Letters to the editor | Sunday, April 11, 2021: Mental health and officer review

Officer review must include mental health

Re “Survey shows about 75% support for law enforcement in Stanislaus County” (Front Page, April 6): Serious Mental Illness (SMI) has no demographic or racial bias. It can affect anyone, anywhere. And yet, among the 30 members of Project Resolve, I see no mention of a representative for SMI.

There is no mention that police response to a psychiatric crisis call cost the lives of Evin Yadegar ($7 million settlement) and most recently, Trevor Seever. And yes, there are other lethal outcomes that need to be accounted for as well.

I strongly believe that law enforcement is a critical component of a civil society. Having said that, I also believe it is critical to review and improve upon policies, procedures, and training in order to prevent tragic outcomes.

Linda Mayo, Modesto

Modesto trees could use rescue money

Re “Modesto weighs what to do with $47.3M in relief funds” (Front Page, April 2-3): I was pleasantly surprised the list of potentials includes trees. City Manager Lopez stressed money should not be used for recurring expenses. I would like to add, when possible it should be used to reduce costs for citizens.

Back in the day when Modesto’s urban forest had a higher priority, a cost-benefit analysis was done by Western Center for Urban Forest Research and Education, USDA Forest Service. This showed that every dollar the city spends on trees returns $1.87. The most savings was in energy reduction, with several other benefits: atmospheric carbon dioxide reduction, air quality improvement and the list continued. Shade trees have potential to make the most positive impact for the city than any other feature. When this research was done the asset value of the forest was $31.9 million.

The goal should be to plant trees to create an urban canopy. Trees are the lungs of our cities. A city with trees is cool and green, part and parcel of the good life; a city without trees is just a scab on the earth.

Chuck Gilstrap, Modesto

How to solve CA water wars

Re “Update on state’s water wars” (Page 1C, April 4): The Tuolumne River voluntary agreements allow irrigation districts to continue diverting up to 80% of the river — leaving only a trickle of warm, polluted water — transport it through wasteful Roman-era-technology canals, sell it below cost, and subsidize the whole scheme by overcharging electricity ratepayers. In his column, Garth Stapley defends this with the following bit of logic: “a voluntary agreement is always better than an involuntary edict.” Imagine if we applied the same logic to the pandemic: restaurants and bars get to create their own voluntary agreements for curbing the pandemic. What could go wrong?

Voluntary agreements are only preferable when they are based on real science. But the VAs are based on bogus science, as recently revealed by an independent peer review. The conclusions of this review fundamentally undermine any claims of fishery benefits from the VAs. It’s time for the districts and The Bee to stop making false claims about the VAs and to work with all stakeholders to find ways to fund investments in water supply projects that create good local jobs, improve the resiliency of our outdated water delivery system, and help sustain the economy and a healthy river.

Noah Hughes, Modesto

Feeling unsafe around homeless

I visited a friend at Ralston Towers at about 7:30 p.m. My concern is the homeless camped out on the facility lawn. These residents are among our most at-risk residents; why is the facility not fenced? It was scary for me leaving and I am an able-bodied woman who can most likely outrun any of the folks I saw, but some of these residents can barely make it out in the hall to their mailboxes. And on the way home I passed Graceada Park where the homeless were setting up their tents for the night. There were piles of garbage at the curb. When did Graceada Park become an overnight campground?

I don’t know the answer to this problem and I have compassion for those less fortunate, but we have to figure out something so folks can once again take their kiddos to the park and rest comfortably that their senior family members are safe.

Colleen Sisk, Modesto

Another view on Georgia voting laws

Re “Corporate America finally stands up for democracy” (Page 6A, April 5): Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post obviously hasn’t read the new Georgia voting law or she is deliberately lying about it. The new law expands weekend voting, codifies Sunday voting and protects a voter’s ability to cast an absentee ballot without providing a reason, unlike President Biden’s in Connecticut and 14 other states. The law also provides for authorized drop boxes for all counties statewide, something that was illegal as recently as 2019. On Election Day anyone in line by 7 p.m. gets a ballot.

Georgia’s voting hours are a minimum of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but counties can extend the hours to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Georgia provides far more days of early voting than New York; what of those Democrat strongholds of Connecticut, Delaware and New Jersey with no early voting at all? Georgia protects voters in line from last-minute lobbying but allows for self-serve water stations, or bring your own food and water. As for IDs, California, among other Democrat-controlled states, requires ID to register to vote by mail. Where are the racist denunciations of those state’s governing bodies?

Larry Koch, Turlock

Georgia laws make voting easier

I have to assume the writer refers to the recently passed voting rights law in Georgia. Had he actually read the law he would have discovered that the law extends the days to vote from 11 days to 17 days and does not restrict voting hours, thereby making it easier to vote. However, it does require an ID which, of course, the left has for years claimed causes voter suppression. I have never been able to understand that concept. I’m wondering if perhaps somebody can explain to me, and others, how requiring an ID will keep voters away from the polls.

Ray Walker, Turlock

The search for peace

Most people face challenges in their lives, ranging from the mundane to critical testaments to who we are as individuals and in a greater sense, who we are as a people. Most people across the world live a middle-of-the-road existence, trying to find the way to live in peace without veering too far right or left. Most people are goodhearted, compassionate, strong, courageous, and in their own way wise, and occasionally funny.

We are a good people traveling over some rough spots along the road. We shall get through our current challenges just like our ancestors had to get through their own. We will succeed because of our grit and determination to see another sunrise and to create another day of living in peace.

Danny Dean, Manteca

Bad deal in Riverbank?

Last year the Riverbank city council brokered a deal with Aeriz (the largest aeroponic cannabis cultivator in the world) to grow, process, package and distribute cannabis for the former Sun Garden Gangi canning plant. All the while the appointed and elected officials knew there were numerous residential dwellings, commercial buildings, St Francis of Rome church and the city’s own skate park within the 1500 foot keep out zone specified by law. If this does not constitute a conspiracy to break the law the justice system in Stanislaus county is far more broke than anyone imagined.

To approve such an underhanded deal during the pandemic proves the magician style politics of the city.

Rick Kimble, Riverbank

This story was originally published April 11, 2021 at 4:00 AM.