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Reservoir project east of
S.J. needs transparency
This summer, Del Puerto Water District sent out a survey of possible Del Puerto Canyon Road realignments, to replace several miles of existing roadway that would be destroyed for an agribusiness reservoir, to residents of Del Puerto Canyon and the gated Diablo Grande community. Highway 130/Del Puerto Canyon Road connects San Jose with Patterson and Modesto, but they did not invite residents of those communities to participate.
Water district managers then met with Stanislaus County Public Works regarding “Option 9.” This follows Del Puerto Water District’s pattern of being less transparent with certain stakeholders, as they were slow to send out invites for public comments in Spanish when they publicly introduced Del Puerto Reservoir, despite the adjacent city of Patterson being majority Hispanic and speaking a home language other than English.
Working-class residents of nearby cities should have chances for input.
Christopher Quock
San Francisco
Founders regulated
guns in amendment
Re: “Framers’ meaning clear in Second Amendment” (Page A6, Sept. 18).
While I definitely agree with the author that guns should be regulated (and are), I take issue with his proposed grammatical reading of the Second Amendment.
Not only did the Founders of our nation regulate gun ownership, they included in the Second Amendment language that allowed such restrictions — notably a “well-regulated militia.”
Since 1791 and the passage of the Second Amendment, courts have upheld the right of the government to restrict gun sales, gun usage and gun types. And while there remain open questions about a person’s right to acquire guns and to openly carry guns, for instance, most states have banned the sale and possession of certain types of guns, such as assault weapons, and gun ownership by certain individuals, such as felons and the mentally ill.
What has not been questioned is the right of people to keep and bear arms. No reading of the Second Amendment has concluded otherwise.
Dan Casas
Saratoga
Electoral College leaves
majority without a voice
Re: “Electoral College keeps coastal states in line” (Page A6, Sept. 17).
The letter is a panoply of non sequiturs.
Mr. Markle writes “Without it (i.e. the Electoral College), a vast and significant number of Americans would have no say in our politics.” But, as Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman document in “White Rural Rage,” with it a majority of Americans have no say in our politics.
Robert Varesio
Sunnyvale
Harris, Walz drawing
support of the honorable
Re: “Donald Trump Jr. delivers racist comments about immigrants from Haiti” (Page A3, Sept. 15).
Demonizing vulnerable human beings in Springfield, Ohio, is yet another instance of the cruelty and lies of Donald Trump, JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr.
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The failure of Republican leaders to unanimously repudiate the vile hate speech of their Republican candidates, as the Republican mayor of Springfield and the governor of Ohio have, is cowardly and disgraceful. The Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates’ false accusations have consequences, inspiring bomb threats and vandalism. Schools and hospitals have closed due to these threats, impacting the entire city. The targeted people — legal, hard-working immigrants — are hurt and scared.
Decent, good-hearted people of all political persuasions can join together with their fellow Americans to repudiate fear-mongering and scapegoating by voting in massive numbers for Democrats up and down the ballot. More and more honorable Republican leaders are voicing their support for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
Who will we choose to be? Who do we want our children to emulate?
Barbara Fukumoto
Sunnyvale
