{"slug": "letters-trump-forces-taxpayers-to-bail-out-oakland-coal-project", "title": "Letters: Trump forces taxpayers to bail out Oakland coal project", "summary": "President Trump used the Defense Production Act to send $75 million to an Oakland coal terminal, forcing taxpayers to bail out a fuel that cannot compete with cheaper natural gas, wind, and solar, according to a letter to the editor. The author argues that the project, which has failed to attract private investment for 13 years, will impose health and climate costs on Bay Area residents while the clean-energy economy receives no support.", "body_md": "**Getting your**\n\n[Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...**Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.**\n\n#### Trump forces taxpayers to bail out coal\n\nRe: “[Trump sends $75 million to terminal](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/04/oakland-coal-trump/)” (Page A1, June 6).\n\nCoal can’t survive in the marketplace, so taxpayers are being ordered to rescue it. As your article reports, the $75 million for Oakland’s terminal comes via the Defense Production Act — a Cold War statute meant for genuine national emergencies, not for propping up a fuel that lost out to cheaper natural gas, wind and solar years ago.\n\nBay Area residents will pay twice: once in taxes, and again in the health and climate costs of shipping millions of tons of coal a year through our region to be burned in Asia. Meanwhile, the clean-energy economy our region actually leads gets nothing.\n\nIf this project made economic sense, it wouldn’t need a federal bailout after thirteen years. Private investors should read that signal clearly — and so should Congress. There are far better uses for $75 million than exporting yesterday’s fuel from tomorrow’s economy.\n\n**The Rev. Laurie Manning**\n\n*Oakland*\n\n#### Becerra’s ‘coronation’ appears inevitable\n\nRe: “[Becerra leads big in early polling](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/11/poll-republican-hilton-starts-runoff-for-california-governor-against-democrat-becerra-in-a-deep-hole/)” (Page A1, June 12).\n\nIt’s a given that the majority of folks who voted for Tom Steyer will be voting for Xavier Becerra, so why wait for a November election and a January coronation? Let’s make it all official and crown Xavier governor on August 1. This way Xavier has a 5-month head start to make good on all his promises to fight Donald Trump while making everything more affordable, like reducing the costs of gasoline, groceries, utilities and rent.\n\nThis would also give him a head start hiring the doctors and nurses needed to provide free healthcare to every person living in California, and most importantly, he can start making every billionaire and corporation begin paying their fair share in taxes so he can pay for all this stuff.\n\nAnd the best part is we avoid having to endure the divisive mudslinging between the two parties, knowing the outcome is a given.\n\n**Bill Behan**\n\n*Brentwood*\n\n#### Schools must allow students authentic lives\n\nRe: “[District, GOP at odds over policies](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/11/bay-area-schools-chief-drawn-into-national-fight-over-parental-rights-lgbtq-policies/)” (Page A1, June 11).\n\nIt’s disheartening to continue seeing this aversion to the flourishing of LGBTQ+ students, especially during Pride month.\n\nAs a queer teacher myself, I often recall my time in public schools being defined by a mixture of shame and secrecy. This inability to positively take ownership of who I was while simultaneously keeping it out of reach from my classmates was not only mentally taxing, but a complete blow to my development as a person.\n\nStudents experience some of the most formative years of identity development while in school, whether it’s realizing they’re bisexual or they’re into paddle tennis. This isn’t a matter of indoctrination, as so many politicians put it. Rather, it’s a question of growth and whether or not we are capable of realizing that schooling is meant to cultivate who a student is, not stunt it.\n\n**Gabriel Nitro**\n\n*Berkeley*\n\n#### Board is picking on somebody doing good\n\nRe: “[‘Crappy Childhood Fairy’ sues state board](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/10/oaklands-crappy-childhood-fairy-sues-fine-practicing-psychology-without-license/)” (Page B1, June 10).\n\nI have never taken her group class, but the fact that the California Board of Psychology spent this much time and effort on policing her instead of on policing their practitioners for not meeting ethical standards has me livid with righteous rage. Human beings in suffering deserve better.\n\n**Shantha Smith**\n\n*San Jose*\n\n#### Trump’s CalFresh rules exemplify his cruelty\n\nRe: “[CalFresh changes bringing concern](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/26/bay-area-braces-for-trumps-tougher-calfresh-rules/)” (Page A1, May 26).\n\nJust when I think I cannot despise Donald Trump any more than I already do, he decides to make it harder for people to eat. When did cruelty become a major plank in the Republican Party platform?\n\n**Ruth Crabtree**\n\n*San Jose*\n\n#### Diplomacy should not be one man’s province\n\nDonald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he will start no wars, end all wars and that he can stop or prevent conflicts with a simple phone call. Such statements reflect a dangerous view of international affairs. They are grandiose, pompous and arrogant, reducing complex geopolitical realities to the will of a single individual.\n\nHistory demonstrates that wars arise from deep political, economic, territorial and ideological conflicts that cannot be resolved through personal bravado or simplistic promises. Believing that one leader alone can control world events risks misjudging adversaries, alienating allies and encouraging reckless decision-making.\n\nPeace is achieved through diplomacy, alliances, deterrence and careful statecraft — not through claims of personal omnipotence. The danger of this mindset is not that it will prevent wars, but that it may lead to new confrontations, escalating tensions and increasing the risk of conflicts that could ultimately engulf entire regions, or even the world.\n\n**Mark Grzan**\n\n*Morgan Hill*", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/letters-trump-forces-taxpayers-to-bail-out-oakland-coal-project", "canonical_source": "https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/15/letters-trump-taxpayers-bail-out-oakland-coal-project/", "published_at": "2026-06-15 23:30:10+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-15 23:50:32.011889+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["Donald Trump", "Oakland", "Defense Production Act", "Bay Area", "Congress"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/letters-trump-forces-taxpayers-to-bail-out-oakland-coal-project", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/letters-trump-forces-taxpayers-to-bail-out-oakland-coal-project.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/letters-trump-forces-taxpayers-to-bail-out-oakland-coal-project.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/letters-trump-forces-taxpayers-to-bail-out-oakland-coal-project.jsonld"}}