Letters to the editor | Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022: Schools should conserve water, too
Schools should conserve water, too
Why are schools in this community allowed to flood their fields, not only wasting water but creating massive swarms of potentially disease-carrying mosquitoes? Is there not a water crisis going on? The state expects residential homeowners to reduce or cut out all watering while these schools run sprinklers for hours day after day, creating mini-swamps. This is beyond ridiculous, and Enochs High’s posted signs that the sprinkler water is not potable is dumb.
Saving water should apply to all.
William Phelps, Modesto
Preparing for more drought
The Central Valley faces a major threat to our way of life in the form of climate change. We can see this with the worsening drought and drier summers. The lack of water can be felt here and across the state where farmers are losing access or being restricted in their water use. Setting aside the long history of California’s water wars and the fierce debate over dams or trains, the simple fact is that it is raining less. There is less water to go around, more people to feed and more people to consume our diminishing water supply.
Yet, the worst effects of climate change are not here yet and there are things we can do now to protect our community. We must start making wise decisions for our long-term stability. There are two things we as a community can do now to begin this process. First, we should encourage solar panel development through business and personal tax incentives. This would bring more jobs and clean power. Second, to protect farmland we must transition to sustainable farming, by growing less water-intensive crops such as almonds.
Michael Matheson, Mariposa
Don’t retry Scott Peterson
Re “He is not innocent. But Scott Peterson deserves a retrial. Here’s why” (Page 1C, Aug. 14): Garth Stapley argued that Scott Peterson deserves a new trial because his original trial was corrupted. “And 18 years ago, Geragos deserved to know Nice’s story before he chose her to sit in judgment of his infamous client.” I don’t agree. Eighteen years ago, Geragos knew precisely as much about Richelle Nice as he did any other juror under consideration: Their answers to 23 pages of questions. If he deserved to know Nice’s story, then he deserved to know every other juror’s story in equal detail.
Appeals attorneys make their living picking over the fine points of a case; in this one they have found a mistake that Nice made in filling out her questionnaire. From this, they wish to spin a story of a vengeful woman seeking to make Peterson pay for crimes committed against her. Spinning stories is part of an attorney’s art. But to make the story stick, they need to provide evidence to back it up — not just the fact that she made a mistake. It will be up to the judge hearing this matter to decide if they have done so.
William Bishop, Modesto
Peterson trial belonged in Modesto
Re “He is not innocent. But Scott Peterson deserves a retrial. Here’s why” (Page 1C, Aug. 14): Mr. Stapley’s column made sense but I find it difficult to talk about that trial without mentioning the fact that it never should have been moved. A survey taken by students at CSUS indicated that the local jury pool was tainted but the data was fraudulently recorded, to which the students would later admit. Moving the trial may not have avoided a possible retrial in the future but it cost the taxpayers millions and made people in the Central Valley look foolish.
Duke Leffler, Modesto
Room for abortion compromise
Regarding the back-and-forth debate we read in these opinion pages about abortion rights, it seems to me that many people on both sides of the question tend to take an all-or-nothing position. While all of us may never agree when human life begins, there may be areas where we can afford to compromise.
For instance, even though human DNA is formed at the moment of conception, it’s pretty hard to argue that a single-cell zygote is actually a human being. Conversely, it is also pretty hard to argue that a fetus only a few minutes away from live birth is not a human being. I think that an otherwise reasonable person who holds one of the two extreme views should be able to find some room for compromise. There would continue to be disagreements, of course, but hopefully the hateful rhetoric will taper off.
Lance Bernard, Hughson
Patti for Congress
As a congressman, Rep. Josh Harder is an unmitigated disaster — and his Aug. 12 vote on the deceptively named Inflation Reduction Act proves it big-time. It is one shameful piece of legislation. It’s become obvious that Harder will vote for any Democratic Party bill, no matter how destructive it is to the Valley or our nation. As a partisan Democrat who has voted with President Joe Biden’s agenda 100 percent of the time, Harder shares blame with old Joe for our 9.1 percent inflation, the highest in 40 years.
The act raises taxes by $470 billion, something that is stupid in boom times and idiotic in the midst of the current Biden-Harder recession. Casey Mulligan of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity says that over the next 10 years, the Inflation Reduction Act will reduce employment by 900,000 and average household income by about $1,200. It’s amazing that Harder and the Democrats could fit so much stupidity into one legislative bill.
Vote for Tom Patti.
Dave Kerst, Tracy
FBI search was legit
Re “Trump raid was inexcusable” (Letters, Aug. 14): A letter writer felt that “real” Americans shouldn’t vote for Democrats, and should leave “his” country, since the actions the DOJ took by searching Donald Trump’s home for classified documents was “a national embarrassment.”
Since the 1978 Presidential Records Act, the National Archives and Records Administration takes physical and legal control of all records at the end of each administration; yes, including Obama’s. Donald Trump chose to not give up physical control of some incredibly sensitive documents, directly affecting our national security. He evaded inquiries about them as well. Considering Trump ignored the Constitution’s emoluments clause during his entire tenure, as well as his affinity toward autocrats, it’s quite likely these documents represent serious financial gain for him, at the expense of America’s well-being. When it came to light that Trump possessed these documents, then the oaths that real Americans took, when they accepted positions to protect our country, outweighed any political or cultish ties to the leader of the GOP.
Like every other shady thing Trump does, I don’t expect a punishment that fits the crime, but I’m proud that our American democracy’s institutions are working to protect real Americans, like me.
Dean Jepson, Turlock
Trump’s rhetoric
Witch hunt! Witch hunt? Oh, wait, did they find the witch?
Steve Ringhoff, Modesto
Truly, an aberration
Re “Trump raid was inexcusable” (Letters, Aug. 14): Another delusional Trumper defending a criminal.
Trump has snubbed his nose at the law his whole life. His outrageous lies and despicable behavior are sickening. His escape from prosecution and removal from office while president are an example of ultimate white privilege. He is accused of numerous crimes of a sexual nature, and openly bragged about it. He is a blatant racist. I cannot imagine a more immoral, evil man. That he became president is surely an aberration in the history of our nation. It is a warning of what will, if left to prevail, destroy our country from within.
The so-called raid was legal and proves Trump is not above the law despite the whining of his like-minded followers.
Rita Martinez Yamaguchi, Atwater