would ride trains. Another improvement would be to have quick, easy connections between long-distance trains and local rail such as BART, San Jose or Sacramento light rail. The better the system, the more people will use it.
Burt Rodgers, Walnut Creek
Stop recording
Regarding “The scar of ‘bad parent’ shaming” (April 23): One item the article doesn’t touch on: If someone sees a child or animal suffering in a hot car (a legitimate concern, by the way), why is their first response to start videotaping instead of alerting the authorities or breaking in to rescue the child? The person whose first reaction is to press the record button should be punished right alongside the irresponsible parent.
Michael McCormick, Phoenix
Legal sex trade
Regarding “Pimp’s 97-year term marks turning point against trafficking” (April 24): I’d think pimps everywhere will take notice. The first prosecution under the state’s Proposition 35, which calls for stricter sentences, could mark the beginning of the end for that crime. Sex trafficker Jamar Geeter will die in custody, of old age if not before. Child rapists usually don’t fare too well in prison. His attorney, Jose Umali, lamented that, “...in the old days, pimping and pandering used to carry at most a dozen years in prison.” That softer sentence speaks to why the crime has continued unabated. Pointing it out is why his appeal of the sentence length will likely fall on deaf ears. On the other hand, the business of sex has been around since the beginning of the human race. Legitimizing and licensing the sex trade, as Nevada and so many countries around the world have done, would help limit sex trafficking. Prop. 35 is a powerful deterrent, but it won’t eliminate the problem entirely. San Francisco is in the forefront on so many liberal issues. Legalizing prostitution would solve more problems, by far, than it would present.
Michael Haworth, Vallejo
Dog compromise
Regarding “Hundreds walk pooches to protest dog-walking limits” Under the proposed Golden Gate National Recreation Area plan, dogs will be allowed in most of the popular places including Crissy Field, Fort Funston and much of Ocean Beach. Off-leash dog walking is not an entitlement and has harmed children and endangered wildlife. Nationally, off-leash dog use is not allowed in national parks. Yet with this plan, dog owners get approval to do what has heretofore been illegal. In this era of antigovernment rhetoric, I’m glad the National Park Service is taking a stand with a more than reasonable compromise. We all have a responsibility to live together in harmony, the humans, the dogs, and the wildlife.
Louis Blumberg, San Francisco
Ask for follow up
Regarding “The scar of ‘bad parent’ shaming” (April 23): Here’s a suggestion for folks. Sure, call 911 and take the video. Give the cops a copy of the video. All good. Then ask the cops for a follow up. If you don’t get the follow up, then you can post the video. Two birds with one tweet.
John Delaney, Oakland