Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.
Enmity for 49ers clouds
mayor’s financial vision
Re: “Financial pact OK’d for Super Bowl LX” (Page B1, Sept. 25).
I have to ask why the mayor of Santa Clara would vote against a deal that guaranteed the city would be financially reimbursed with $6.4 million for hosting the Super Bowl? Why would she and the vice mayor vote against it other than for spite?
The city is estimated to generate $100 million to $160 million in economic activity due to hosting the Super Bowl. The entire Bay Area stands to benefit financially. So, why did Mayor Gilmore and Vice Mayor Cox vote against it, other than clear dislike for the 49ers and their organization? The city receives 50% of the costs upfront by Christmas.
Maybe the mayor should let past resolved problems go and steer her city toward a better financial future.
John Bingham
San Jose
Expand school safety
to whole community
Re: “Newsom bolsters student security” (Page A1, Sept. 23).
The signing of the package of bills that make up the Safe Schools Act is an important step toward protecting our immigrant communities, but we can’t stop there. Every child deserves the chance to learn without fear, yet for too many families that fear doesn’t end when the school day does.
Immigration enforcement that tears families apart in neighborhoods or at workplaces not only undermines individual households but also our entire education system. Students cannot focus on their work when they worry that a parent may not be home at night. This is not just an education issue but a moral one.
Newsom has stood up to the administration in saying schools must remain safe havens. Now we need to extend that commitment beyond school walls and stand firmly against policies of family separation. Protecting California families means protecting California students, and we must continue to lead the way.
Jules Pizano
San Francisco
Agents shouldn’t fear
to show their faces
Re: “State has no power to enforce mask ban on federal officers” (Page A6, Sept. 24).
Masked, armed people who show no badges or other identification are kidnappers. Kidnappers should be arrested. Both state and federal law say so.
Court proceedings may eventually resolve that the kidnappers were actually federal agents — weeks later. Masked, armed and unidentified kidnappers are still kidnappers despite court precedents that state that federal law usurps state law. In my opinion, the supremacy of federal law is a correct and logical position.
If you’re afraid to show your face or a badge number, you shouldn’t be an agent.
George Licina
Santa Rosa
Prop. 50 will give
Dems a fighting chance
Like many, I’ve been on the fence about voting on Proposition 50. I loathe the idea of political gerrymandering and lauded the creation of a nonpartisan commission to draw fair district lines.
But we have no choice but to fight fire with fire. After Donald Trump encouraged red states to redraw their lines to create more red-leaning districts, we must act to redraw California’s.
A yes vote on Proposition 50 at least gives us a fighting chance to retake Congress.
Carol Blitzer
Palo Alto
At Kirk service, Trump
spews rhetoric of hate
Re: “Trump, others eulogize activist” (Page A1, Sept. 22).
The meanness of Donald Trump came through loud and clear at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk. After hearing Erika Kirk forgive her husband’s assassin as Christ forgave his enemies, Trump declared:
“I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them.”
Erika Kirk also said: “The answer to hate is not hate.”
She is right: The answer to hate is love, as Christ taught us. I don’t think President Trump and many (not all) of his followers believe that.
James Purcell
Los Gatos
Parents are first line
of defense on internet
Re: “Protecting children from dark, powerful forces” (Page A7, Sept. 24).
It’s terrifying to know children are being influenced to do heinous acts by online platforms or communities.
It is very important that parents are on top of monitoring what their children are watching online in order to prevent violence from taking place, and that the actual social media platforms shut down extremist pages that promote violence.
It is heartbreaking that children are being targeted and placed on an algorithm that promotes hate speech and political violence based on the content they are watching. Youth are the most vulnerable population and should be protected by all means, both online and offline.
With the way things are heading, I am fearful that future generations will be exposed to false perceptions of the world’s reality.