Hard to save money in current economy
Regarding “Number of the Day” (Business, Oct. 15): If financial advisers believe that an individual should have $2,467 in a rainyday account for emergencies, then this recent college grad, who’s working for a nonprofit, sharing a rental unit with three other people, and struggling to save money, is praying for more dry weather.
Desmond Winters, Oakland
Sen. Harris’ chances
Concerning “Harris hits debate stage in need of momentum” (Oct. 15): I was an early supporter of 2020 presidential candidate Kamala Harris, but think that she’s spent too much time attending private events and fundraisers to allow voters to get to know her. The fact that she needs momentum so long after she announced her candidacy does not, in my opinion, bode well for her Oval Office aspirations.
Elizabeth Samuelson, San Francisco
Instruments of war
Regarding “Grateful for the Blue Angels” (Letters, Oct. 15): Our complaints are not frivolous or laughable. To many humans and animals, the sounds are terrifying when the planes fly 100 feet over houses on their way out to the ocean to turn around and come back the same way.
Dogs have jumped through plate glass windows trying to get away from the sound. And those people who were in Europe during WWII and lived through the endless bombings of their cities never forget the terror of the sound of planes, bombs dropping and people dying. These complaints are not frivolous or laughable. I object to glorifying instruments of war, especially given the chaos in the world today. Please consider the feelings of others. I am not laughing.
Kerry Bostrom, San Francisco
Impulsive actions
Concerning “America last” (Editorial, Oct. 15): Why be surprised that President Trump recklessly withdrew American troops from Syria, enabling Turks to invade the region and attack our traditional Kurdish allies while allowing Islamic State militants to escape from Kurdish prisons?
The 45th president, who acts and speaks impulsively, is not a respected commander in chief, either at home or overseas. Instead, he is like his pal, Russian President Vladimir Putin, a czar of chaos.
Xavier Betancourt, San Francisco
Address energy crisis
To help address the energy and wildfire crisis in California, our state elected officials and the media should ask the utility companies and government agencies the following questions and seek straight answers.
First, what are Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s current budget and timeline, if any, to fireproof its power lines and what are its underlying budgetary assumptions?
Second, how much would it cost from local, state, federal, utility and ratepayer sources to fireproof power lines statewide at the earliest possible date? Third, for costbenefit analysis, what has been the statewide economic cost of publicsafety power shutoffs and utilityrelated wildfires over the past decade?
Fourth, what has been the cost to local, state and federal government of utilityrelated wildfires in California over the past decade?
After collecting this and additional data, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature might well be in a better position to develop a program and budget to end this crisis.
And, if necessary, the governor should ask House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris for federal money. This statewide crisis has already killed more than 100 Californians since 2017 and displaced thousands. The time to demand answers and action is now.
Bob Ryan, San Francisco
Baffled by conduct
Regarding “Syrian troops enter towns near Turkey’s border” (Oct. 15): Even though we’ve become inured to President Trump’s inexplicable conduct, does anyone else agree that the Turkey/Kurd disaster is one of the most baffling, egregious and tragic? First, he orders U.S. troops to pull out of Northern Syria to pave the way for a Turkish invasion, then he punishes the Turks with sanctions and demands Turkey stop its massacre of our allies, the Kurds. What in the world did he think would happen?
Ken Kashiwahara, Millbrae
Reduce the congestion
Regarding “Lots more scooters to rent — or dodge” (Oct. 16): Count me as someone who is not looking forward to an influx of up to 2,500 rental scooters on our city streets.
If, as scooter company Lime CEO Brad Bao comments, the goal is to “help San Francisco lead the way in micromobility worldwide,” the best way to accomplish that objective is to make streets less, not more, congested for its mobile pedestrians.
Hortensia Delarosa, San Francisco
Offended by gray color
Regarding “How S.F. lost its color” (Oct. 13): Thanks for your article about the trend toward painting buildings gray. So “color psychologists” characterize gray as a color “not to offend”? I beg to differ. Every time I see a house or apartment building getting a coat of gray paint, I am highly offended. A Compass real estate broker says gray is “a quick way to class up a house.”
Aargh! Gray (not even a color) is for timid people who want to avoid making decisions, not be noticed, not contribute to any vibrancy in our city. Could this be another thing that might be blamed on techies? Today, I saw a line of about 30 people waiting for a tech bus; all but one were wearing gray or black.
Kristin Anundsen, San Francisco