San Francisco Chronicle (Sunday)
Great inspiration for school board
Regarding “Pledge no longer opens meetings of school board” (Bay Area, Oct. 11): What a joy to read Jill Tucker’s story about Stevon Cook, our new San Francisco school board president. He decided to replace the Pledge of Allegiance with a quote to begin the board meetings and he did it in a very skillful way. “There are a lot of ways to express gratitude and appreciation for the country and its citizens,” Cook said Wednesday morning. “This is how I plan to do that.” His first quote by Maya Angelou was perfect. “When you learn, teach. When you get, give.” He will be a great example and inspiration for the other board members, and for all of our teachers and students.
Judith Keenan, San Francisco
Invidious comparison
Regarding “A hero, a jester (him), villains, fears of dystopia” (Nation, Oct. 11): Noah Bierman compares President Trump’s rallies to Grateful Dead concerts. It’s bad enough that this invidious comparison insults the talented musical group and their dedicated followers; much worse is the fact that it characterizes his rallies as harmless entertainment. A more apt comparison for the Trump gatherings is the Nuremberg rallies.
Anita Bohn, Kensington
Wrong call on Prop. 5
Regarding “State propositions” (Insight, Oct. 7): The paper recommended a “no” vote on Proposition 5, citing as a reason it would not increase housing stocks.
That’s a wrong call for a wrong reason. Prop. 5 would give seniors like me the opportunity to sell our homes in the highly congested Bay Area and take our Prop. 13 tax base with us to somewhere else in the state better suited to aging in place. Right now, only a few counties in California allow this. If Prop. 5 passes, all the counties in the state would allow it.
By enabling seniors to “get out whole,” without having to pay huge capital gains and property tax increases, we will substantially increase the available housing in the Bay Area for young families while supporting the ability of California seniors to hold on to the equity and independence we have earned over our working lifetimes.
Nancy Mangini, Redwood City
Look to Vienna instead
After reading “California can offer beacon to nation rising from ruins” (Insight, Oct. 7), in which columnist Joe Mathews recommended that our state look to Rome as an example of how to survive the rise and fall of governments, my initial question was: Are you kidding? Mathews might be impressed by that European city’s current young and progressive-minded leaders, but Rome in 2018 is plagued — as it has been for decades — by graffiti, garbage all over its fabled cobblestone streets, buses that don’t run on time, and constant labor union disputes leading to strikes that shut down vital city services. A better European city to emulate, ranked No. 1 for the past nine years in a Mercer world cities’ Quality of Life survey, is Vienna. The Austrian capital has affordable housing, excellent public transit, clean streets, and low crime. Perhaps California’s cities should study and try to replicate Vienna’s social democratic policies before it becomes a “beacon” to our own country’s current socioeconomic ruin.
Sasha Englander, San Rafael
Don’t waste time, Dems
Regarding “Trump’s taxes on Pelosi’s radar” (Page One, Oct. 11): I am certainly no fan of President Trump, and I look forward to the Democrats retaking both the House and Senate. However, my greatest fear is that they will squander their mandate by wasting time seeking revenge on Trump and the Republicans instead of using it productively on passing legislation to improve health care (Medicare for All), repair crumbling infrastructure, to establish solid and equitable immigration policy, to enact sane and equitable tax reform and other worthwhile necessities. If they don’t, then they will be no better than the Republicans wasting everyone’s time trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Joseph Chance, Emeryville
Keep children alert
Concerning “Reset sought on time shift in state” (Page One, Oct. 11): As the mother of two teenagers, I give a big “thumbs-down” to Proposition 7 on the November ballot. If California has full-time standard time, winter mornings will be darker for many more days, making the task of waking and getting our adolescents to school on time even more difficult. What’s more important here? Making sure our children are alert and able to learn during their hours at school, or providing them with — as Prop. 7 supporters insist — more daylight hours to play outdoors after school?
Regina Regalbuto, Santa Clara