49ers fumble their attempt to buy an election
Regarding “49ers’ cash can’t defeat mayor in Santa Clara” (Front Page, Nov. 17): The re-election of Lisa Gillmor as mayor of Santa Clara is a remarkable story due to the odds she faced, not by the voters, but by the decision of the San Francisco 49ers to spend millions of dollars to defeat her.
Once welcome in Santa Clara, the 49ers are now regarded as a dragon from a Tolkein tale with Gillmor as the heroic maiden threatened by its political fire screams. The team convinced the city to pour millions of borrowed money into constructing a stadium, and now the team and the city are locked in a fruitless marriage.
Team management is largely to blame while owner Jed York is acting like a liberal Democratic Trump. Gillmor won a victory for herself and her town.
James Rowen, Richmond
Slow down in S.F.
Regarding “A push for slower speeds on S.F.’s crash-filled streets” (Bay Area & Business, Nov. 16): This change in the interest of safety is sorely needed on my block. I live on one of the steeper hills on Noe Street. Cars and motorcycles regularly hot rod up it at speeds of 40-50 mph just for fun.
There are at least three families living on our block with young children whose safety I always worry about when I hear such loud reckless driving. We presented the petition to the city to install speed bumps, but they are not allowed on our block due to the steepness of the grade.
Lowering the speed limit to 20 mph, so long as it can be enforced, would be a smart move for the safety of all of the residents living in our neighborhood, and no doubt to many in other neighborhoods as well.
Stephen Gerard, San Francisco
Solar plan is backward
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Air Resources Board propose that the state reach 100% clean energy use by 2045. And how will this happen?
A new California Public Utilities Commission proposal is estimated to decrease the net metering payback for future rooftop solar customers from 30 cents per kWh to 5 cents per kWh. This will kill any prospects for Newsom’s energy plan to succeed.
People investing in rooftop solar need a meaningful return on their investment. We need more people to decrease their use of fossil fuels by using natural renewable energy sources.
Building codes no longer allow gas stoves in new homes, so we’ll need more electricity to run our induction stoves, electric cars and whatever else requires electricity.
The state PUC is hearing comments in San Francisco on Dec. 1, and all are welcome to speak.
Susan Shawl, Oakland
It’s time for desalination
Regarding “Is plant future of water supply?” (Front Page, Nov. 17): Finally. California officials and environmentalists are beginning to seriously consider desalination. It’s about time.
Snow melt and runoff will no longer satisfy the state’s needs. Wells are drying up. Some areas of the state are destined to become deserts without a solution. Desalination is that solution.
Of course, it is expensive. Of course, it is complex. But it’s not rocket science. The technology is known, and it works. Some Middle Eastern countries would not exist without it. Ask Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Libya and Israel.
We have a coastline of almost a thousand miles, and we have abundant solar energy. Desalination is not just the best option for California; it is the only option.
Harlan Hague, Concord
Desalination not needed
Regarding “Is plant future of water supply?” (Front Page, Nov. 17): I am a Monterey County property owner who would be angry as hell at paying off the projected $300 million cost of a desalination plant we don’t need.
We already have the Pure Water Project recycling water that within two years will provide not only what we need but a substantial reserve amount to accommodate us for decades into the future — and without the potential environmental damage to the city of Marina’s groundwater from a desalination project.
The environmental problems will be permanent, and we will be saddled with the bond to pay off for years to come — when the Pure Water Project would meet our needs without the huge cost or problems.
For our county, desal is not an answer.
Pam Rolph, Pacific Grove, Monterey County