Letters: Ending relationship | Cap utility tax | No expansion | Punish protesters | Crying victim

East Bay Times Letters to the Editor for April 21, 2024

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Oakland ended abusive
relationship with A’s

Re: “From the East Bay to West Sacramento” (Page A1, April 14).

It may seem, to outsiders, that Oakland “failed” to keep the A’s. I would take exception to the characterization that Oakland “failed” in its relationship with the A’s, as is suggested in the article’s opening paragraph.

Oakland succeeded in standing up to a selfish, greedy and manipulative businessman who happens to own a baseball team that millions loved.

When that owner tried to take advantage of the fans who had made the team a success in the past, the city, broken-hearted but steadfast, succeeded in relieving itself of an abusive relationship and sent the abuser packing.

Bruce Williams
Oakland

Support $10 cap
on utility tax

Re: “PG&E CEO, other execs land huge payouts” (Page A1, April 6).

My wife and I are both retired and rely on fixed incomes. Every month, our portion of the pie shrinks due to the rising cost of food, gas, insurance and home maintenance — unlike PG&E’s CEO and her executive minions who can live like royalty after receiving huge compensation increases in 2023.

Now the California Public Commission (CPUC) has decided that PG&E, after earning $2.24 billion in 2023 profits, needs more revenue increases. They proposed we all give them another portion of our pies by paying an uncapped utility tax.

Join me in contacting our California legislators and insisting they pass AB 1999 today. This bill would reduce the big utility tax by capping it at $10 per month, only letting it rise with inflation. Let’s all keep bigger pieces of the pie.

Andrew Wise
Fremont

Airport expansion is
environmental mistake

Re: “SFO files lawsuit to stop name-change proposal in Oakland” (Page A1, April 19).

With other Oaklanders, I oppose the expansion of the Oakland International Airport. Commercial air travel is a significant source of pollution that contributes to global warming. Research is currently happening that will make air travel possible in a more sustainable manner. I know that humanity will continue to fly around the globe, but we need to slow down and wait for the results of the research.

I find the debate about the name of my city’s airport amusing. The Port of Oakland will be making the decisions, and perhaps this debate will slow the expansion down. My suggestion for a new name is “Oakland, Frisco Bay International Airport.”

Elizabeth Preston
Oakland

Time to punish rude,
misguided protesters

It’s highly inconsiderate and misguided of Bay Area protesters to disrupt life by stifling private counter-opinion, invading the homes of university staff, and blocking state highways and bridges, all to effect a foreign policy action.

The protesters must understand that they accomplish nothing toward their goal. By annoying the population and by taxing local law enforcement they turn more people against their causes.

I hope those arrested get something more than just a dismissed charge. We’ve had enough of the misguided disobedience and disruption.

Natarajan Shanjar
Pleasanton

Trump cries victim
despite list of misdeeds

We get to experience a real reverse Robin Hood in Donald Trump. Here’s a guy who willfully steals from everyone. Forget any story he tells, he’s a pathological liar as well as a full-time cheater. He cheats everyone: wives, partners, associates, employees, contractors — you name it.

Workers who spent their own money to build and erect projects for him got stiffed. And if they didn’t like it, they would have had to sue him. Of course, those very same lawyers who defend him might not get paid either.

That’s quite an amazing system he has going. So many easy marks. And they keep coming. Trump is like an Event Horizon, in the respect that once you are caught in his gravitational field, you can’t get out and you will surely be hurt.

Two impeachments, 91 criminal counts and four trials, and he claims to be the victim while honoring his fellow insurrectionists.

Stuart Shicoff
Martinez