Bicyclists should pay share

We must all agree that California is in an economic quandary of mammoth proportions, yet there is one resource that remains untapped.

For so long, California bicyclists have enjoyed the economic freedoms associated with their transportation of choice. They have advocated "sharing the roadway," and they easily glide past gas stations with smug shortsightedness. Because these individuals are so adroitly committed to sharing the roadway, I would like to truly integrate them into actually sharing these highways and byways.

I believe that people who choose to share the roadway, as it were, should meet the following requirements.

They must be licensed as we all are; their vehicles (yes, bicycles are considered vehicles, yet I consider them toys on steroids) should be formally registered; and special handbooks should be issued by the DMV (under a sister agency, the Department of Bipedular Vehicles) to instruct proper and legal operation of such contraptions.

Bicyclists do not pay fuel taxes, or vehicle registration fees, or licensing fees, yet they claim co-ownership of our roadways. Helmets and knee padding scarcely pay for the upkeep and maintenance of the roadways that bicyclists advocate sharing.

Let these cyclists pay their fair share, too, if they wish to continue sharing our roadways.

– Elizabeth M. Boggs,

Rancho Cordova

Meter case sounds fishy

Re "Case of the missing meters: Solved?" (Our Region, Oct. 21): Very interesting article with a bold headline. The city says it's found 32,000 of the missing meters just days after we all received a notice of a proposed utility service rate increase. How very convenient! Feed 'em a good line and then reel 'em in.

We continue to see horrible mismanagement in multiple departments in our city, yet we fall for the bait-and-switch tactics employed by our leaders. When is enough enough?

– Joan Toomire, Sacramento

The last place you look

Amazing! The last place anyone looked for the "lost" water meters was installed where they were supposed to be. Is public service efficiency so unusual that the last thing anyone expects is a job well done?

– Lou Meyer, Sacramento

Trouble with special fire boards

Re "Sac Metro's big question" (Editorial, Oct. 19): I commend The Bee for questioning the legitimacy of the existence of special fire boards. I have served as an elected director of a special water district, and I have developed many multifamily projects in the Sacramento region.

For years, I have experienced the lack of responsiveness from Metro Fire and other fire districts. This insulation occurs because the public and the press only have so many hours in the day to monitor and hold such independent boards accountable.

We now simply take our case directly to the more responsive Board of Supervisors or city councils, where elected officials have an ongoing relationship with the public with the help of the watchful eye of the press, and have an incentive to reach reasonable solutions to problems.

Special fire boards are an unfortunate anomaly in a local-government system that has an otherwise strong progressive tradition of open forums. These fire departments will never be properly run until they are dissolved and annexed into the county or city governments in which they operate, under the supervision of responsive elected boards that the public knows and follows.

– Steven L. Eggert, Sacramento

Check the facts in mayoral race

Re "Johnson for mayor: Time for a change" (Editorial, Oct. 19): Since your endorsement of Kevin Johnson, I have been speechless and aghast. I can't believe I have to write this letter. How can you endorse a person who had inappropriate relations with a minor and who is under federal investigation for alleged improprieties at St. HOPE?

Whatever your opinions may be about Heather Fargo, you cannot disregard Johnson's documented activities. We have seen how he conducts himself personally, professionally and in politics. This is not the past that we can all ignore – it's happening right now. You have lost all credibility with your stance.