Letters: Pacheco Dam | Climate contradiction | Tinted windows | Causes unaddressed | Illegitimate court? | Moral failing

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Leaders must put stop
to costly Pacheco Dam

I write today to encourage the voters of Santa Clara County to join San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and the Coalition to Stop the Pacheco Dam Project in opposing the “boondoggle” that is the Pacheco Dam Project.

Not since the high-speed rail project have we seen such an infringement on property rights (private land being condemned) and such a grandiose amount of wasted funds that could better be allocated to other projects.

I agree that we need more water storage and solutions. The $2.12 billion price tag is wasteful spending for a project that will add virtually no water to our county’s supply, while other better projects exist.

Join me in encouraging the Santa Clara Valley Water District to stop the Pacheco Dam project and reinvest in more efficient projects.

Peter Kuo
Santa Clara

State housing push
contradicts climate fight

Sen. Bob Wieckowski’s oped about how wonderful California’s Legislature is in planning to spend lots of money to help our state’s natural resources withstand wildfires and climate change (“California going back to nature to confront climate change,” Page A18, Nov. 28)  is nice but hypocritical.

The state is requiring local cities and towns to build millions of new homes (Housing Elements, RHNA, SB 9) involving cutting down trees and vegetation on site and millions of trees in forests to provide the lumber to build.  This is really going to fight climate change?

Valerie Baldwin
Portola Valley

Ban tinted windows
for safer streets

In light of recent traffic fatalities, there is something we can do to make life a little easier for people who share the streets with drivers of motor vehicles. I think the state of California should make tinted windshields and driver-side windows illegal.

As a cyclist, I always try to make eye contact with a driver near me. With tinted windows, it interrupts the orderly flow of traffic since I can’t get the visual queue that I am seen. Making visual contact with motorists and getting the acknowledgment that one is seen is crucial to survival on our streets.

Brian Cilker
Los Altos

Flash-mob crime’s true
causes unaddressed

Re. “Flash-mob robberies: The social covenant shatters,” Page A7, Dec. 3:

Leonard Pitts’ column asserts that recent “flash mob” robberies are symptomatic of the pervasive Wild West lawlessness and breakdown of social covenants that has arisen in America.  He then attempts to identify contributing causes which deserve to be expounded upon.

Pitts glosses over the contribution of months of BLM social unrest where rampant mob vigilantism led to extended riots with lives lost, businesses looted, statues toppled, freeways blocked, entire city blocks occupied, and police stations, courthouses, and federal buildings vandalized while rallying to “Defund the Police.” Pitts overlooks prominent politicians who spearheaded efforts to raise bail for arrested rioters while vilifying law enforcement at every opportunity.  Pitts fails to mention politicians who encourage and condone breaking immigration laws by offering sanctuary, voting rights, driver’s licenses, stimulus payments and restitution to illegal immigrants.

So Pitts is correct that lawlessness is degrading American society but biased, disingenuous and deceptive about identifying the contributing factors.

Thomas Roth
Morgan Hill

Investigate and fix
illegitimate high court

The 6-3 Supreme Court majority heading toward removing constitutional protections for a woman’s right to an abortion would not exist without the three Trump appointments, and Donald Trump would not have been president without his campaign receiving foreign assistance. The Supreme Court that is about to regress America by generations is therefore illegitimate and does not deserve respect or authority.

Instead, we must investigate how the current court got into power, who enabled and benefited from it, and then fix it by expanding the court or removing problematic justices. The American people deserve a court that focuses on justice and civil rights, not narrow special interests from shadowy donors.

Mathew Clark
Campbell

Court has revealed
its own moral failing

Obviously, abortion is morally repugnant to many Americans. But whether pro or con regarding Roe, recent oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court revealed a morally repugnant side of two justices.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh received Susan Collins’ vote after “assuring” her that precedent should be a guiding force for the court. But his comments on Monday revealed his lie to Sen.Collins. He is prepared to overturn precedent in Roe. A justice who lies to obtain his seat on the nation’s highest court does not deserve that seat.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s comments revealed not a lie but a lack of basic humanity. Requiring a woman to bear a child, saying she could then turn in said child to a safe center for adoption, ignores a woman’s mental state during and after pregnancy, not a very admirable trait in a woman who professes to be a staunch Christian.

So sad for our country’s highest court.

Lorraine D’Ambruoso
San Jose