Letters to the editor | Friday, July 30, 2021: Why not basements in Modesto?
Why not basements in Modesto?
I’ve wondered for decades why more houses in this area do not have basements. A representative of county planning said mold need not be a problem.
When I built a house in Denver in 1952 the basement cost 20% more to double the space. Similarly, when I built my house here in 1981, the cost was 20% more for a full basement. Times may have changed, but there are a lot of fake rumors out there and it would seem worthwhile to have builders in low water-table areas consider building houses with basements.
In 40 years I have had no mold or any other problems in my basement.
Admittedly, builders would be greatly tempted to jack profits. But it would seem worthwhile to learn the actual cost increase to double the space with a full basement here. Maybe some builders, if they are making a good profit on the regular one-floor house, would consider adding a basement at a modest increase in price.
Vance Kennedy, Modesto
Column spread 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 The point of that PEW study was to comment on the outdated and inefficient way that states register voters.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
Imagining future transportation
In the near future, we will not be driving cars with conventional gasoline-powered engines. The future will be all electric, because in the long haul efficiency always wins out. Electric motors have far fewer moving parts than gas-driven motors so they need far less maintenance. Solid state batteries using silicone are being developed and will soon be manufactured. These batteries will last a long time, will recharge quickly, and electric cars will be able to drive from New York to Miami without recharging.
Except for the enthusiast who wants to own a special car, we won’t own a car. We will send a message to a car “depot” and request that a car be sent to our address for a trip to San Francisco, for instance. The driverless car will show up and take us. We can keep that car to drive us around, or we can release it, where it will be available for people nearby who want to travel somewhere. When we are ready to travel back home, we will send a message requesting a car and one will show up to take us back home. This is the future.
Bill Waterson, Turlock