Letters to the editor | Sunday, May 9, 2021: Modesto’s parking is messed up

Modesto parking hurts business

I parked in a lot at a restaurant with shared parking with several other businesses. Signs indicated private parking but didn’t seem to include the section I was in toward the middle and closer to the restaurant. I got a ticket. Turns out one business had all the parking and all others had the street. I never saw that in the Bay Area. I can no longer go there as the parking is very tricky and you need to keep moving even if you find a place.

We want people to come here and build businesses, bring commerce, tour what we have to offer and make this a place where they want to spend time. But how can they walk along downtown, shopping the boutiques, having lunch and enjoying the art galleries when they have timed parking they have to keep close to their car for? We want their money but don’t make it an easy place to spend it. It’s not welcoming and it hurts the businesses and the city. You want to be like the big cities, that’s Lesson 1.

Margie Sue Brogdon, Modesto

A salute to grocery delivery robots

There is a lot to be concerned about today — COVIDBusters, states restricting voters who drink water. But top of my worry list are those darling little robot grocery delivery carts. They seem so friendly. Much more than the other traffic.

My concern is not that they will form an alliance with our robot rug cleaners and turn against us — the typical tech story. It’s what happens when (not if) they get lost. Impossible? Oh sure, technology is so foolproof. Like you, I have used language in front of my laptop that would make a rapper blush. And, a phone company puts you on hold?

Will some of those little guys wind up wandering aimlessly down McHenry Avenue, probably in the bike lane? The milk curdling in their little metal innards, the kale wilting into an even more tasteless mess, just yearning for human contact — which is, after all, their job. Will they finally end up under some bridge, huddling under a pile of discarded quilts and coats? Waiting for some agency to move them to yet another uninhabitable location?

So when you see these determined little warriors going about their appointed rounds — wave.

Jack Heinsius, Modesto

Put entitled kids in their place

Re “Blaming victims of police violence is ignorant and callous” (Page 8A, April 28): Modesto Councilman Bill Zoslocki has it right on. If parents would discuss with their kids the benefit of obeying law enforcement instead of fighting against them we would have less issues to deal with. It has nothing to do with being disrespected, but even if it does I would rather be disrespected than dead or wounded. Kids are growing up thinking they can fight law enforcement, thinking they know their rights, and they are going to put their will onto the police.

I wonder who Ms. Lopez will call when she is in trouble or someone is breaking into her house. I guess she is going to call her kids to save her and not the police.

Why can’t we all respect each other and understand that 99% of law enforcement is doing a great job and trying to protect the people?

John Herlihy, Modesto

Grewal’s convenience gesture

I was so surprised to see a letter from our new Stanislaus County Supervisor Mani Grewal in my mailbox. The letter included a refrigerator magnet listing useful contact numbers for city and council offices. Grewal promised to do his best to fulfill his duties and responsibilities in his role as county supervisor. He also provided his direct number. What a nice gesture! I am impressed with the communication and transparency.

Thank you, Mr. Grewal. I would say you are off to a good start.

Lisa Stegall-Dokoozlian, Modesto

Look for equality and respect

Do you see divisions and facts mangled? The Bee column stated many, not all, “in the GOP don’t want to believe in science.”

I’m fairly sure some Democrats are in the same category. Some think the world is flat. You must have missed a lot of Trump’s press briefings, saying COVID would magically disappear or injecting bleach “in the body” to kill the virus. Vaccines were sitting on shelves, not in arms. No plan for that till Biden.

New party or another law blocker? Sounds like a states rights activist or “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” 18th or 19th century theory, to me. A global pandemic is an example of how not workable that theory is.

The United States has many of all colors, races, religions and home-grown beliefs. Equality means all basic human rights: decent housing, daily nutritious food, quality education, medical, eye, dental and mental care, decent clothing and respect. We breathe and drink the same air and water on our small and getting-smaller planet. If there is no equality or respect, we’re dreaming in vain.

Diane M. Kroeze, Modesto