More security won’t make UC Berkeley safer
Regarding “UC Berkeley parents were so worried about crime they hired private security. Is it working?” (Crime, SFChronicle.com, March 19): I am a UC Berkeley senior, and I am troubled by the parent-funded private security program, SafeBears. It appears to be more of a symbolic gesture than a substantive solution.
The guards contracted by SafeBears to patrol the perimeter of campus are not vetted by university police and administration, raising questions about accountability, oversight and qualifications.
The involvement of parents in funding SafeBears screams nothing more than privilege. Instead of investing in the existing public safety infrastructure, like BearWalk Escort and Night Shuttles, these parents perpetuate the myth that safety is a commodity that can be purchased and privatized.
Programs like SafeBears are also part of a large dog-whistling campaign to advocate for increased police presence and surveillance on campus.
SafeBears fails to address the root causes of crime and violence on campus. We should be focusing on systemic issues such as poverty, inequality and lack of access to community resources.
Berkeley will be safer once it is a more livable city for every marginalized community.
Tran Nguyen, Berkeley
Reverse PG&E actions
Regarding “Don’t blame PG&E for delays in connecting new homes to power. Here’s what’s causing it” (Letters to the Editor, SFChronicle.com, March 12): PG&E Vice President Jake
Zigelman overlooks the larger issues that PG&E has created. The delays in connecting service extend all around PG&E’s territory.
Officials in Humboldt County and Fresno County were told to expect delays. A Google project in San Jose plans to connect to a new municipal utility district transmission network and bypass PG&E.
PG&E has decided to devote tens of billions of dollars to gold plating its distribution grid for 1% of its customers by undergrounding its lines rather than choosing a more cost-effective solution.
And that folly has diverted important resources from connecting affordable housing and increasing electric service to replace fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, PG&E’s rates have risen 30% in the last year.
The California Public Utilities Commission needs to change direction and order PG&E to embrace better solutions that may not enhance its shareholders’ bottom line.
Richard McCann, Davis
Rank presidential hopefuls
Regarding “Here’s how to reform the Electoral College without a constitutional amendment” (Letters to the Editor, SFChronicle.com, March 21): The writer makes an interesting argument about how the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would reform the Electoral College. But the novel proposal, which faces many difficult legal and political hurdles, may never be implemented.
Instead, ranked-choice voting — which Maine implemented in 2020 in a presidential general election for the first time in any state — could lead the way to reforming the Electoral College.
That’s because ranked-choice voting could prevent “spoiler candidates” from tipping a presidential election in closely contested states to a candidate who loses the national popular vote but wins the Electoral College vote.
If, for example, ranked-choice voting had existed in Florida for the 2000 presidential general election — and just a small fraction of Ralph Nader’s 97,488 Florida voters had also ranked Al Gore on their ballots — Gore would have won the election.
Using ranked-choice voting in presidential elections would be a practical way to reform the Electoral College without a constitutional amendment. Bob Ryan, San Francisco
Sentence too lenient
Regarding “Why did an S.F. judge give a 30-day sentence for armed robbery? Here’s what case records show” (Crime, SFChronicle.com, March 21): Maybe U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer’s slap-on-the-wrist was fair to a gun-toting Leroy Wise, but what is the message being sent to would-be armed thieves?
Put a gun to someone’s head and spend a cozy 30 days out of the cold and rain? Sure, why not carry and use a gun? Just promise to be a good boy after release.
This sentence is still ridiculous even after hearing Wise’s back story. Craig Bender, Walnut Creek