Letters: Jail ODs | Stop rate hike | Conservative voices | Let freedom prevail | Sacred sites | Liberal policies

East Bay Times Letters to the Editor for April 9, 2023

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Lax visitor searches
contribute to jail ODs

Re: “8 fentanyl overdoses reported in February” (Page B1, March 22).

It is very sad but no wonder that Santa Rita Jail had so many fentanyl overdoses in February. As noted by the 2021-22 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury, controls to protect against weapons, drugs and other contraband being brought into Santa Rita Jail by staff and administrative visitors are weak, placing staff and detainees at risk.

In response to the grand jury, Sheriff Ahern said the type of search a visitor receives is based on who the visitor is employed by. The sheriff also stated that the employees of Alameda County who are subjected to background checks based on their employment are not subjected to an extensive search when entering the facility.

The jail authorities allow this kind of lax security even after jail employees have been caught bringing illegal drugs into the jail. This must stop immediately.

Subru Bhat
Union City

Reasons abound to stop
Central San rate hike

Oppose Central Contra Costa Sanitation District’s rate increase; submit a valid written protest by April 20.

The proposal mixes two issues: 1) permission to increase rates, and 2) creation of a new lower rate for accessory dwelling units. We should deliberate these issues separately. It is also suspicious that they need more funds while they can afford to lower rates for ADUs. Demand publication of a transparent accounting summary.

The proposed rate increase is unfair. Raising single-family home rates while creating a lower rate for ADUs is an ADU subsidy paid by single-family homeowners. Why should single-family homeowners residents pay more to flush?

This proposal would make it cheaper to operate an ADU. If you are against expanding ADUs, this is another reason to submit your valid written protest.

Matthew Robinson
Orinda

Conservative voices
flourish in media

Re: “Comic falls well short of racism” (Page A6, April 4).

Douglas Abbott says, “The public hears little to no conservative voices in the media.”

Really, Mr. Abbott? Are you not aware of Fox News, One America News, Breitbart, now-deceased Rush Limbaugh, Horn News, Epoch Times, etc.?

Conservative news far outweighs all progressive news outlets.

Robert Pinkos
Pittsburg

Freedom should prevail
in gun control debate

Re: “Repeal 2nd Amendment to make nation safer” (Page A6, March 30).

Jim Boots calls for the repeal of the Second Amendment, but I wonder if he realizes what this would require. A repeal would require the approval of no less than 38 states. So, it ain’t happening, my friends.

Now, I know that there are plenty of people, especially around here, who want to junk our system because it is so hard to amend the Constitution. But such people arrogantly presume that they know better than our founders and, indeed, most Americans until quite recently. Our founders believed in limited government, especially on the federal level, because they believed in giving the people as much freedom as possible. I, for one, am with them.

Christopher Andrus
Dublin

In U.S., sacred sites for
sale to big business

On the March 22 front page is a story about the dedication of a new national monument (“Biden creates national monument in Mojave“) in California. On the same day in section C is a story that the U.S. government plans to swap part of a national monument to two mining corporations that are incorporated in Austria and England (“Apaches tell court that copper mine would harm sacred sites,” Page C7). That land is also sacred to Native Americans.

So it seems that national monuments can be turned over to corporations anytime big-money corporations benefit from it. So much for the religious rights of our Native Americans.

Dorothy Miller
Pittsburg

Liberal policies are
increasing crime rate

Publicly available FBI statistics show a big surge in crime occurred during the 1960s after a “more lenient justice system” came into vogue. But by the 1990s, public outrage caused a reversal: more police officers were hired, bail rules were tightened and sentencing guidelines were made stricter. Crime rates, especially for violent crimes, dropped dramatically.

Now, East Bay Times readers see stories every day about freeway shootings, brazen shoplifting, “side shows,” burglaries and street robberies. Editorial page letters often point to a shortage of police (nothing discourages law enforcement careers like “defund the police”), prosecutors who do little prosecuting, “bail reform” policies letting criminals out on the street shortly after their arrest, changing the names of prisons and early releases of inmates because “our prisons are crowded.”

One wonders how long will it take this time for the citizens to realize that liberals have led us down this road before.

Mike Heller
Walnut Creek