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Re: “Homeless plan has slow start” (Page A1, Sept. 4).
I used to think that homeless people in and around the Bay Area had it pretty easy until I read about the woman who shared that the bed sheets at the homeless shelters were just as coarse as the ones in prison.
Andrew Corbin
Lafayette
Lake Chabot Road in San Leandro has been closed since January 2023, when atmospheric storms damaged the road. The road is still closed.
At 7 p.m. Monday in City Hall, the City Council will receive an update. The neighborhood most impacted is designated very high fire risk by Cal Fire, which is why we need the road open to alternating one-way traffic now, like other communities have done for damaged roads. Our disabled seniors, families with small children, non-English speakers and other residents need valuable time to flee their homes in the event of a fast-moving fire or other disasters.
Anne Cawood
San Leandro
Jennifer Flynn is committed to rebuilding trust between Pleasanton teachers and the school board. After 10 years of teaching in Pleasanton, I’ve seen many teachers leave in search of a district that not only pays better but will treat their employees with respect. To keep our best educators, we must restore trust between the district, the school board and teachers. Flynn is the ideal candidate for this task.
Having worked closely with Jen, I can vouch for her exemplary support of teachers. She always ensured I had the resources I needed and worked to lighten the load for teachers. I’m particularly grateful for her help in organizing a field trip for my grade level where she navigated some major financial and logistical issues.
It’s time for teachers to have a dependable advocate on the school board, and Jennifer Flynn is that person.
Brenna Polanco
Pleasanton
Re: “Student, 14, fatally shoots 4 at school prior to surrender” (Page A4, Sept. 5).
Another in a long list of school shootings ending in the deaths and wounding of many young, innocent lives. The gun lobby and gun owners have continued to be complicit in the deaths of people across America with their Second Amendment alibi.
It is high time we seriously consider rescinding the Second Amendment, which was initially enacted to support militias in a growing country lacking in law enforcement. We now have adequate safeguards with local police, the National Guard and a federal Army to protect us. There is no longer a need for individual citizens to arm themselves and form militias.
The U.S. Supreme Court grossly misinterpreted the meaning of the Second Amendment, resulting in its abuse and the slaughter of thousands across America.
Robert Thomas
Castro Valley
The Israeli war against Gaza and the West Bank ( the Palestinian occupied territories) is not coming to an end soon because the Biden administration will not allow the United Nations Security Council to resolve this conflict despite the administration’s statements favoring the two-state solution.
The U.S. administration must stop supplying arms to Israel that led to the deaths of 41,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The people of the Middle East are urgently in need of ending the fighting and beginning the peace process, which must lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state and reaching a peace treaty and other agreements between all Arab states including Palestine and Israel. This is the true path for peace and justice in the Middle East.
Amer Araim
Walnut Creek
Re: “Harris unlikely to break curse on sitting VPs” (Page A12, Sept. 1).
The analysis by Marc Thiessen on Kamala Harris’ odds of victory is severely flawed and intended to demoralize would-be Harris voters.
For example, why write 188 years when elections only occur every fourth year? Because he wants to show a big number to make Harris odds seem especially dire. However, in 188 years, there were only 47 elections. Next, why specify sitting VPs as opposed to all VPs? That makes sense if a sitting VP were less likely to win than other VPs, but the data set is too small to prove it. A fair analysis requires all 49 former VPs. Only 19 of them ran for president. Six of them became president, and one (Gore) was denied by the Supreme Court, which voted along party lines. Six of 19 is 32%, a respectable result.
Richard Kruger
Fremont
