Letters to the editor | Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022: Defending downtown Modesto stadium
Defending downtown Modesto stadium
Are you frustrated like me? From mask mandates to persons not wearing masks, from inoculation advisories to people totally ignoring the science, from top officials accused of this to other officials accused of that.
Now comes along a group of longtime Modesto residents who initiate, on their own, a study to further the economic and cultural well-being of the region by suggesting a multi-purpose event stadium in downtown Modesto. Their foresight and enthusiasm to realize a better place in which to live is a quality in too short supply today. Not only do we not embrace their courage, we slam them for even thinking of such a project.
“Modesto’s good enough! We don’t need to be better!”
I never could quite understand that thinking when I made the decision to move my family here some 40 years ago anymore than I can understand that thinking now. What is it about our community newspaper and the folks who express their doubts about this potentially exciting project, to belittle it without any concrete facts? Just the idea of taking a risk, something new, gets these nay-sayers all riled up.
How about we as a community listen, learn, then make judgment when the facts are known. By the way, progress is not without risk. I have a favorite expression: “The risk of not taking a risk is greater than the risk of taking a risk.” In other words, if you’re not moving forward, by definition you’re going backward. Here is a group of very successful businesspeople who have absolutely nothing to gain other than make our region better.
Our community has and continues to have tremendous potential, of which we fail to take advantage. This group of citizens and the proposed project need to be fully vetted and encouraged to explore its possibilities.
Norm Porges, Modesto
Downtown signals need work
The heart of every Modestan should beat faster with the thought of a downtown sports complex. Hopefully fans can find their way there with our suggest-a-stop traffic light system.
Jack Heinsius, Modesto
Expanding NATO was mistake
In his famous 1947 “X” foreign policy article and the “Long Telegram” to the State department, George Kennan argued the West could outlive the Soviet Union by choosing a policy of steady, firm containment. We adopted that policy. Happily, Kennan was right and the Soviet Union collapsed, victim of the built-in conflicts and contradictions he knew so well.
Following that event we began expanding NATO eastward. Kennan warned such a policy showed “little understanding of Russian and Soviet history,” and that it would end in “tragic results.” Sadly, Kennan was right again. The remaining issue, just how tragic.
Let’s all pray somewhere in the 2022 corridors of power there walks a latter-day George Kennan — and someone is listening.
Steve Collins, Modesto
Subsidizing the wealthy
Re “Modesto irrigation officer explains rooftop solar tussle” (Page 7A, Feb. 18): Thank you for allowing Mr. Mensinger a significant spot to clarify some issues associated with rooftop solar. Previously, I wrote that you needed a representative from our utility, someone with knowledge of the issues, to explain the problems. Mr. Mensinger stated that MID customers are credited 7.6 cents per kilowatt-hour and receive significant government rebates and subsidies. Those wealthy enough to put solar on their homes will be responsible for repairs and maintenance. However, MID has signed contracts for utility sized solar producers for less than 4 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Why are we subsidizing those wealthy enough to install rooftop solar projects? There are more equitable, practical, reliable, and cheaper solutions that will provide reliable renewable energy.
Peter Rodgers, Hughson
On store clustering
I drive along Lander Avenue in Turlock several times a week, and have noticed that businesses are dominated by three types of merchants: smoke shops (5), liquor stores (4), and convenience stores (3). This is just in an 8/10-mile stretch from West Main to Linwood. I question the decision to approve so many of these shops for the residents of the west side of town.
I do not know how licenses and permits are issued, but I suspect it is because of the anticipated tax revenues. Tobacco use and alcohol use or abuse are responsible for the majority of preventable deaths in the United States.
Take a look around your communities and note the location of these same businesses. Is it the same for your town? Is this how we want to support our residents?
Judy Moore, Turlock
It’s about civil rights
Please don’t think I’m anti-police. But something has to be done about about the cops who violate civil rights. They think they can walk up and demand ID without suspicion of a crime. That is not true. The police cost the taxpayers because they have qualified immunity. This must stop. The reason they do this is because they are not taught civil rights. Something has to be done to stop this travesty.
We as a nation need the police. But we need it done right.
Daniel Balmain, Salida
Yay for county libraries
I think very few folks are currently aware how dependent our local primary and secondary schools and our colleges are on the county library system. The primary school districts have not had restored all the library cutbacks that occurred in the great recession of 2008. Most college students have access to our county library system, and it is a true must.
As a student at Modesto Junior College and California State University, Stanislaus, I get access to research materials not even available at those college libraries. Our county public library system supports, without duplicating, our local schools at all grade levels.
Yes, local higher education is served well by our countywide public library system. I am pleased by the vast public support put forward in approving sales tax ballot measures. This proves that our Stanislaus County library system has had wide community support in the years past, and I hope this holds true for the future.
Daniel Marsh, Modesto
Got almond milk?
I mentioned to a couple of fellow old-car guys that my wife and I switched to almond milk. To my surprise both of them said they had also. We had all been big milk drinkers, and still are, but now we support the trees, not the cows. Yes, almonds use a lot of water but not as much as cows. The larger problem is the methane which comes out both ends of cows. Methane is 75 times as potent a greenhouse gas as CO2. Manure also emits huge amounts of methane and it heats our warming planet.
Sure, we’d be better off to drink nothing but water, but almond milk is a big improvement. So let’s incentivize farmers to convert dairies to almond groves. Almond blossoms also look better and have better aroma than corrals of cow manure.
Jerry Jackman, Modesto
Support nurse wages
On Jan. 24, Rep. Harder signed on to a letter calling for increased regulation on nurse wages. I’m severely disappointed by the rhetoric of this letter, and feel his willingness to bring regulation against nurses deserves our collective scrutiny.
The staffing crisis in healthcare is bordering on catastrophic; nurses live this reality every day. The strategy to decrease costs by regulating staffing agencies is a mistake. The only outcome of legislation capping nurse pay, indirectly or directly, will be a further decrease in labor participation in bedside roles.
When considering this issue, it’s crucial to understand that hospitals decide the bill rate offered to travel nurses, not staffing agencies. Hospitals have the choice at any time to stop paying agencies exorbitant rates, and instead offer higher wages directly to their permanent employees, but they choose not to. There’s no place for profiteering in healthcare, especially during times of crisis, and our hospitals must do what’s right and invest in their permanent employees.
We cannot afford to lose more nurses.
Amanda Waymire, Salida