Letters to the editor | Sunday, July 25, 2021: Modesto shade trees and mistletoe

Shade trees improve Modesto

Re “City approves $2.6M plan to spruce up urban forest” (Front Page, July 19): Decision makers are to be commended for doing the right thing in supporting the urban forest. This is in keeping with a global effort to plant shade trees. Trees planted as street trees should be just that — trees that provide a large shade canopy. Studies have shown these are the most cost beneficial for citizens and the city. I bring this up as a result of seeing patio trees planted as street trees. For example, crepe myrtles are flowery but not cost-effective as street trees.

In the ‘90s pruning went from a 6-year cycle to a 3-year cycle which proved to be beneficial for citizens by increasing service and less impact on the trees. But most important: Plant trees! The more the better for all of us.

Chuck Gilstrap, Oakdale

Forget about the mistletoe

Re “City approves $2.6M plan to spruce up urban forest” (Front Page, July 19): I just read that the city will be spending money to try to rid trees of mistletoe. Please don’t. Mistletoe is a parasite of weakened and diseased trees. Healthy trees seldom get mistletoe. In addition, the process to “cure” a tree of mistletoe requires intense and frequent treatments, all of which will not work if the tree is not healthy.

So please do not try to get rid of the mistletoe. Replace the tree or live with it until the tree becomes dangerous. Trying to make a sick tree healthy in suburbia is really not an option given the amount of concrete and erratic water availability.

John E. Arnold, Modesto

Recall ego-centric governor

On Sept. 14 all Californians have to make a very important decision: Whether to recall Governor Newsom.

As the pandemic started in 2020, Governor Newsom issued a mandatory stay at home order. This meant unless you worked at an essential business you needed to stay at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Next, Governor Newsom mandated all Californians wear a mask covering their mouth and nose. These orders did not apply to Newsom. While many small businesses closed or went out of business, the restaurant Newsom is an investor in stayed open for business, along with the winery he is invested in. Newsom was also videoed at a $300 per plate dinner not wearing a mask, violating his own mandate. Californians lost jobs, businesses, income, and in some cases their homes, while Newsom was getting income from his restaurant, his winery, and pay as the governor. Now he is buying votes with relief money.

Can California survive two more years of self-centered control? No.

George Carr, Hughson

CA needs more water storage

We need much better management of our water. Since the last reservoir was built, the state’s population has almost doubled. Much of the farmland is now nut trees and not row crops that can sit fallow for a year or two. Many large farms have big, deep wells to water their trees but they are pumping all the water out of the ground much faster than rainfall can restore it, and once the wells run dry they won’t ever come back. So we need all of the proposed new water storage sites now, not five or 10 years from now.

We need to limit how much water can be pumped from the ground each year. We need to cover all irrigation canals to stop evaporation loss. We need to better balance the usage of water — people first, our farmers, fish and wildlife. We need to practice conservation measures and not waste our water.

Build the water storage locations now so in the next three to four years, when we have a wet winter, they will all fill up and be ready for the next drought in about 10 years.

Nancy Hamer, Oakdale

Trump still harming America

The latest polls indicate that 85% of unvaccinated Americans are followers of Trump’s Big Lie heresy. This should not be surprising. These folks are booing Dr. Fauci’s attempts at explaining the complexities of the Delta strain virus while publicly mocking President Biden’s attempt to see that all Americans get vaccinated. And yes, these same faces were smiling with glee on Jan. 6 when Trump supporters tried to overthrow our government and illegally place Trump back into power.

Why are these people refusing to get vaccinated even if it means harming their own family and friends? The souls of these sad individuals have been ripped out and replaced with the cancerous DNA of Trump’s over-sized ego. Common sense and love of country have been replaced with groveling ring-kissing while banishing love of country and democracy to nothing more than a faint memory of things past.

When will the rest of America stand up and say, “Enough!” How long must we be held hostage by Trump’s band of anti-democratic, treasonous supporters? Isn’t it time to finally do the right thing?

Brooks Judd, Turlock

Dealing with the devil

The evidence presented this past week by journalists and writers — emails, tapes, fact-based anecdotes and clear inferences — explains why Republican leaders have their knickers in such a twist. Having already quashed a proposed bipartisan commission into the insurrection on Jan. 6, they will now attempt to spin any House special committee inquiry as biased in favor of Democrats — anything in order to avoid confronting the evidentiary questions: what did Trump know, when did he know it and what did he do about it as he cowered in the White House.

Instead of the Big Lie, which they generally embrace, Trumpists will claim ethical bone spurs in order to avoid facing the Big Truth — that Trump would attempt anything, even a military coup, to avoid being the Big Loser.

The quandary his apologists face, of course, is of their own making. There are those who sincerely wish the end of the Trump cult and a return to their GOP principles. However, when they had the opportunity to denounce a patently amoral, incompetent and dishonest leader, they instead embraced a Faustian bargain, a deal with the devil.

Will the “base” (well named) reward the faithful? Or will real Republicans finally stand up?

Paul Neumann, Modesto

Biden: Not much there

I tuned into CNN’s town hall meeting with President Biden. Recently there has been much concern about misinformation, mostly from social media and big tech companies. I thought we might get some news from the president that was informative. Unfortunately we received no news at all.

American’s concerns about border crossers and the COVID vaccine policy, the constant stimulus packages that force small businesses to compete with the government for workers to come back, were never even asked by Don Lemon. Mr. Biden stumbled on attempts to answer anything. Constant confusion. Where do we go from here?

Ernie Seppi, Modesto

Column spreads disinformation

Re “Biden confused about Civil War, voting and more” (Page 6A, July 22): I wonder why you print Jay Ambose and other Tribune “News” Service columns. Today’s is typical. He spends the first third of his column with a far-fetched diatribe against the leadership of the Democratic Party, with no apparent point other than he doesn’t like them. He then lauds GOP efforts to disenfranchise voters as mere attempts to reduce nonexistent voter fraud. He makes no mention of the sections of these laws that reduce or eliminate the authority of state and local election officials to oversee elections and declare winners, making fraud by legislators and governors far more likely. The facts cited in his reference to a PEW study (from 2012) make it seem as if people moving and dying are sinister efforts to subvert democracy. The point of that PEW study was to comment on the outdated and inefficient way that states register voters.

I really wish that instead of wasting valuable column inches on such drivel you would print some more nuanced and carefully researched opinion and leave Ambrose and his ilk to find a different way to spread disinformation.

Lou Hampel, Modesto