Letters: Soften the blow | ‘Reverse Boycott’ | Wood frames | Guarantee debate
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A’s, city can soften
the blow of a move
Sadly, it appears that the Oakland Athletics are poised to move to Las Vegas. Whatever happens with the current ill-conceived relocation plan, the team and the city should do the following.
The team should at the very least adopt a new logo or cap insignia that reflects its current home, with possibly an acorn or oak leaf motif similar to cap designs of the historical Oakland Oaks. Like the Warriors’ Oakland jersey, this would reflect at least some sensitivity to the feelings of the city’s fans and should generate merchandise reflecting their hometown spirit.
The city for its part should make every reasonable effort to maintain its options for housing potential sports franchises of at least a minor league classification. From Oakland’s earliest days, its sports teams have made significant contributions to civic pride and regional identity and this is a valuable tradition worth maintaining.
Jim Schaufele
Oakland
‘Reverse Boycott’ could
keep team in Oakland
Are the A’s moving to Vegas? At this point it is not a done deal.
To help keep the A’s in Oakland, I urge all fans to buy a ticket on June 13 to support the reverse boycott. If we pack the stadium with fans, it will show MLB and everyone else that fans support the team despite the owner.
Buy a ticket even if you can’t attend; there are cheap tickets available. MLB looks at tickets sold not the attendees.
Jim Sartor
Bay Point
Ban wood frames to
stop conflagrations
The destruction of Paradise was a once-in-a-lifetime horror show. Fingers have been pointed in several directions: Inadequate fire departments, unstoppable winds from the Feather River Canyon, too much brush, and slow public reaction times. The official death toll is an undercount.
Overlooked by the Paradise City Council was the fact that most of the fuel came from the ubiquitous lumber in the houses. Flying embers made short work of the wood-framed homes. Many local builders are repeating that mistake, and believe that minor adjustments will save them.
Many residents have taken note and, justifiably, fear the next fire that comes down the canyon. Many have chosen to move to Chico.
There is a straightforward solution: Develop building codes that prohibit lumber framing in the wilderness-urban interface.
We can do this.
Michael Roddy
Alameda
Weak legislation
needs ample debate
Susan Shelley’s rant against “blank” bills in the California legislature was music to my ears (“California’s absurd energy policies” April 22).
When I was executive director of StopWaste, a government agency serving over 1.6 million people in Alameda County, the 17-member elected governing board adopted a policy of nonsupport for legislation that had not gone through committee debate in both the Assembly and state Senate. Every stakeholder group, public and private, should adopt similar policies.
California’s energy policies are not absurd. Climate change is devastating and must be fought with strong actions. But only weak legislation needs to evade public debate.
Gary Wolff
Castro Valley