Forum Letters: Defund the police and goodbye mugshots

Not surprised in Placer County

“Placer joins state ‘watch list’ and urges restaurants to prepare to end indoor dining” (sacbee.com, July 9):

Anyone who has been watching the daily increases in COVID-19 cases in Placer County knew we would soon be placed on the “watch list.”

Placer residents have also watched our Board of Supervisors in frustration and anger as they allow the lame duck Supervisor Kirk Uhler to ride roughshod over science, data and common decency. First it was Uhler’s threats to sue the Governor. Next, he engineered a board vote to override the authority of our public health officer.

On social media, Uhler has posted videos filled with misinformation and belittled the use of masks. On Twitter, he cheered the COVID-19 deaths of inmates at San Quentin. During a board meeting and on social media he attacked, by name, the personal character of community members who have challenged his behavior. As long as the board allows Uhler to pontificate from his bully pulpit, Placer residents will bear the cost.

Barbara Smith,

Auburn

Frustrating front page

“California universities sue Trump over visa rule that affects tens of thousands of students” (sacbee.com, July 9):

This article starts on page one, then refers the reader to page 8A.

Not only is it in a separate section, but it stops on page one in the middle of a word, to be finished on page 8A, in the next section. Really?

The paper is so small now that it can’t be shared between two people because we need both sections. Is it impossible to finish the articles in the first section IN the first section? It is very, very frustrating. I can’t be the only one with this feeling?

Martha Gonzalez,

Fair Oaks

Defund the police

“Sacramento police used ‘risky’ neck hold more than other agencies. What AG says must change” (sacbee.com, July 9):

Regarding the revelation of the horrific use of carotid holds by the Sacramento Police Department, there is inevitably a push by legislators and political figures to severely regulate or outright ban such tactics.

While this advocacy is well-intended, it ignores the reality that police departments routinely violate their own rules. Take Eric Garner’s death by choke hold in 2014, which violated the New York Police Department’s bylaws that forbade its use. Any effort towards banning specific tactics should be redirected into defunding the police. That is extra imperative here in Sacramento, a city that spends more than $150 million of its $1.2 billion budget on a police force that received an “F” grade in the first comprehensive review of California police departments last year.

Maybe we could direct funds into actually addressing homelessness, an especially vulnerable demographic in the time of COVID-19.

Marshall Garvey,

Citrus Heights

Goodbye mugshots

“Why The Sacramento Bee will no longer publish police ‘mugshots,’ with limited exceptions” (sacbee.com, July 9):

I am a print and digital subscriber to The Bee. I just wanted to express my support of your decision not to publish mugshots. Thank you.

Chip Zempel,

Fair Oaks

Facing depression and anxiety

“I faced a challenge one of every three people in America has: Depression and anxiety” (sacbee.com, July 10):

Thank you to Lenny Mendonca for coming forward with his illness.

Too many families try to hide this illness and it has devastating consequences. Your article was informative and enlightening. You are on the right road to recovery. Congrats to you and your family for recognizing you have a problem. Stay safe in recovering at home.

Sue Gross,

Rocklin

Pavley’s bad decision

“California is a long ways away from the finish line in the fight against climate pollution” (sacbee.com, July 11):

Rep. Pavely was wrong to criticize PUC’s decision allowing diesel generator use to sustain electrical power during grid shutdowns.

It put reliability and public safety above all else. Alternatives like energy storage can’t last long enough (48 – 96 hours), but diesel has the load response, portability, resilience and fueling that can. New generation diesels achieve near-zero emissions, so by our estimates, if used, they would account for less than 2 percent of the state’s total particulate matter emissions. Some emergency diesel installations will run on a synthetic diesel fuel that reduces GHG emissions up to 90 percent. Alternatively, it’s back to small generators with spills, sparks, carbon monoxide poisoning and other hazards that pose greater risks than a few highly-managed diesel generators. Thousands are suffering the economic despair from COVID-19.

The last thing they need is an emergency power policy that fails them; one based more on uncompromising virtues instead of practical reality.

Allen Schaeffer

Frederick, Maryland

Gratitude amid COVID-19

“Will Sacramento City schools open classrooms in September? It’s looking ‘highly unlikely’” (sacbee.com, July 13):

It really is ok for our kids to miss school, for now.

If I were a refugee escaping Syria, would I be worried about school right now? Not really. This question has changed my COVID-19 experience. Humans are at war with COVID-19. In the United States, this enemy has broken through our defenses and invaded our communities. It is invisible, efficient, devious and deadly.

We civilians now stay in our homes as refugees from our normal lives. Our soldiers risk their lives to save as many lives as possible. We stay out of harm’s way to help those soldiers help us. Our scientists work to create the weapon that will end this war. My family lives in a luxurious refugee camp. I just want my family to survive until we can rebuild our world and once again flourish. I am grateful we have more than a tent.

Monique Aw,

Folsom