Letters to the Editor

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A view of the House wing of the Capitol is seen before a news conference on the Epstein files Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Letters: Best way to influence Congress is to tell them what you want

Construction equipment is seen as firefighters respond to a three-alarm fire on East Lewelling Boulevard in unincorporated Ashland, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. Officials said that six people were transported to the hospital after a PG&E gas line explosion. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Public safety is lost in bureaucratic speech about gas explosion

Richmond city council candidate Eduardo Martinez is photographed on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Richmond mayor deserves praise for calling out brutality

By Letters To The Editor

December 22, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.

Also: Championing underdogs | Ability stifled | Deport undocumented. East Bay Times reader letters to...

A man walks with an Israeli flag as people gather for an “Evening of Solidarity; San Jose Stands With Israel,” at the Chabad House in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Schools must teach about evil of antisemitism

By Letters To The Editor

December 23, 2025 at 11:00 p.m.

Also: Affirming faith | Fallen state | Living with wolves | Gaza crisis | Dismantling...

Laney College football coach John Beam reacts after throwing the ceremonial first pitch before the Oakland Athletics take on the San Francisco Giants in an MLB game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2019. Beam and his Laney College football team will be featured on the next season of Netflix's hit documentary series "Last Chance U." (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Rash of shootings reflect a lack of standards

By Letters To The Editor

December 19, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.

East Bay Times reader letters to the editor for Dec. 21, 2025.

FILE – The John F. Kennedy Center Memorial Center for the Performance Arts illuminated as part of the “Nordic Cool 2013: Northern Lights” exhibit, in Washington, Feb. 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Letters: Renaming Kennedy Center is merely a marketing stunt

By Letters To The Editor

December 19, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.

Also: Cold feet | Taking a toll | Dystopian dreams | Latest shot. Mercury News...

FILE – California Gov. Gavin Newsom at a press conference to discuss the measures approved by the legislature to redraw the state’s Congressional districts and put new maps before voters in a special election, in Sacramento, Calif., Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)Gavin NEwsom

Letters: In a campaign, Newsom will have to defend his abysmal record

By Letters To The Editor

December 18, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.

Also: Menopause care | Repeating errors | Trump's hypocrisy | Lung care. East Bay Times...

FILE – Pages from the U.S. Affordable Care Act health insurance website healthcare.gov are seen on a computer screen in New York, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File)

Letters: Congress must solve Obamacare’s affordability crisis

By Letters To The Editor

December 18, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.

Also: 15-year loan | Trump's decline | Gaza health | Pair's depravity | Red Cross....

A drone view of the Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia, Calif., on Thursday, May 1, 2025. The refinery is scheduled to close by April 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: California’s vital efforts lead nation’s climate fight

By Letters To The Editor

December 16, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.

Also: Trump's disdain | Lack of empathy | Immigrants' humanity | War crime | Immigration...

(photo courtesy of the Alameda Unified School District)

Alameda school district Measures A and B1 help support professional development, above, small K-3 class sizes, high school sports, art classes and media centers, Advanced Placement courses, college and career counselors and employee salaries.

Letters: Schools must show that mental health is critical for students

By Letters To The Editor

December 16, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.

Also: Kids' needs | Invest in teachers | Collecting too little | Nuclear power |...

Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson speaks during a press conference at the Alameda County Superior Courthouse in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. Cedric Irving Jr., 27, has been charged in the fatal shooting of former football coach John Beam. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Alameda County DA should have one standard of justice

By Letters To The Editor

December 15, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.

Also: Coal terminal | Health history | Affording ACA | South America gambit. East Bay...

People wave Israeli flags during an empty Shabbat table event honoring those kidnapped by Hamas in Israel, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, Fla. The holiday of Hanukkah, Judaism's festival of lights, will be both more needed and more poignant than ever this year, say Jews from across the religious observance and political spectrum in Miami Beach and neighboring South Florida communities. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Letters: Personal history could lend understanding to students

By Letters To The Editor

December 15, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.

Also: Stop monstrosities | California leads | Languishing schools | Broader purpose | Damaged goods....

A gravel pit, left, is seen on land owned by California Capital & Investment Group CEO Phil Tagami, of Oakland, is seen along Burma Road in West Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, July 6, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Coal terminal developer must deliver on jobs

By Letters To The Editor

December 14, 2025 at 7:30 a.m.

Also: Rational change | Unfair peace | Extend credits | Health threat. East Bay Times...

Aerial view of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant which sits on the edge of the Pacific Ocean at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California on March 17, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

Letters: Nuclear power an expensive boondoggle, not cheap alternative

By Letters To The Editor

December 14, 2025 at 7:31 a.m.

Also: Hope in humanity | Sober housing | Dire effect | Illegal orders | Improve...

In the fall of 2023, Laney coach John Beam speaks with Oakland Section commissioner Franky Navarro before the Silver Bowl, the annual McClymonds vs Oakland Tech game and the Oakland Athletic League football championship game at McClymonds High School in Oakland. Beam was shot on Thursday and has died at the age of 66. (Joseph Dycus/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: John Beam’s real gift was teaching accountability

By Letters To The Editor

December 12, 2025 at 4:15 a.m.

Also: Bird threat | Leash dogs | 'Unitary Executive' | Protect agencies | Above the...

Last year, President Donald Trump, left, became the first GOP presidential candidate in 20 years to win Riverside and San Bernardino counties. But this month, a majority of Inland voters cast ballots in favor of Proposition 50, a congressional redistricting plan championed by Trump nemesis and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Trump photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Newsom photo by José Luis Villegas/The Sacramento Bee/TNS)

Letters: Gavin Newsom isn’t the main mudslinger in Trump spat

By Letters To The Editor

December 12, 2025 at 4:16 a.m.

Also: Blight fight | Adult charges | Selling out | Prescription for disaster | Winterizing...

TAMPA, FL – OCTOBER 22: Voting booths are setup at the Yuengling center on the campus of University of South Florida as workers prepare to open the doors to early voters on October 22, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. Florida voters head to the polls to cast their early ballots in the race for the Senate as well as the Governors seats. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Letters: One party dominates California’s elections

By Letters To The Editor

December 10, 2025 at 4:12 a.m.

Also: Healthy choice | Canceling coins | Skewed picture. East Bay Times reader letters to...

Residents leave a polling place after voting in the state’s primary election on April 2, 2024, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images North America/TNS)

Letters: Rishi Kumar is best pick for Assessor’s Office

By Letters To The Editor

December 10, 2025 at 4:15 a.m.

Also: Parallel stories | Bad advice | Healthier democracy | New controversies | Step up....

Letters: Lawsuit shows Congress must fully fund EPA in budget

By Letters To The Editor

December 9, 2025 at 4:13 a.m.

Also: No more taxes | Trump's hypocrisy | Clinging to power | Playing appeaser. East...

SoCal Edison workers replace burnt power poles and run new lines along Highway 74 near Mountain Center after the Cranston fire in Idyllwild on Monday, July 30, 2018. Destroyed lines have cut off power to much of Anza. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Letters: Newsom’s recent veto slows move to cheap, green power

By Letters To The Editor

December 9, 2025 at 4:14 a.m.

Also: Tax jump | Bike lanes | Vote them out | Drug fight | Losing...

US President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet Meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC on December 2, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)

Letters: Paper will publish positive Trump stories when there are some

By Letters To The Editor

December 7, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.

Also: Juvenile criminals. East Bay Times reader letters to the editor for Dec. 7, 2025.

Restoration work in pond A2W, a former industrial salt pond that is being converted back to wetlands on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, in Mountain View, Calif. The 435-acre project involves moving 180,000 cubic yards of dirt, operating a floating crane and conveyer belt, and building 5 islands as part of the decades long South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Spread restoration resources around bay shoreline

By Letters To The Editor

December 7, 2025 at 9:04 a.m.

Also: Inherited property | Tax break | Decentralized power | Sanctioned violence | Motives questioned....

WALNUT CREEK, CA - MARCH 3: A voter information guide is photographed at a polling station in Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Walnut Creek, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Prop. 19 article’s real point was about clear ballot language

By Letters To The Editor

December 5, 2025 at 4:18 a.m.

Also: Nuclear alternative | Trump distraction | Stopping cartels | Undermining peace. East Bay Times...

A sign is posted in front of a home for sale on Aug. 7, 2024, in San Anselmo, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS)

Letters: Inherited California properties shouldn’t get tax breaks

By Letters To The Editor

December 5, 2025 at 4:19 a.m.

Also: Neutral synopses | Improve training | Family housing | Reassert standing | Ruining military....

FILE – A for sale sign stands outside a single-family residence on the market May 22, 2024, in southeast Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Letters: Tweaking Proposition 19 could hurt other taxpayers

By Letters To The Editor

December 3, 2025 at 4:13 a.m.

Also: Boat strikes | Negative tone. East Bay Times reader letters to the editor for...

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office seized firearms, ammunition, tactical gear and pills that appeared to contain fentanyl as part of an investigation into online threats and the firing of a gun inside an apartment in Millbrae. A 27-year-old man was also arrested on Thursday, Aug. 22, 20245. (San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office)

Letters: When will our legislators act to reduce gun violence?

By Letters To The Editor

December 3, 2025 at 4:14 a.m.

Also: Accommodate safety | Troubling pardon | Trump's cruelty | Concerning quip. Mercury News reader...

A summer day draws a crowd to Main Beach in 2023 as visitors enjoy the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster and other rides at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel file)

Letters: There are good reasons for California’s high cost of living

By Letters To The Editor

December 2, 2025 at 4:25 a.m.

Also: Equal taxes | Full picture | Stand by Ukraine | Misleading numbers | Trump's...

FILE – Old-growth Douglas fir trees stand along the Salmon River Trail, June 25, 2004, in Mt. Hood National Forest outside Zigzag, Ore. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Letters: Bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act is good start for fire safety

By Letters To The Editor

December 2, 2025 at 4:27 a.m.

Also: Jobless program | Out of reach | Thankful for incompetence | White nationalism |...

The San Francisco Unicorns and the Washington Freedom play during the inaugural Major League Cricket opener at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Fremont cricket field critics fear the unknown

By Letters To The Editor

December 1, 2025 at 4:43 a.m.

Also: Oakland's health | Mastering spelling | Costly principles. East Bay Times reader letters to...

Federal law enforcement agents fire at demonstrators protesting outside of an immigration processing center on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview, Illinois. The demonstrators, protesting a recent surge in ICE activity in the Chicago area, were pushed back from the facility with a barrage of "less lethal" munitions including stinger ball grenades, pepper balls, tear gas and baton rounds. (Scott Olson/Getty Images/TNS)

Letters: We must keep pressure on lawless ICE agents

By Letters To The Editor

December 1, 2025 at 4:44 a.m.

Also: Include all | Prosecute lawbreakers | Put victory first | Favoring Putin. Mercury News...

Rush-hour traffic moves through the intersection of Treat Boulevard and Jones Road in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Walnut Creek bike path plan doesn’t enhance safety

By Letters To The Editor

November 26, 2025 at 3:52 a.m.

Also: Out of step | Health care | Third term | Move comic. East Bay...

Volunteers give out a Thanksgiving meal to a homeless man during the 31st Annual Community Day of Thanks Dinner at the Oakland Marriott City Center in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. The event was hosted by the City of Oakland’s Human Services Department and the Jeweld Legacy group and has many local sponsors. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Despite nation’s division, let’s be grateful for what we have

By Letters To The Editor

November 26, 2025 at 3:53 a.m.

Also: Inspiring gratitude | December election | No going back | Airport efforts | Autocrats'...

San Francisco downtown skyline. The office markets in downtown Oakland is
the nation’s tightest, according to a new CBRE survey -- and San Francisco
is close behind in low downtown vacancies. So that means tighter than
Manhattan Midtown, Manhattan South, Boston and other famed office markets
on the East Coast. The downtown San Jose office market has more vacancies
than its two big neighbors.

YouTube

Letters: ‘Progressive’ parcel tax would backfire on Oakland residents

By Letters To The Editor

November 24, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.

Also: Criminal justice | Hayward budget | Immigration policy | Opposition over balance. East Bay...

FILE - In this May 21, 2015 file photo, David Ledig, a national monument manager from the Bureau of Land Management, walks past rocks covered in oil at Refugio State Beach, north of Goleta, Calif. Cleanup work continues one month after the May 19 oil spill north of Santa Barbara, Calif. The ruptured pipeline released up to 101,000 gallons of crude including 21,000 gallons that flowed into a storm drain and out into the Santa Barbara Channel.(AP Photo/Jae Hong, File)

Letters: Trump ignores state’s tragic history with offshore drilling

By Letters To The Editor

December 2, 2025 at 7:23 a.m.

Also: Leadership impresses | Hurting kids | Silent GOP | Industry favored | Work for...

Indigenous activists participate in a climate protest during the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit

Letters: The U.S. had nothing to gain by attending climate conference

By Letters To The Editor

November 21, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.

Also: Opinionated comic | Sour shutdown | Fix Prop. 13 | Progressive tax. East Bay...

Sky Roberts, brother of prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, speaks as his wife Amanda holds her photograph during a news conference as the House prepares to vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., listen at right. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Letters: Epstein files release means victims and women have finally been heard

By Letters To The Editor

November 21, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.

Also: Johnson's job | No conspiracy | Screens and students | Special needs. Mercury News...

Rita Speech, who lives at a homeless encampment across the street, lights candles at a memorial for former Laney College football coach John Beam outside the school’s athletic facility on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. Beam was fatally shot at the facility on Nov. 13. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Alameda County should stop coddling criminals

By Letters To The Editor

November 20, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.

Also: No substitute | Healthy diets? | Playing system | Energy costs | No evidence....

At Therese of Carmel Church in Carmel Valley, Bishop Michael Pham, 58, during mass services, where earlier he was installed as the new bishop who will lead Catholics in San Diego and Imperial Counties. Pham becomes the first Vietnamese-American bishop to head a U.S. diocese and the seventh bishop of the Diocese of San Diego. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Letters: Nation should heed bishops’ words on immigrants

By Letters To The Editor

November 20, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.

Also: Migrant community | Lack of pride | Cause and effect | Helix discovery |...

President Donald Trump speaks before signing the funding bill to reopen the government, in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Letters: Why doesn’t Trump sue Texas over voting maps?

By Letters To The Editor

November 26, 2025 at 10:46 a.m.

Also: OK with Trump | Hurting vulnerable | Tragic turn | Clear record | 'Mallard...

A protester engages a street vendor on Bancroft Way selling Trump and Charlie Kirk merchandise on Bancroft Way after the “This Is the Turning Point” campus tour event at the University of California, Berkeley, in Berkeley, Calif., Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (Douglas Despres / for the Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Allowing free speech at Berkeley is better than a brawl

By Letters To The Editor

November 26, 2025 at 10:45 a.m.

Also: Failing students | More than talk | Disingenuous speech | Diet change | Democratic...

A person selling Turning Point merchandise is arrested after getting into a confrontation with a protester in front of the “This Is the Turning Point" campus tour event at the University of California, Berkeley, in Berkeley, Calif., Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (Douglas Despres/for the Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Turning Point fracas at Cal bodes ill for free speech

By Letters To The Editor

November 17, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.

Also: Clean air | Safety at stake | Third term | Maritime killings | Health...

An empty ESL class is seen after students left at Jewish Family Services in Los Gatos, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: The classroom is no place for teachers’ politics

By Letters To The Editor

November 17, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.

Also: CEOs benefit | Setting the tone | Tighten security | Workers' bonuses | Minimizing...

A protest crowd holds a banner reading “TPUSA OUT OF THE BAY” against the “This Is the Turning Point” campus tour event at the University of California, Berkeley, in Berkeley, Calif., Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (Douglas Despres / for the Bay Area News Group)

Letters: UC Berkeley offers too little security at conservative event

By Letters To The Editor

November 17, 2025 at 2:12 a.m.

Also: Cloaked in mystery | Epstein files | Democrats' policy | Expand MPAs | Santos...

Piles of debris are visible on a blighted site at 100 North Fourth Street near East St. John Street in downtown San Jose. Photo taken on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: S.J. leaders must keep downtown construction rolling

By Letters To The Editor

November 17, 2025 at 2:12 a.m.

Also: Robotaxi planning | Paying Congress | Cost of living | Punishing Americans | No...

FILE – SNAP EBT information sign is displayed at a gas station in Riverwoods, Ill., Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, file)

Letters: Waste and fraud have ruined the SNAP program

By Letters To The Editor

November 13, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.

Also: Not critical | Flip attitude | Pointing to plutocracy | Lacking context | Creating...

Christina Shareel wears the Got The Dot mascot costume during the grand opening of OneLegacy’s new donor recovery center in Azusa on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. The facility will triple OneLegacy’s recovery capacity for organs intended for transplant. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Letters: House bill needs support in order to save lives

By Letters To The Editor

November 14, 2025 at 5:26 a.m.

Also: Organ donors | Canceled concert | Weigh harm | Shine light | Orchestrating chaos....

When the federal government announced a suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in late October, Concord-based nonprofit White Pony Express (WPE) launched a food drive running now through Nov. 30 across Contra Costa County. Above, Mark from Mark’s Ministries uses WPE food to prepare and hand-deliver more than 600 meals each week to unhoused neighbors in Concord, Pleasant Hill and Martinez. (photo courtesy of White Pony Express)

Letters: Let’s hold the government accountable for SNAP fiasco

By Letters To The Editor

November 12, 2025 at 4:19 a.m.

Also: Nation's values | Similar spirit | Nonsensical attack | Unelected term. East Bay Times...

Apple CEO Tim Cook gifts President Trump a plaque with a 24-karat gold base in the Oval Office of the White House in August.

Letters: Valley bosses’ legacies will be bending the knee

By Letters To The Editor

November 12, 2025 at 4:21 a.m.

Also: Student food benefits | More housing | Wins in class | New leaders |...

People gather for the No Kings protest at St. James Park in downtown San Jose on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: ‘No Kings’ real success was in energizing resistance

By Letters To The Editor

November 11, 2025 at 4:15 a.m.

Also: How we move | Undermining rights | Ignorant voters | Destructive shutdowns | Beef...

Attendees share a laugh with 102-year-old WWII and D-Day Landing US veteran Jake Larson, also known as "Papa Jake", before a memorial ceremony held as part of the 81st anniversary of the World War II D-Day Allied landings in Normandy, at the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, north-western France, on June 6, 2025. (Photo by Lou BENOIST / AFP) (Photo by LOU BENOIST/AFP via Getty Images)

Letters: Let’s thank and remember the veterans who have kept us free

By Letters To The Editor

November 11, 2025 at 4:20 a.m.

Also: Free speech | Voting maps | What's missing | Americans pay | Maritime killings....

The polls are open at the Millennium Biltmore Tower in Los Angeles, one of 140 additional vote centers opened for a statewide special election on congressional districting, adding to the 111 sites Los Angeles County established for the Nov. 4 election, on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)

Letters: This election repudiates Donald Trump and his policies

By Letters To The Editor

November 9, 2025 at 5:11 a.m.

Also: Democratic socialism | The best thing | Federal rules | Progressive tide | Gaza...

Diana Vallorz, co-owner of own Tony & Alba’s Pizza and Pasta, hands a free pizza to Suzie Rivera, 6, from Campbell, next to her mother Amber, at the the restaurant in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. They are giving away free meals to kids and discounting meals for their parents due to the federal government shutdown which is affecting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: We can all come together to support the hungry

By Letters To The Editor

November 9, 2025 at 5:13 a.m.

Also: Food waste | Slush fund | Blow for truth | AI and education |...

A bill that would boost wages and improve working conditions for California’s fast-food workers has been put on hold until the November 2024 election when voters will decide its outcome.
Fast-food workers from around the state gathered outside the office of state Sen. Dave Mins, D-Irvine last year seeking support for AB 257. (File photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Letters: Democracy looks a lot like California

By Letters To The Editor

November 7, 2025 at 4:36 a.m.

Also: Vote for disenfranchisement | GOP reform | Still a comic | Congress pay |...

Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong fixes a sign while waiting for early results at a Measure A watch party at Copita Tequileria y Comida in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Voters need assurance that Measure A funds will be spent properly

By Letters To The Editor

November 6, 2025 at 4:03 p.m.

Also: Guard funds | Democrats' wins | Time for reflection | GOP plan | Destroying...

Crowds gather at downtown San Jose’s St. James Park on June 14, 2025 as part of the nationwide “No Kings” demonstration. (Lauren Uppal / Mosaic)

Letters: Who cares about ‘No Kings’? Millions of Americans.

By Letters To The Editor

November 5, 2025 at 4:28 a.m.

Also: Restore rules | Stripping dignity | Milking shutdown | Engage on SALT. East Bay...

FILE--Haze hangs heavy over the skyline of Oakland, Calif.,in this Dec. 7, 2000 file photo. Normally, from this vantage point, the city of San Francisco would be visible behind Oakland's downtown. The state Air Resources Board was set to vote on an air pollution cleanup plan for the Bay Area that federal clean air officials already have said isn't adequate to address smog problems. (AP Photo/The Oakland Tribune, D. Ross Cameron, File)

Letters: Expanded Spare the Air Alerts deserve Bay Area support

By Letters To The Editor

November 5, 2025 at 4:29 a.m.

Also: Stick to job | Trading their souls | Stable solutions | Visible resources |...

Traffic is backed up on I-880 northbound after a tanker truck carrying 1,000 gallons of fuel crashed after the 23rd Avenue overpass in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, May 12, 2011. The crash happened at about 12:45 p.m. and blocked multiple lanes of traffic, according to the California Highway Patrol. (Ray Chavez/Staff)

Letters: Ending the truck ban on I-580 will only spread the pain

By Letters To The Editor

November 2, 2025 at 6:47 a.m.

Also: New era | Trump ballroom | Zoning fees | TV shakedown | Inspiring fear...

Dogs look out from their cages at San Jose Animal Care Center on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, in San Jose, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: San Jose animal shelter still turning deaf ear to community

By Letters To The Editor

November 2, 2025 at 6:48 a.m.

Also: Reclaiming Pepe | ICE raids | Mental health | Wrecking ball | Ill omen....

A woman scrolls the Chinese social networking and e-commerce app Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, in Beijing on January 15. The app has taken off in the United States ahead of the likely ban of TikTok.

Letters: E-commerce needs smart trade policy to thrive

By Letters To The Editor

October 31, 2025 at 4:32 a.m.

Also: Another controversy | Cement benefits | Prop up SNAP. East Bay Times reader letters...

Vice President Kamala Harris stands with California Gov. Gavin Newsom during a campaign event at the IBEW-NECA Joint Apprenticeship Training Center in San Leandro, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Letters: Democrats need a candidate, not a careerist

By Letters To The Editor

October 31, 2025 at 4:35 a.m.

Also: Ukraine's kids | Terrorism by Israel | Complete victory | SF homelessness. Mercury News...

Republican Max Hsia displays a sign opposing Prop 50 at his Charlie Kirk-style “prove me wrong” booth set up in the parking lot of a Bass Pro Shops in San Jose on Oct. 14, 2025. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Vote no on the unfair Proposition 50

By Letters To The Editor

October 29, 2025 at 4:36 a.m.

Also: Private donors | Celebrating slaughter | Food programs | Tough on crime? | Health...

A sample ballot is pictured before early voting starts in California’s statewide special election, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Paula Ulichney-Munoz)

Letters: Vote yes on Prop. 50 and stand up for democracy

By Letters To The Editor

October 29, 2025 at 4:41 a.m.

Also: Qualified assessor | Santa Cruz rail | ACA cost | Help needy | Not...

Several Demonstrators dressed in inflatable costumes take part in the No Kings protest in Oakland, Calif. on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 (Ray Chavez/ Bay Area News Group)

Letters: ‘No Kings’ offers us a chance to forge the America we want

By Letters To The Editor

October 28, 2025 at 3:13 a.m.

Also: Vitriolic strips | Extra-judicial killings | Protect ocean | Mind readers. East Bay Times...

FILE- In this Sept. 25, 2012, file photo, Cherry Hill Township Police Officer Patrick Higgins takes part in a stun gun training session at the Gloucester Township, N.J., Police Training Facility. After France banned police chokeholds, the government responded to growing officer discontent by announcing it would test stun guns for wider use, adding to the ranks of European law enforcement agencies that have recently adopted the weapons that many in the U.S. equate with excess police violence. (Chris LaChall/Camden Courier-Post via AP, File)

Letters: Our jails are no place for stun guns

By Letters To The Editor

October 28, 2025 at 3:14 a.m.

Also: Apology owed | Perfect mix | Co-equal branch | Garish tribute | Perfect metaphor....

Printed materials in support of Proposition 50 wait to be viewed and distributed by volunteers at Bushrod Park in Oakland,

Letters: Vote yes on Prop. 50 to foil Donald Trump’s policies

By Letters To The Editor

October 26, 2025 at 12:12 p.m.

Also: Underrepresentation | East Wing razed | Coastal waters | 'Rural consciousness.' East Bay Times...

George Sakkestad/Staff Photographer, File photo Measure A, the five-year sales tax increase on the Nov. 4 special election ballot, would add another five-eighths of a cent to each dollar of taxable goods, pushing the total rate to 10% or more in most of Santa Clara County.

Letters: No guarantees, no spending cuts, no on Measure A

By Letters To The Editor

October 26, 2025 at 6:11 a.m.

Also: Fire resilient | AWS outage | Touting socialism | Pricey ACA | Resist Trump....

A rendering of the proposed hydrogen power plant in Lodi, which would have provided clean power to the Port of Oakland and Silicon Valley Power. A $1.2 billion federal grant for the project was terminated two days into the government shutdown. (Courtesy of GHD)

Letters: California should redirect federal taxes to projects hit by cuts

By Letters To The Editor

October 24, 2025 at 4:31 a.m.

Also: Older fight | Prop. 50 | Out of grasp | Nixon-era policy | U.S....

Rishi Kumar, a candidate for Santa Clara County assessor, speaks to the media during a No on Measure A press conference in front of the Santa Clara County Government Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025.

Letters: Measure A lacks guardrails for the funds

By Letters To The Editor

October 24, 2025 at 4:34 a.m.

Also: Saving lives | Long-planned tax | Unconvinced | Time for action | Safe batteries...

Thousands of demonstrators take part in the No Kings protest against President Donald Trump’s authoritarian policies in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. The march began at Wilma Chan Park and ended at the Lake Merritt amphitheater, where Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, and other community members delivered speeches. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Let’s build on momentum of ‘No Kings’ rallies

By Letters To The Editor

October 22, 2025 at 4:41 a.m.

Also: Stay engaged | Serious reaction | Misguided strike | Trump's childishness | Protecting birds....

Protesters, including one dressed as a frog, listen to speakers during a No Kings protest at St. James Park in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: ‘No Kings’ rallies featured patriotism on parade

By Letters To The Editor

October 22, 2025 at 4:42 a.m.

Also: Sane sanctuary | Prop. 50 | Measure A | ICE tactics | Hate speech....

Bay Area protestors rally at the No Kings protest in Walnut Creek in June. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: The president should not be an enemy to half the nation

By Letters To The Editor

October 21, 2025 at 4:12 a.m.

Also: BART reliability | Yes on Prop. 50 | No on Prop. 50 | Legal...

Dogs look out from their cages at San Jose Animal Care Center on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, in San Jose, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: San Jose’s new shelter director offers a fresh start

By Letters To The Editor

October 21, 2025 at 4:13 a.m.

Also: Measure A | Stabilize salaries | Real antisemitism | Choose life | Second fiddle....

President Donald Trump listens during an event in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Letters: Trump succeeds in Mideast where diplomats have failed

By Letters To The Editor

October 18, 2025 at 3:44 p.m.

Also: Help the poor | Boost global fund | Childish ploy | Climate solutions. East...

Passengers look on as a BART train won’t stop at the Rockridge BART station due to a systemwide closure that affected all BART stations early Friday, March 9, 2025, as seen from Oakland, Calif. The train ran an inspection to verify the systemwide before carrying passengers at BART stations before 9:20 am, when the closure ended. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Bay Area leaders must act to stabilize BART

By Letters To The Editor

October 18, 2025 at 3:45 p.m.

Also: SJSU enrollment | Divisive video | Rate hike? | Safe streets | Expensive mistake....

The U.S. Capitol is silhouetted by the stark glare of the morning sun as a government shutdown begins its tenth day, in Washington, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Letters: Proposition 50 is unfair and unnecessary

By Letters To The Editor

October 16, 2025 at 4:58 p.m.

Also: Lacking nuance | Porter's debacle | Healthy options | Federal workers | Leaders posturing....

A for rent sign displayed outside of Saratoga Plaza apartments in San Jose. In August, rent saw its biggest year-over-year decline in 27 months, dropping by 3.1% in the San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara metro area. (Randy Vazquez/ Bay Area News Group)

Letters: San Jose’s minimum wage should be a living wage

By Letters To The Editor

October 16, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.

Also: County spending | F for democracy | Keep it simple | ICE actions |...

Tom Steyer is seen here at the 2024 TIME Earth Awards Gala in New York in April 2024. Steyer announced on October 9 that he would spend $12 million backing California Democrats’ redistricting push this fall.

Letters: Left-wing billionaires are pushing Proposition 50

By Letters To The Editor

October 15, 2025 at 4:15 a.m.

Also: Economic might | Dual citizenship | Cal support | Denounce RFK Jr. East Bay...

Lexington Reservoir at 23% capacity in 2021. After the recent storms, the Santa Clara Valley Water District will vote on a plan to end the drought emergency declaration. (Santa Clara Valley Water District)

Letters: Will California data centers cut their water use during a drought?

By Letters To The Editor

October 15, 2025 at 4:16 a.m.

Also: CEQA amendments | Ensuring peace | Moderate AI | Joint venture. Mercury News reader...

FILE – Amazon Web Services data center is seen on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Boardman, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Letters: Tricky numbers make AI centers seem thirsty

By Letters To The Editor

October 14, 2025 at 4:30 a.m.

Also: Under-representation | Plainly unfair | Jail spending | Clean and safe | Barriers to...

A video frame from an ALERTCalifornia camera of the start of the Gifford Fire in both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (ALERTCalifornia)

Letters: Federal law would help fire safety in California

By Letters To The Editor

October 14, 2025 at 4:32 a.m.

Also: Law's meaning | Mantle of responsibility | Future damage | Economy's foundation | Peace...

An aerial view of the 13 area in Alameda Point where a nuclear fusion plant would be built near the San Francisco Bay ferry dock in Alameda, according to a decision by the council earlier this summer.. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Alameda and Livermore are spared fusion folly

By Letters To The Editor

October 13, 2025 at 4:37 a.m.

Also: Skewed attacks | Ceasefire's success | 'Steer tailing' ban | Pressing question. East Bay...

Mailers about Prop 50 in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Prop. 50 is a counter to Texas’ redrawn map

By Letters To The Editor

October 13, 2025 at 4:37 a.m.

Also: Paid parking | Palestinians' plight | Pressure on parks | Students belong | Diwali...

Mailers about Prop 50 in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Prop. 50 is about preserving fair representation

By Letters To The Editor

October 10, 2025 at 4:36 a.m.

Also: Fair rules | Big Oil | Support majors | Remove comic | Deserving better...

Firefighters from throughout Alameda County take part in a prescribed burn and training session at Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Area on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Pleasanton, Calif. The fire training burned approximately 25 acres of grassland in the western area of the East Bay Regional Park District’s Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Area. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Prescribed burns help homeowners and the environment

By Letters To The Editor

October 10, 2025 at 4:37 a.m.

Also: AI threat | Foster institutions | Forum for regret | Early voting | Don't...

Proposition 13 on 40th anniversary

Letters: Fair corporate taxes could bail out cities like Oakland

By Letters To The Editor

October 9, 2025 at 4:22 p.m.

Also: Geneva Conventions | American Reich | Political violence | American values. East Bay Times...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom attends a bill signing event related to redrawing the state’s congressional maps in Sacramento, California, on August 21, 2025.

Letters: Gavin Newsom’s funding threat sounds like simple extortion

By Letters To The Editor

October 8, 2025 at 4:09 a.m.

Also: Terrorizing immigrants | ICE aggression | 1-2 punch | ACA subsidies. Mercury News reader...

A large fire burns inside of the Chevron Refinery in El Segundo on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)

Letters: Refinery closures, explosion guarantee a gas crunch

By Letters To The Editor

October 7, 2025 at 4:19 a.m.

Also: Prop. 13 reform | Newsom's pettiness | Affordable housing | Oak Flat | Like...

FILE - In this March 25, 2015 file photo, Margot Riphagen of New Orleans, La., wears a birth control pills costume during a protest in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. A U.S. judge will hear arguments Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, over California's attempt to block new rules by the Trump administration that would allow more employers to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women. The new rules are set to go into effect on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Letters: 60 years on, we’re still protecting access to contraception

By Letters To The Editor

October 7, 2025 at 4:20 a.m.

Also: Zhao for assessor | No elections? | Misplaced anger | World's distaste | Dim...

In this image from video provided by Washington University, researcher Nicolas Barthelemy works on a p-tau217 test for Alzheimer's disease at a laboratory in St. Louis, Mo., on Monday, July 27, 2020. Several companies and universities have developed versions of these tests, which look for a form of tau protein, one of the substances that can build up and damage the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. (Huy Mach/University of Washington via AP)

Letters: Alzheimer’s research must have funding

By Letters To The Editor

October 4, 2025 at 2:09 p.m.

Also: Broad ban | Founders' intent | Comey's misdeeds | Rein in Trump. East Bay...

Five Wounds Portuguese National Church in San Jose will be celebrated
with 100th anniversary events the weekend of July 13-14, 2019. (Sal
Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Proposed building heights would dwarf Five Wounds Church

By Letters To The Editor

October 4, 2025 at 2:10 p.m.

Also: Right response | VA spin | Tariff fallout | Raising specter | Heal division....

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Letters: We must wake Congress to the danger of Donald Trump

By Letters To The Editor

October 3, 2025 at 3:37 a.m.

Also: Abandoning law | Protect Antioch | Opponents silenced | Easy on Trump | No...

President Donald Trump is greeted by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth before speaking to a gathering of top U.S. military commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Quantico, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Letters: Trump’s police state isn’t on anyone’s wish list

By Letters To The Editor

October 3, 2025 at 3:39 a.m.

Also: Remove cameras | Becoming a despot | Obstructing views | Trump's level | Party...

SJM-L-PROP50-0927-90

Letters: More important than cash, Prop. 50 has support of people

By Letters To The Editor

October 1, 2025 at 4:17 a.m.

Also: Pulling back | Widen Highway 4 | Religious violence | Positive leadership | UN...

President Donald Trump addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Letters: Donald Trump’s hubris on display during UN speech

By Letters To The Editor

October 1, 2025 at 4:21 a.m.

Also: Parking options | Davis' resolve | Trump's palace | Double standard | President preparing....

Mailers about Prop 50 in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Voters should say no to the tyranny of the masses

By Letters To The Editor

September 29, 2025 at 6:07 p.m.

Also: Only choice | Extraordinary times | Resilient kids | Big tech. East Bay Times...

FILE - In this May 21, 2008 file photo, Marco DelTreste, left, and Arsenio Patricio install solar panels on the roof of a home in Newburgh, N.Y. A string of deals involving rooftop solar companies has shown both the appeal and potential of the business _ and limits to investor enthusiasm. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

Letters: California isn’t making the most of rooftop solar

By Letters To The Editor

September 29, 2025 at 6:08 p.m.

Also: Texas urges yes | Double standard | Rewriting history | Supreme Court | Disbar...

BART Police Deputy Chief Kevin Franklin takes part in a media event on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Where’s the accountability for BART’s police chief?

By Letters To The Editor

September 27, 2025 at 4:23 a.m.

Also: Survival for success | Health blueprint | Traffic safety | Renew PTCs | Global...

Football fans stand during the playing of the national anthem before their NFL game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

Letters: Enmity for 49ers clouds Santa Clara mayor’s financial vision

By Letters To The Editor

September 27, 2025 at 4:24 a.m.

Also: Community safety | Agents' faces | Fighting chance | Rhetoric of hate | Internet...

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster doses at a clinic in San Rafael in 2021. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

Letters: Kennedy’s allies are fostering uncertainty in vaccines

By Letters To The Editor

September 24, 2025 at 5:18 a.m.

Also: Trumping speech | Gaza slaughter | Trojan horse. East Bay Times reader letters to...

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