Letters to the editor | Sunday, April 25, 2021: Why not a Salida riverfront park?

Why not a Salida riverfront park?

The property at Hammett Road and Highway 99 is under discussion once again and this time instead of a truck stop they are proposing a gas station and convenience store. If the owners of this property could see that the value of that land is less about its proximity to the highway and more about the natural beauty of that riverfront parcel, they might have better luck in getting the citizens of Salida and the surrounding neighbors on board with their proposal.

Here’s a thought: Deed some of that land to the county for a park complete with walking and biking trails, and connect it to one of the most beautiful parks in Ripon, Mavis Stouffer Park. This location offers access to the Stanislaus River in a wild and scenic setting while still providing for recreation that includes soccer, baseball and volleyball. There is a walking-biking bridge already in place to connect the two parks (including my proposed Grover Park) that would make it a destination for many. Any remaining property could be developed for homes and condominiums, increasing the value of that area.

Scott Turner, Modesto

High-speed rail wastes taxes

Re “President Biden should back California’s high-speed rail” (Page 8A, April 14): The op-ed contained misleading and incomplete data. A March 31 article in the Wall Street Journal reveals that of the two trillion-plus total of the recently passed infrastructure bill, only 26% is earmarked for surface transportation. As with most legislation, there is more money headed to unrelated “pork” projects than the stated purpose.

The project has been a fiasco since its beginning, with the original cost estimate of $33 billion dollars and service to start in 2020 ballooning to the current guess of $100 billion with a projected mid-2030s startup. It was admitted that the Madera to Shafter link is now estimated at $13.8 billion. However, the original estimate of $3.2 billion is not mentioned.

There is also the unmentioned high-speed line from Los Angeles to Las Vegas for which the original company (Brightline), being unable to sell enough bonds, has abandoned the project. Like many other government projects, the high-speed rail lines were ill-conceived, and to date, grossly mismanaged. Any such undertakings should be funded by the beneficiaries and not our tax dollars.

Clifford Nagle, Riverbank

Unite for gun legislation

The number of mass shootings in the United States is a national shame and international embarrassment. After Sandy Hook, I remember thinking that finally, some gun legislation would be passed that would end these senseless killings. I thought the same thing after the shootings at Parkland. Because of the stranglehold the National Rifle Association has on the Republican Party, we have seen very little movement toward meaningful gun legislation.

Poll after poll shows majority support across party lines for varying levels of gun regulations, from increased background checks to assault weapons bans. A Johns Hopkins study shows support for some gun regulations among a majority of gun owners as well.

The Brady Campaign, Gabby Giffords and gun regulation groups should come together to form one large organization that could go head-to-head with the NRA. It could be called something like The National Gun Safety Association and would welcome membership from any American, gun owner or not, who wants to see reasonable gun safety laws that would move us toward solutions to address gun violence.

Our leaders follow the money. They listen to lobbyists from large organizations who pour millions into their campaign coffers rather than the voices of the American people. If we pool our resources, we become lobbyists for what the majority of Americans would like to see: Gun safety.

Anita Bruce, Modesto

Why does anyone need a gun?

An editorial states that most officers never fire their guns. Do all police officers need to be armed? Traffic enforcement incidents seemed to have gotten their share of overreaction from police. I have to wonder how many broken taillight, expired registration, and unsignaled lane changes would never have escalated if the officer wasn’t armed. Couldn’t traffic enforcement be accomplished without police carrying a weapon?

Yes, I know, we have the right to own a gun, we have a Second Amendment, but do we really need it? What’s our priority? Are we better off with a Second Amendment or not?

Randy Little, Turlock

Modesto was lucky to have Mink

Re “Doctor and reporter extraordinaire dispenses wisdom to Modesto area during COVID” (Page 1C, April 18): Modesto was very fortunate to have someone the caliber of ChrisAnna Mink. It was a pleasure for me to meet her while attending a program provided by a young man from Turlock who is going to go places. We were both impressed with him. I am so sorry that we are going to lose her but wish her well as she returns to what she left behind to come here.

“Ever the physician, Chris had her finger on the pulse of our community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Not one to sugarcoat anything, she has brought a fresh and vital medical perspective to The Bee’s readers.”

Best to you ChrisAnna, and thank you for coming to our area.

Nancy Howard, Modesto

Business link to voting laws

Corporate America has every right to get involved in politics, despite Mitch McConnell’s threats. Setting aside the obvious millions in corporate donations to both Democratic and Republican election campaigns, business depends on the structure of America, its government and its laws for success.

Take Russia, for example. It has a tiny economy compared to its landmass or population, and a declining standard of living. Part of their problem is workers are less motivated because of its one-party system and its oligarchs who plunder their economy, stifling upward mobility.

Corporations have a stake in the current crusade by the GOP to restrict voting rights of non-Republican demographics through gerrymandering, restrictive voting laws and other gimmicks. States locking in one-party rule will exacerbate the divide between red and blue states, creating a house divided against itself. On the federal level, it will impede government function through obstructionism. Taken together, both will hobble corporate America’s ability to compete in the global marketplace. Inevitably, our economy will suffer.

That is why every American business should withhold support for politicians making any effort to limit voting. And that is also why consumers should avoid businesses that continue to support those politicians.

Jason Gale, Riverbank

Have compassion for animals

People joke about roadkill. It is no joke. To even laugh or joke about an animal being killed by a vehicle shows how much compassion we have for life. An animal is a living being. They are so important that many times they are cared for more than humans. They are trained as therapy animals. They love us unconditionally.

I have noticed an increase in the number of dead animals on the road. One reason could be this epidemic. Because of the added stress, people are driving worse, and they are not as focused on nor care about crossing animals. If they do kill the animal, most of the time they don’t remove it from the road.

People, could we have a little more respect and compassion for these living creatures?

David Shirk, Modesto