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Loss of local control adds to fire danger
Re: “Few exits add to fire danger” (Page A1, June 8). Your article highlights a serious threat, but the larger issue is the state Legislature’s sweeping takeover of local zoning. Sacramento has passed hundreds of laws forcing cities to upzone for thousands of new housing units, regardless of whether evacuation routes can handle the increased population.
Take Moraga: It has only three narrow, winding roads leading out of town. Even today, it can take 90 minutes or more just to reach the freeway. Adding thousands of new residents without adding new exits is not planning — it is creating the conditions for a deadly wildfire disaster. Residents will be trapped.
Why must we wait for lives to be lost before acknowledging this danger?
A group called OurNeighborhoodVoices.com is working to restore local control over zoning. It’s a simple, common-sense fix that would let communities protect their own safety instead of relying on distant bureaucrats.
John Briggs
Lafayette
Going all-electric carries its own problems
Re: “Toxic diesel strains budget. Fund green school buses now.” (Page A6, June 12).
Matthew Belasco’s push for green buses misses a number of key points.
The argument for green buses and trucks is highly site-specific. Costs and benefits depend on numerous factors and a variety of assumptions and considerations. For example, the cost of diesel at seven dollars a gallon could be cheaper than the cost of generating, transmitting, maintaining and installing new electrical power facilities. The issues with diesel exhaust have also been minimized with improved engines and strengthened regulations.
Safety factors such as the accidental ignition of battery stations, as we learned from the Moss Landing uncontrollable battery fire, which emitted highly toxic fumes to the neighborhood, are also a consideration.
Bottom line, any rush to all-electric green buses is not a given, for numerous reasons.
Chris Kniel
Orinda
AI’s potential is stunted by GOP
Re: “AI already aids in lab research, everyday tasks” (Page A6, June 12). It’s encouraging to read about the benefits of AI, other than newly minting a few multibillionaires at the expense of all the rest of us. I find the use of AI in the scanning of medical imaging data especially exciting. I believe there’s another AI pattern-matching application that would greatly benefit fellow countrymen: tax fraud detection using AI scanning of tax returns. AI could likely identify returns particularly worthy of audits (by human agents) that could greatly increase the efficiency of tax law compliance efforts.
But don’t look for that to happen soon. Republicans have long been steadfast in their efforts to underfund the IRS, especially as it pertains to compliance. It would be neither unfair nor inaccurate to label them the Pro-Tax-Cheat Party. Hopefully, two years from now, that will change, and we will see some AI innovation making tax cheats pay their fair share.
David Baer
Concord
Ditching gas heaters is too much expense
I am interested to know how many Bay Area homeowners know that the Bay Area Air Quality District (BAAQMD) mandate forbids the sale and installation of gas water heaters in favor of electric water heaters, beginning January 1, 2027.
This means if your gas water heater fails after the end of this year, you may have to upgrade your electrical service entrance and run a dedicated 240V line to the new heater. This can be $4,000 to $8,000 on top of the heater cost. How many can afford that sudden expense?
Kim Dromlewicz
Walnut Creek
Valley can lead on new generation of weapons
We need a new generation of low-cost missiles and other defense systems to replace the $5 million Patriot missile and other costly, outdated systems.
Fortunately, there’s now a NatSec100 of Silicon Valley, venture-backed defense companies that are helping with this. The days of Silicon Valley companies refusing to help our national defense are hopefully over.
Ed Kahl
Woodside
Parties should compete, but do it respectfully
One of civilization’s greatest achievements is learning the difference between an adversary and an enemy. An adversary challenges you, tests your ideas, and helps you improve. An enemy is someone whose existence is considered intolerable.
Sports demonstrate this principle. Great competitors do not seek weak opponents; they seek strong ones. Victory matters only when earned against a worthy rival. The opponent’s strength gives meaning to the contest.
Democracy depends on the same idea. Political opponents are meant to be adversaries, not enemies. They challenge assumptions, expose mistakes, and offer alternatives. Their presence provides a vital feedback mechanism that helps society correct errors.
When politics turns adversaries into enemies, compromise becomes betrayal, disagreement becomes hostility, and elections become existential struggles. Efforts to destroy rivals often weaken the system itself.
Strong societies are not those without competition. They are those that can compete fiercely while preserving the respect needed to compete tomorrow.
Paul Osborn
Morgan Hill