Sacramento parking is a rip-off

Sacramento is being greedy

Re “Sacramento just issued 1,744 late-night parking tickets. Here’s where” (sacbee.com, Dec. 17): Welcome to the new downtown Sacramento. Whether it is inflated meter rates, increased meter operation hours, or getting a parking ticket, a trip downtown to shop, eat or attend a play is going to cost you much more.

Nobody going to a Golden 1 event is going to park in midtown. Yet the new meter rates and times apply in much of midtown. As a patron of the arts, it cost me $11.35 to park at 15th and H from 6:20-10:00 p.m. on Saturday while attending a play at the Sacramento Theater Company. It’s bad enough to have the meters operational after 6 p.m. But to double the rate after one hour this far east of Golden 1 is wrong and makes the city look greedy.

Water deal threatens Delta

Re “Obama signs water bill; what does it mean for the Delta?” (sacbee.com, Dec. 16): I wish articles about the Delta would present more than just the environmental concerns with overpumping. Yes, concerns about the dwindling salmon supply are huge and important.

But the article talks only about how happy the “farm groups” are to get more water. What about Delta farmers who grow white corn, strawberries, tomatoes and grapes? They will be ruined when salt intrudes further in the Delta because the system is prioritized to ship water to the desert farms which mainly produce almonds to ship to Asia.

What about Delta communities that get inundated with invasive weeds and salty water when too much fresh water is stolen to send south? And, of course, what about the commercial salmon fishermen?

Overpumping the Delta is a disaster for the salmon and the rest of the environment dependent on the freshwater estuary, but also for the farmers, fishermen and communities of Northern California.

California needs more dams

The recent heavy rains in Northern California should give us pause to reflect on the value of dams to Californians. Dams prevented major flooding in Sacramento and elsewhere. These dams were essential in getting California through years of drought. They provide renewable hydropower, recreation, and can mitigate climate change, releasing water for irrigation, water supply, water quality and aquatic life.

The foresight of Sen. Dianne Feinstein plus Republican and Democratic representatives in enacting the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act shows Congress can work for the public interest. These legislators recognized water storage is critical to California. Dams are an essential part of our existence in California. California needs more dams, not fewer.

This story was originally published December 23, 2016 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Sacramento parking is a rip-off."