Donald Trump, water meters, protect kids from e-cigs

Donald Trump is grotesque

Re “Univision dumps Trump’s Miss USA show” (Page 16A, June 26): I want to send a message to Donald Trump: Money doesn’t buy you class, or the White House for that matter.

You are arrogant, a racist and a bigot. What you said about Mexican immigrants is very offensive and disrespectful. I just want you to know that there’s no room for clowns like you at the White House.

Well done, Univision, for dropping the Miss USA show.

Don’t honor slave owners

Re “With malice toward all, with charity for none” (Viewpoints, June 26): Columnist Ben Boychuk brings up the point that many conservative people, and many from the South bring up: the issue of memorials to slave holders.

I wonder why people are not asking why there are statues and memorials to traitors. The South was not some glorious place with numerous heroes, but a place of degradation of fellow humans and the home of traitors.

Why are people who claim to be patriots not calling for the removal of all Confederate monuments and questioning the memorials that commemorate slave holders.

I don’t remember a memorial to Benedict Arnold. When is it time to look at the shame that was our history and remove the pox that should never have been allowed? Or maybe a memorial to the KKK would be a good thing, since it is also part of our history.

Install meters; save water

Re “Area produces gusher of water waste reports” (Insight, June 22): Because many homes in the Sacramento area do not have water meters, no one actually knows how much water each home uses. Instead, we have stories of individuals patrolling an extremely small subset of all homes, guessing someone is using too much water.

Sacramento will benefit when each home has a water meter. Homes with meters tend to use less because homeowners can monitor what they actually use. Meters will allow a water utility to accurately measure water use and charge higher rates for high-consumption households.

Protect our kids from e-cigs

Re “Real smoking question isn’t about raising age” (Editorials, June 22): Teenagers today believe that e-cigarettes and vaping offer a safer alternative to cigarette smoking. I am a high school educator whose students have followed the newspaper’s coverage of Senate Bill 140, which would raise the legal smoking age to 21.

Although we read about the dangerous chemicals in vaping liquid, most of my students feel that, since there are no studies proving the health risks, they should be free to try out “Super Fly Lemon Pie” flavored vaping liquid.

Until the risks are clearly understood, we need to pass SB 140 so that young adults cannot easily access harmful substances and develop a nicotine addiction.

In praise of a carbon tax

Re “Shultz’s view of climate change” (Dan Morain, June 25): I was thrilled to read Dan Morain’s column about George Shultz, secretary of state under Ronald Reagan, and his support for climate action that includes a revenue-neutral carbon tax.

I just returned from Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress with a group called Citizens’ Climate Lobby, along with over 800 other volunteers who visited every congressional office on Capitol Hill.

We were lobbying for national legislation that calls for a carbon fee and dividend, which is exactly the proposal discussed by Shultz, who is on our Advisory Board. The road to a simple, transparent national climate solution is not easy and there are many obstacles. However, at Citizens’ Climate Lobby we know that, with faith and clarity of purpose, we will arrive at our destination, and that there is no time to waste in getting there.

This story was originally published June 28, 2015 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Donald Trump, water meters, protect kids from e-cigs."