Did PG&E pull the plug too soon?
So we learn that PG&E blacked out 60,000 customers or perhaps 240,000 people (assuming a household size of four). Was this a wise policy or issued by a corporation cringing with fear? Our affected citizens need a real answer.
PG&E can achieve a perfect safety record by always leaving us in the dark, a policy that is simply ridiculous. We need an impartial judge to adjudicate whether PG&E made an appropriate decision. If that judge finds that PG&E acted inappropriately, then it must be fined and the money returned to its blacked-out customers. In that way, PG&E would have an incentive to make wise decisions on whether to black out a neighborhood.
Howard Matis, Oakland
Shutoff at the ranch
I grew up on a Napa Valley ranch four miles from St. Helena and up a mile dirt road. On Sunday night, PG&E cut off power to our ranch.
Over the years, we have had to stand on the roof of our home, hosing it down and dousing embers as fire raged all around us. We live on a well, which requires electricity to pump water. Not only does cutting off power kill our refrigerator (causing ice to melt and food to spoil), but we can’t cook, watch TV, use the computer, or turn on the air conditioning. Worst of all, we have no water to bathe, brush our teeth, flush our toilets, or fight fires. This is not just insane, it is cruel. If we lose our home due to this insane policy — fair warning, PG&E — you will be held legally responsible. Are there no legislators who can fix this? Rural lives matter!
Jeffrey Earl Warren, St. Helena
Left out to dry
As I write this Monday, our power (and well) have been off for nearly 24 hours. The winds here were mild Sunday night and the mass shutdown was inexcusable. PG&E is covering its behinds rather than being concerned about customers. Perhaps they’d do better to manage their equipment rather than punishing customers for last year’s failures. They know that politicians won’t hold them accountable, so we’re literally left out to dry!
Thomas Brown, St Helena
Up in smoke
It’s sadly ironic that a photo accompanying this newspaper’s Oct. 16 front page news story (“No coffee or gas — but no stray sparks”) shows customers in a darkened smoke shop in Calistoga — one of the high-fire danger areas where PG&E cut power as a precautionary measure.
Couldn’t a carelessly tossed lighted match or cigarette purchased from such a business “spark” another wildfire?
Suzanne Hoffman-Reed, Santa Rosa
End of an era
I was sad to read the article, “Sears files for bankruptcy as sales plunge” (Business, Oct. 16). Many longtime U.S. retailers, like Sears, have been closing stores and firing their employees as more consumers purchase online. With another holiday shopping season about to begin, I wonder if the time is fast approaching when malls (and brickand-mortar stores) will only be places remembered through virtual reality headsets, and that mad rush to grab sale items from store shelves will only be simulated by using VR gloves.
Janelle Ray Simmons, Alameda
Cure for bitter brews
Concerning “Bitter tears over costlier suds” (Daily Briefing, Oct. 16): If the heat waves and droughts due to global warming cut barley production and double the price of beer, perhaps breweries can consider using another grain: quinoa. Since many people can’t pronounce this word correctly, beer made with it can simply be known as “QBeer” (not to be confused with a Q-Tip).
Nigel Llewlyn, South San Francisco
Don’t count them
Undocumented immigrants should not be counted in the 2020 census. Marika Matyus, Redwood City
Americans do care
Regarding “Revision of failed policy” (editorial, Oct. 16): I’m astounded to read that the Trump White House is again considering policies that would separate parents and children of asylum-seeking families at our nation’s southern border with Mexico. When it comes to immigration, this 45th president’s motto (to borrow a phrase from a jacket worn by his wife) truly is: “I really don’t care. Do U?” Millions of Americans would answer this question with an emphatic “Yes, we do!”
Lillian Hermann, San Francisco
Biggest stack wins
Can’t we just forgo the voting and agree that the winners in November will be those candidates and propositions that mail out the largest campaign mailers (in square feet)? It’s just ridiculous.
Karl Hittelman, Corte Madera
Where is the body?
The ridiculous assertions of the Saudi government that the Saudi journalist was killed accidentally could be easily be put to rest by demanding the return of the body. Why is nobody demanding that? Of course, if the body was dismembered as the facts indicate, that would create a problem.
On the other hand, if one could see the results of his physical interrogation, that would also be interesting. The Saudis are tying themselves in knots on this issue. It is totally disgusting, and President Trump’s attitude is equally disgusting.
What has our country come to under this president?
Not even the Nazis prior to World War II would have been so blatant in using their consulate as a killing zone for a prominent person. Such is the contempt the Saudis have for the United States under our present leadership!
Howard Johnson, Sonoma