Letters: MTC tax proposal | South Bay jewel | Creating danger | Tuition hike | Using leverage | Array of technology

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MTC should invest in
transit, not impose fees

I am disappointed to learn about the San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s proposal to implement a per-mile fee on major highways. Many people rely on highways to commute to work, and due to the underdeveloped state of our public transportation system and the size of the Bay Area, it’s impossible for people to travel without driving on highways.

We need a more effective transportation system that will incentivize individuals to use public transportation, rather than punishing them for using the only transportation that is available to them. Not only will this reduce the number of cars on the road by allowing large amounts of people that are going to the same place to travel together, but it will also lessen traffic pollution and long commute times that many people are struggling with.

The MTC should invest in infrastructure that supports efficient transportation rather than implementing tolls.

Itay Nemet
San Jose

Supervisors preserve
a South Bay jewel

Re: “County kills Coyote Valley development” (Page B1, Nov. 8).

Thank you, Santa Clara County supervisors, for defending Coyote Valley from the development of an “estate home” (mansion) in the middle of agricultural land. Let this moment be remembered as the first time eminent domain has been used to protect the environment in Santa Clara County.

Coyote Valley is a jewel, and with the open space areas and parks, it is accessible to all in the South Bay. Supervisors Susan Ellenberg, Otto Lee, Sylvia Arenas and Joe Simitian as well as the Open Space Board have preserved a wonderland from being blemished.

Paul Boehm
San Jose

Encampment, on-ramp
create danger

As homeless numbers increase, so will encampments. But, as in Sunnyvale’s Central Expressway entrance ramp at E. California Ave., a real traffic safety issue is going to get innocent people hurt.

Along with the adjacent neighborhood of Victory Village being held hostage, this entrance ramp has people wandering across vehicles’ paths. The county is paying for trash removal regularly and often. Drivers must avoid hitting people or debris on the ramp. This is an unsafe location for a growing encampment.

So, before someone gets killed, Sunnyvale officials and the county of Santa Clara need to act.

Don Dubocq
Sunnyvale

Trustees should act
to rescind tuition hike

I am deeply concerned about the recently approved 6% annual tuition increase in the California State University (CSU) system, which is facing a $1.5 billion deficit.

Now that it is approved, the hike will raise tuition for undergraduates starting in 2024, burdening students further in a time of financial stress.

The hike’s future implications for students are concerning, potentially delaying graduation and increasing student loan debt.

I urge the CSU Board of Trustees to reconsider this tuition increase, seeking alternative solutions to address the budget deficit without burdening students who are striving for a better future through education.

Rajiv Muvva
San Jose

U.S. isn’t wisely using
leverage with Israel

It is confusing, to say the least, about the United States’ stance toward the Israel-Hamas war.

It is clear that the Biden administration considers it going too far to risk the deaths of Palestinians as the Israeli army seeks to destroy the evil Hamas — “devils” really, using humans as shields — while continuing to imagine a logical, but fantasy pre-1948 world.

What is confusing is the amount of leverage the United States has and how it uses it. It is giving Israel billions of dollars a year — why can’t it say: listen to what we want you to do (i.e. more humanitarian pauses, more consideration of Palestinian lives, vacate West Bank illegal settlements, etc.) or we don’t give you any more money. Can someone clarify the logic in this?

Joe Margevicius
Palo Alto

Preserve a wide range
of technologies

Re: “California regulators should embrace a wireless future” (Page A6, Nov. 7).

Many people who embraced cell phones were unhappily forced to give up their landlines. It was not a choice. Why must it be cell phones vs. landlines?

I have both for different reasons. I love being able to text, send photos and get alerts via cell. But my landline is vastly superior for conversations, more audible and reliable, with no reception or battery issues. There are repeated problems with cell callers, who mysteriously move, hold, press or disconnect in some way.

Cells were useless in the CZU wildfire; people are now relying on radio for disasters. For EMF-sensitive people, with no choice at home, there are few places today where they can feel safe.

I am not opposed to progress, but I am for healthy and appropriate use of technology. I choose to benefit from the advantages of various communication technologies, including email.

Molly Rose
Palo Alto