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Recent conflagrations
altered ‘let it burn’ policy
Joseph Rich wrote on Aug. 18 critical of the “Let it burn” cartoon (Aug. 8, Page A12), blaming many of the wildfires being caused by mismanagement and the “put out every fire” mentality (“Forest fire policy has left state vulnerable,” Page A6).
Now I agree in part with the mismanagement of resources, but he is wrong on the putting out every fire mentality. Since the 1970s the U.S. Forest Service has had a “let it burn and monitor” policy in place. In theory, it would allow nature to run its course and forests would renew themselves naturally. Unfortunately, many of these fires went out of control and the rest was history.
It wasn’t until the Forest Service was being heavily criticized by state officials that their policy was changed on about Aug. 4 of this year. Hopefully, this change will reduce the amount of destruction we have all seen over the last several years.
Dennis Towne
San Jose
Pay firefighters
what they deserve
Firefighters must be compensated to protect us.
Firefighters are put through a grueling training process, only to have to scramble to find even a temporary position. Most of these jobs are “seasonal” and are paid minimum wage. They have to reapply every season and hope to get back with a crew that they are familiar with. Somehow, they are exempt from the same overtime rules that the private sector is bound by. They are deployed for weeks at a time and work 24-hour shifts in extreme heat that is exacerbated by smoke and fire. Constant exposure to smoke and other toxins creates lifelong health issues.
We are asking them to risk their lives and are not even willing to pay them the same as an entry-level computer programmer who sits in front of a computer all day, whose biggest health risk is carpal tunnel.
Erin Favero
Cupertino
Liccardo unfit to call
for Smith resignation
Re: “Liccardo calls for sheriff’s resignation,” Page A1, Aug. 17:
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s got a lot of nerve in calling for Sheriff Laurie Smith to step down. Given his call to tell the SJPD to “stand down” in performing their duty to protect those who attended the Donald Trump rally back on June 2nd of 2016, it is Liccardo who should step down.
Although Liccardo and Police Chief Eddie Garcia were sued over the incident, the 20 plaintiffs were not awarded any money, but as part of the March 26, 2020, settlement, the police department agreed to provide additional training to its officers on crowd control. It also specified that Liccardo and Garcia meet privately with plaintiffs to discuss the changes and apologize for how the situation played out.
Expressing “regret,” Liccardo did not give a sincere apology for his actions in this matter. I call for Liccardo’s resignation.
Pete Hoovie
San Jose
Mandate vaccine for all
health care workers
Of all the misguided COVID-vaccine resisters, health care and nursing-home workers are the ones whose attitude is most difficult to understand. These are good people who thrive on helping others and have total access to health information yet somehow refuse to grasp the idea that their obstinacy puts them, their families and the people they care for in harm’s way from COVID infection.
Health care workers and people in similar occupations should be required to vaccinate without exception except for medical reasons, as California has recently done. Refusal should be cause for firing.
Raúl Martínez
Sunnyvale
Biden-Harris vaccine
effort is a failure
Among the many Biden/Harris administration failures to date is missing their self-imposed July 4 target for vaccinating 70% of the country.
Democrats and the media blamed this failure on former President Trump and Republican anti-vaxxers. The reality is the Trump administration quickly resolved shortages in COVID test capacity, personal protective equipment and respirators. Multiple vaccines were developed and conditionally approved in record time, and 17 million shots were administered by Inauguration Day. All the Biden/Harris administration had to do was get shots in arms, and they failed.
Now Leonard Pitts notes that vaccination rates are lagging among Blacks and Latinos, both demographics that voted predominantly Democrat. Pitts’ own sons and relatives are vaccine-hesitant. It’s safe to assume they are not Trump-supporting Republicans. Perhaps it was unwise for Kamala Harris’ to spout off that any vaccine developed under the Trump administration should not be trusted. You lie in the bed you make.
Thomas Roth
Morgan Hill
Elder endorsement
is less than compelling
Ruben Navarrette’s endorsement of Larry Elder in the recall effort to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom falls far short of compelling. (“The soul of Black conservatives? Larry Elder will help teach you,” Page A6, Aug. 19) His statement that “the left wants total loyally and control over the lives of people like him”, is abundantly true of the right. Voter suppression legislation, by state legislatures across the country, is the epitome of total control directed at minorities, to ensure that Republicans remain in power.
His bold and proud declaration of the Republican Party’s long-ago emancipation of the slaves by President Lincoln and support of the Civil and Voting Rights acts is more evident than ever of the betrayal of those values by passing such odious legislation as giving immunity to motorists who run down Black Lives Matters protesters with their cars. Fortunately, Republicans are the minority party in California. We can only speculate on what they would do if they had power in Sacramento.
Warren Seifert
Gilroy