Letters: Dangerous intersections | $470 million | Tesla’s experiment | Goldie’s Law

23/09/2022 01:00

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor. S.J. should install lights at risky intersections The death of the third-grade boy on Friday morning (“Third grader dies after driver hits him in crosswalk near school,” Page A1, Sept. 17) was extremely sad and likely wouldn’t have happened with different signage. I bet the only signage was yellow five-sided signs depicting two pedestrians. If that crosswalk instead had push-button-activated flashing yellow lights on each side of the street, that young boy would probably be with us today. I fault the city for this boy’s death and for not having such lights installed at this intersection, and at other intersections where pedestrian deaths have occurred this year. The city of San Jose needs to immediately install such push-button-lighted signs at this intersection, at other dangerous crosswalks in this neighborhood — as well as other such dangerous crosswalks in the city. Please call San Jose Traffic Engineering at (408) 535-3850 to demand this action. Stephen Reynolds Santa Cruz Better ways to spend $470 million ad budget Re. “California voters turned off by Props. 26 and 27,” Page A7, Sept. 21: Obscene is putting it mildly. We have been seeing ads about competing gambling Props. 26 and 27 since last February. George Skelton reports that $470 million has been spent so far by various interests, competing with each other over money that they want, under the guise of helping the homeless. In my view $470 million – all of it invested in some sort of managed fund – could go much further to help the homeless rather than fighting on TV over who gets the lion’s share of the gambling proceeds, with precious little to really make a difference for homelessness. Linda Harry San Mateo Tesla experimenting with coastal residents’ health Re. “Highway 1 reopened in Moss Landing following fire in Tesla Megapack battery storage facility,” Sept. 20: On Sept. 20 massive toxic clouds emanated from the nation’s largest battery plant. Highway 1 was closed for 12 hours and substantial areas were instructed to shelter in place and not use ventilation to minimize exposure to carcinogenic air. Residents were exposed to toxic emissions including cobalt, nickel, lithium and arsenic; authorities stated this toxic air should persist for days. Not only is this plant a toxic hazard, but the total energy storage would only power California for two minutes, in its grid backup role. The plant is a Gov. Gavin Newsom virtue signal to deceptively assure us that we have power backup for wind and solar. The technology may be useful decades from now but now it is neither safe or cost-effective. Elect Liz Lawler to the Assembly. She puts safety and economic sense ahead of experimenting with our health. Dr. C. Michael Hogan Monterey Support Goldie’s Law to keep dogs safe Goldie was a Golden Retriever that died of neglect and illness following a USDA inspection of a puppy mill in Seymour, Iowa, where she had no name, only a number. Related Articles Letters to the Editor | Letters: AC Transit | Reelect Ames | Root of homelessness Letters to the Editor | Letters: No luxury home | Sunnyvale council | Elect Kumar | Santa Clara council | The queen’s dignity Letters to the Editor | Letters: Yes on Measure P | Pinole council | No on Props. 26 and 27 | Diablo Glen | Green energy | Blaming seniors Letters to the Editor | Letters: No on Prop. 1 | Online betting | Bay Area housing | Climate change | Supporting dictators Letters to the Editor | Letters: Homeless priority | AC Transit board | Road rules | Climate solutions | Student loan debt She was only one of the hundreds of dogs confined in small, filthy cages, injured, ill, standing in their own waste, without fresh air, adequate food or clean water. Despite finding over 200 violations of law, the USDA allowed the facility licensee to continue its operations. It’s time to compel the USDA to do thorough inspections and impose significant sanctions on commercial breeding facilities that abuse animals. Please ask your congressional representative to support and co-sponsor HR 6100, Goldie’s Law. Make the USDA do its job and give Goldie a name and a legacy. Make sure that no other animals die the way she did. Judith Lessow-Hurley San Jose