Probe soil at Bayview Hunters Point shipyard
The Chronicle has written insightful articles about the toxic waste and fraudulent testing in the Bayview Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. And last month, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to adopt a Civil Grand Jury’s recommendation to establish a special commission and investigate whether containing soil contaminants from rising groundwater could create an environmental hazard in the Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard.
Establishing the commission and placing relevant experts from throughout the city is warranted and reasonable. The federal government has dragged its feet for years in cleaning up the shipyard. We do not have the time to languish in bureaucracy.
Judy Rosenfeld, San Francisco
COVID law flawed
Regarding “ACLU challenges COVID misinformation law” (News, Nov. 10): I agree with the ACLU. Rudy Giuliani had his law license taken away in New York for using it to promote lies for Donald Trump about fraud in the 2020 election. His disbarment carries the imprimatur of the state but was decided by the body responsible for ethics in the practice of law.
California has a similar body for medical practice and licensure. The Board of Medical Examiners should remove the licenses of doctors who knowingly promote lies and misinformation. This process isn’t the business of politicians any more than they should be allowed to dictate the health care rights of women.
If Sacramento wants to do a good deed, it could criminalize lying in paid advertising because it’s a broader attack on our social coherence and democracy, not deserving of “free speech” protection.
Marc Sapir, Berkeley
Taking wrong turn
Regarding “Berkeley may halt right turns on red” (Bay Area & Business, Nov. 9): Berkeley now proposes to eliminate what Woody Allen called California’s only cultural advantage: turning right on red.
Council Member Terry Taplin says the change will reduce “traffic violence.” If it were enforced, he might have a point. I felt safer as a pedestrian in Manhattan than in Berkeley. As far as I can tell there is no longer enforcement of any traffic laws. Cars routinely breeze through stops at double the speed limit, but it has been years since I’ve seen anyone get a ticket.
This looks like another paper tiger that serves only to erode respect for what used to be the rule of law.
Paul Rude, Berkeley
Set a standard time
Regarding “Compromise on time” (Letters to the Editor, Nov. 8): There is no reasonable compromise on Daylight Saving Time. It’s an all-or-nothing kind of thing. The best we can hope for is clarity.
So, I propose instituting year-round DST from March 12, 2023, to Nov. 3, 2024, (about 20 months). Doubtlessly, many will find the dark winter mornings unacceptable. Others will pine for the later summer sunsets.
After that, institute year-round Standard
Time from Nov. 4, 2024, to March 13, 2030. That should be enough time to collect data on the health and safety benefits of year-round Standard Time.
Encourage businesses to adjust hours during spring and summer so that workers can spend more time enjoying the sunny hours after work without changing the clock.
It’s the adjustment of our chronometers twice a year that causes us stress. There aren’t any added sunlight hours; there’s only time shifting.
Permanent Standard Time might result in healthier and happier communities
David Dempster, Berkeley
No-go for Uber cabs
Regarding “Flywheel taxicabs to accept Uber calls” (News, Nov. 10): I was disappointed to read about the Uber/taxi program.
Not only does the San Francisco Transportation Agency not set fares; it is not clear that any of the safety or vetting requirements for unionized taxis will be in place with Uber. Nor is it clear that Uber is working toward service that is accessible to all or is environmentally friendly.
Uber’s rates are not transparent as the SFMTA suggests. It is common for a rider to pay much more for an Uber than for a taxi.
The SFMTA is supporting a company that is privatizing and diminishing what should be a city-regulated public transportation program.
The fact that Uber and other rideshare companies escaped regulation in the first place was a ridiculous giveaway to a profit-making business. That we are now actively supporting it is absurd. Kathie Piccagli, San Francisco