Vape ban is necessary

Regarding “Vape shops scrambling as S.F. ban approaches” (Page 1, Jan. 27): What’s at stake is public wellbeing, especially that of young people versus the interests of the sellers of a harmful product, still not vetted for safety by the Food and Drug Administration.

Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach have banned the sale of all tobacco products. If San Francisco follows suit, which will likely happen sooner or later, the smoke shop owners will have to find a new source of income anyhow.

If we want to reduce the 480,000 annual tobaccorelated deaths in the U.S., we need to tackle the issue from every angle, including the supply side. Most smokers want to quit and appreciate measures that make it harder for them to continue. It’s not OK for people, corporations and governments via tax revenue to be making a profit off a product that causes misery.

Naphtali Offen, San Francisco

Location of injection sites

Concerning “There’s a way to cut drug OD deaths but S.F. balks” ( Jan. 28): I’m concerned about the prospect of San Francisco opening safe injection sites as a way to reduce drug overdose deaths from fentanyl and/or heroin. Where would such sites be located? Since my two grandchildren walk to school every day, I would be greatly concerned about this issue. Also, shouldn’t more drug treatment facilities and outreach to addicts be the main priority of City Hall? Without that focus, opening a series of safe injection sites is, in my opinion, just a modernday version of the opium dens that existed in Chinatown back in the 19th century.

Dorothy Van Horne, San Francisco

Never forget the Holocaust

Given increasing hate crimes and antiSemitism in this country, I wish that the news story “Survivors mark 75 years since Auschwitz freed” ( Jan. 28) had been placed on The Chronicle’s front page. Too many younger people are growing up without knowledge of the Holocaust and the tragedy of over 1 million mostly Jewish people (out of an estimated 6 million victims) having been killed by Nazi Germany forces at the AuschwitzBirkenau concentration camp during World War II.

Ten of my maternal grandfather’s siblings perished in these death camps back in the 1940s, and he was haunted by this loss for the rest of his life. Seventyfive years after the liberation of AuschwitzBirkenau, we must continue to educate our younger generations about the Holocaust. As philosopher George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Ezra Steindler, San Francisco

Shame on Amazon

As someone who supports free speech, I’m angered to read in “Workers criticize Amazon on climate despite risk to jobs” (Business, Jan. 28) that this online retail giant might fire employees who publicly criticize its enormous use of fossil fuels for package deliveries.

My hope is that these same employees will attempt to unionize and establish workplace protections through collective bargaining. So long as Amazon attempts to restrict the ability of its workers to speak out against its large carbon footprint in this time of climate change, I will publicly refer to its multibillionaire CEO and founder as Jeff Bozo (instead of Bezos).

Raneesh Patel, Redwood City

Wouldn’t be surprised

Regarding “John Bolton’s insistent testimony” (Editorial, Jan. 28): Even though former national security adviser John Bolton could provide damning testimony at President Trump’s Senate impeachment trial about his direct knowledge of a quid pro quo between his former boss and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump’s lawyers denounce Bolton as unreliable and motivated to fabricate information as part of a lucrative book deal; and Trump suddenly tweets, “Bolton? I hardly knew the guy.”

Gordon Golt, San Jose

Congress makes the decision

Regarding “Central question: Were Trump’s actions criminal?” ( Jan. 27): Whether Trump’s abuseofpower allegations constitute high crimes and misdemeanors and are criminal or criminallike conduct is irrelevant. High crimes and misdemeanors are not defined in the Constitution, and as impeachment is solely a power of Congress, there is no judicial review and, thus, no court precedent for what constitutes high crimes and misdemeanors.

It is whatever Congress decides it is. A majority of the House decides if there are impeachable offense(s) and, if so, forwards the articles of impeachment to the Senate. If twothirds of the senators vote to convict, Trump is removed from office. Otherwise, Trump will be acquitted. In 1926, the House Judiciary Committee impeached U.S. District Judge George English. In its report on the matter, it reviewed the authorities and concluded: “Thus, an official may be impeached for offenses of a political character and for gross betrayal of public interests. Also, for abuses or betrayals of trusts, for inexcusable negligence of duty (or) for the tyrannical abuse of power.”

Ergo, no criminal or criminallike conduct is required to impeach.

Ralph Stone, San Francisco

Bring streetcars to Oakland

To improve public transit to the proposed Oakland A’s ballpark at Howard Terminal, could the 12th Street BART station be moved to Eighth Street? Not only would this bring BART four blocks closer to the ballpark, but it would create a single station servicing all the East Bay BART lines, which currently doesn’t exist.

In addition, could the Oakland streetcar project proposed a decade ago be reconsidered? Historic streetcars in San Francisco and many other cities have been a successful, fun transit option.

Richard Kurylo, San Francisco

Despicable defense

In watching the defense of President Trump by his attorneys and listening to our Republican senators’ comments on the hearings thus far, I am reminded of a phrase so important at another critical moment in American history: “Have you no sense of decency, sir?”

Abe Hardin, Berkeley