Spend funds on tutors
Regarding “Big state windfall lands in S.F.’s lap” (Page One, Nov. 30): I read with shock and dismay the story that San Francisco is wondering what to do with $415 million in “excess revenue in a county education fund.” Does anyone think we are spending too much on education? Or that the achievement gap is not a huge factor in racial inequality?
We hear a lot about social inequality, but every group that has ever passed white males in education and test scores has later done so in income. San Francisco is near last or dead last of over 100 state school districts on Latino/ African-American test scores and has one of the worst achievement gaps1 in the state.
These kids are as likely to test advanced as white/Asian kids in the same schools. Why not spend the money specifically to help these kids? Kids need one-on-one time, and kids in poverty aren’t getting it, but well-off and/or determined parents consistently pay for it or do it themselves. Let’s give every low-income child three hours a week of one-oneone tutoring and provide parent education and convince families to ensure their kids read and study more. Is anything more important? It would create good jobs, decrease future poverty and help local businesses.
Justin Van Zandt, San Franciso
Emotional story
Lizzie Johnson’s “150 Minutes of Hell” (Page One, Dec. 9) captured the essence of the tragic Redding firestorm in a firsthand account that was exceptional. Johnson captured the emotion of many of the victims as the firestorm was developing. Her firsthand reporting, using the victims’ own personal words, created a real-time experience for me. As a longtime Chronicle subscriber, this was one of the most emotional stories I can remember reading. Please continue your excellent reporting and keep us informed as to how these many fellow Californians cope and respond to these historic, devastating events. Ken Richter, Santa Rosa
Eat fresh food
Memo to canned-tuna packagers: Don’t blame millennials for the problems of your fishy product. The child is not responsible for the sins of the parent. The reason many millennials don’t prefer canned tuna is that their baby boomer parents, who were forced-fed canned tuna and Wonder Bread, taught them to eat fresh food and have some respect for nature. If millennials had been raised on canned tuna, they would buy a can opener and use it. Steven Ingram, Napa
Waste of space
Regarding “Suburban shopping center offers star architecture for the masses” (Page One, Dec. 10): Suburban shopping centers have been on the decline for half a century. Developers’ attempts to create “instant” urban centers out of isolated big-box structures continue to fail. Yet, the City Center Bishop Ranch presents the typical glowering block exterior, while promising the usual lineup of franchisers, “cute” shops and an “anchor” store within, surrounded by a parking lot. These projects have no heart and no civic energy. Shopping centers aren’t towns, or neighborhoods or even shopping districts; they’re real estate schemes, designed to make money for their builders. Even world-famous European architect Renzo Piano can’t breathe life into this tired cliche. What a waste of space.
Curtis Faville, Kensington
Online shopping
The City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon may have been designed by a wellknown architect and have admirable design elements, but at the end of the day, it’s still just a suburban shopping center. And given that more and more consumers are opting for the convenience of online shopping, a question that should have been more carefully considered before $300 million was spent on this project is (to borrow from the film “Field of Dreams”): If you build it, will people come? Richard Fairchild, Walnut Creek
Absurd to compare
Regarding “Incoming congresswoman lifts Trump’s publicity ploy” (Insight, Dec. 9): It’s completely absurd for columnist Jonah Goldberg to compare new congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with President Trump. OcasioCortez’s platform of free health care and free college for citizens doesn’t make her a socialist. And whether or not her numbers on misplaced Pentagon funds are correct, there’s no denying that the Trump administration’s biggest (and most unnecessary) increase in budgetary spending has, indeed, been for our national defense. Furthermore, the GOP has created a huge deficit by passing tax cuts that mostly benefit the richest Americans and corporations. Citizens who are fed up with these wrongheaded decisions are attracted to the priorities being voiced by Ocasio-Cortez. They are not, as Goldberg derisively remarks, being played “for suckers” by this strong-willed Latina politician. And if Ocasio-Cortez is generating a lot of publicity at this time, it pales in comparison to the poster child for egotism who sits in the Oval Office. Donna Delveccio, Santa Rosa