Boys needn’t play football to build character
Regarding “In the trenches to save high school football” (Front Page, Aug. 26): A rule of thumb that has provided common sense to me over the years comes to mind regarding the great decline in interest of high school football: When something becomes more and more problematic and less and less essential, maybe its time to let it go.
Healthy organisms and entities must always be eliminating what is no longer useful, or they will die.
Surely we can come up with something besides football to prepare boys to function effectively in a world that desperately needs them to value compassion and strength over violence and tribalism.
Carol Campbell, Oakland
Close Diablo Canyon
Regarding “State doesn’t need nuclear power” (Open Forum, Aug. 25): Great opinion piece on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ridiculous plan to throw away $1.4 billion of our tax money on maybe keeping the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open for a few more years. Wouldn’t that money be better spent on increasing the state’s renewable energy production and storage? That is the future we are trying to achieve isn’t it?
Let’s not forget this is our beloved Pacific Gas & Electric Co. we are talking about. Its history of greed and negligence has given us devastation and deaths from gas explosions and transmissionline sparked wildfires. We have been lucky so far, and we can only hope we get to Diablo Canyon’s current closure date in 2025 without an accident that would leave a large part of California uninhabitable.
The Legislature needs to say no to this ill considered scheme.
Eric Svahn, Berkeley
Too much of a good thing
Regarding “Unchecked rise is not sustainable” (Open Forum, Aug. 23): Howard Hendrix is right that humanity is in denial about the threats of uncontrolled population growth. Certainly there is no aspect of the climate crisis that is not worsened by the crush of population, including water shortages, degradation of forests and wildlands, destruction of ocean life and so on.
Humanity’s collective behavior is basically the same as a culture of bacteria in a petri dish. An observer from another galaxy would see no difference. Both strive only to produce more of themselves, consuming critical resources at unsustainable rates and degrading their environment in the process. Bacteria, however, can shut down when resources run out, surviving as resistant spores until favorable conditions return. We, unfortunately, have no such option.
Paul Rude, Berkeley
S.F. is in disarray
It has been widely noted that San Francisco’s government has seemingly lost the ability to actually solve urban problems. I could not agree more as we observe the blights on our communities, such as unending homelessness, that continue decade after decade.
A quote from San Francisco Assembly Member Matt Haney in Friday’s paper about the fraud perpetuated by the city’s former Public Works director provided an insight to our civic dysfunction: “The entire apparatus of city government was polluted with his corrupt behavior.”
It seems clear to me that we have been ill served by our city government for many years as we seek solutions to our myriad of problems.
Adina Haun, San Francisco
Justice is not served
Regarding “Paul Pelosi pleads guilty, sentenced to DUI charge” (Bay Area & Business, Aug. 24): Because Paul Pelosi pleaded guilty to a second charge of driving with a 0.08% alcohol level or higher causing injury, I’m confused by the judge dropping it “in the interests of justice.” It certainly wasn’t justice in the injured party’s interest.