A better arena financing plan

Re "Hang tough on new arena, Giants CEO advises" (Our Region, Jan. 18): Why not pay for a sports and entertainment arena by allowing citizens to invest?

The population of Sacramento is about 450,000. If Mayor Kevin Johnson could persuade and/or permit 100,000 people to invest $5,000 each, that would raise $500 million.

That amount of money would allow the city to build the arena and lease it to the team owners.

Further, the public investors could receive a dividend check each year during Easter and Christmas. This dividend would certainly help businesses in this town during these holiday seasons.

Investors should be able to will their investment to their heirs.

– Willard Hart, Sacramento

Keep railyard arena idea alive

Slowly but surely, Sacramento politicians as well as business leaders, citizens and the media are finally realizing the endless possibilities that a new downtown sports and entertainment complex could bring.

Let's keep the citizen and fan movement going and push for a brand spanking new downtown sports and entertainment complex at the railyard.

– Mark Rodriguez, Sacramento

Bring back Isleton police

Re "Isleton finds insurance coverage, plans to restore police service" (Our Region, Jan. 18): I am glad to hear the Isleton city police may be returning. Even though Isleton is quite small, there is still a need for a police force. Living a little outside of Isleton, I have seen the difference in having fast responders.

Isleton undoubtedly needs more revenue, and getting out of debt is going to be exceedingly hard for the small city. However the first step to revenue is making the city an inviting place for people to visit, from places like Sacramento or Stockton.

– Lauren Korth, Isleton

KXJZ loses jazz connection

Re "Fans of classical music on radio aren't in harmony with jazz incursion" (Our Region, Jan. 15): Capital Public Radio's decision to (re)move jazz from KXJZ to its sister station KXPR caused the expected response from classical music lovers. For the record, we (who are also) jazz fans are likewise unhappy with the change.

KXJZ's call letters noted that it was a jazz station, originally.

I suggest that the station should abandon this illusion and change its call letters as it is no longer KXJazZ. Alas.

– Rich Beck, Sacramento

Government care works well

Re "Key hearing for health care bill" (Capitol & California, Jan. 17): A Chamber of Commerce lobbyist is quoted as disagreeing with the premise that government systems are more efficient and less costly than a private system. Why do people continue to buy this argument, which is clearly not supported by fact? Medicare, the government- financed health insurance program for the elderly, runs very efficiently; people on Medicare are quite happy with it.

On the other hand, people with private insurance pay horrendously high premiums and get little for their money.

I lived in Europe for 15 years, and their single-payer health care systems were superior to our private system in every way. I had the best, and cheapest, health care of my life. When I came back to the United States, it was like coming to a Third World country. It's time for California to join the 21st century and the rest of the developed world.

– Lindy Tillement, Rio Linda

Use free speech responsibly

Re "Student's online slams go to Supreme Court" (Page A8, Jan. 16): Decency is defined as recognized standards of proper behavior. The lack of decency in our world today is appalling.

To have middle school students calling their teachers, principals, and peers names such as a "hairy sex addict" and a "slut with herpes," as reported in the news story, shows just how low we have fallen.

We as American citizens are guaranteed freedom of speech as stated in the First Amendment. But when our rights and what we say encroach and affect others negatively, the line of free speech is drawn.

These students need to stop making a mockery of our constitution, and learn some self-control and decency towards their fellow human beings.

When the Founding Fathers wrote the First Amendment, the thought never crossed their minds that pupils centuries later would be calling their teachers and peers "big fags" and pedophiles.

– Jamie Fukui, Sacramento

Put the poor to work

Re "Tougher welfare rules ripped" (Page A1, Jan. 16): On this day when I was among many Americans listening to Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, I was put off in reading about the governor's proposal to throw the poor off CalWORKs.

Living across from one of the city's once pristine parks, I wonder with all the budget cuts, layoffs and elimination of services, perhaps a better use of CalWORKs might fill a void.

Parks have never looked worse. Other city services need help, too. The animal shelter and other offices are closed many days of the week or have reduced hours.

They say there is no money to pay the workers for these services and consequently the community suffers. Why not use CalWorks to fill the void and get these services back on line, if we can't afford regular workers?

This would provide the poor with work experience to compete for permanent jobs when the economy gets better.

– Alan Sears, Sacramento

Don't ruin Delta with canal

Re "Should California build a Delta water canal it rejected in the 1980s?" (Head to Head, Jan. 18): It is pitiful to see Ben Boychuk buy into the "one state, one water" lie, an irrational public relations slogan that has as much credibility as "compassionate conservatism."

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California wants to replace the loss of its Colorado River allotment with Delta water. For this it wants Northern Californians to pony up $11 billion, plus an additional $10 billion in interest, plus $1 billion a year in operating costs.

For what? Ruining the Delta!

– Burt Wilson, Carmichael

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