Letters: Aerojet, Sacramento development, Linda Katehi, undocumented immigrants
We must curtail development
Re “Lovely rivers and weather don’t create jobs” (Editorials, May 17): I am disappointed with The Sacramento Bee’s editorial about Aerojet’s moving its corporate offices to Southern California.
Barry Broome, chief executive officer of the Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council; Darrell Steinberg; and Angelique Ashby all seem to support continuous economic growth, even if we have to sacrifice our quality of life to accommodate it.
Continuing growth has led to more suburban sprawl and pollution. Traffic congestion is getting worse and so are the drivers.
The California Environmental Quality Act needs to be strengthened, not weakened, because our rivers have already been damaged by population growth, water demand, pollution, and encroachment on fish and wildlife habitat. Exemptions to CEQA, like the one for the Kings arena, should not be allowed because important environmental issues are left unaddressed.
Arthur Charles Knutson Jr., Sacramento
Highway 49 is way too crowded
Re “Interrupted paths imperil pedestrians” (Insight, May 18): Route 49 was originally meant to wind through rural areas, connecting Gold Rush towns, not to be a jam-packed mini-freeway through North Auburn. Now, that road is dangerous for pedestrians and a headache for motorists.
We used to live in Grass Valley and drove up on Highway 49 regularly. Despite some helpful improvements, the portion between Auburn and Grass Valley is grossly overcrowded. Add the hideous fact that on its sporadically placed walkways, an impaired driver plowed into a trio of young fellows, killing two. That is beyond tragic.
Melanie Kinkead, Sacramento
Don’t scapegoat immigrants
Re “Don’t give aid to undocumented” (Letters, May 18): Letter writer Mike Mattos writes that we need to stop providing benefits to illegals, if we ever hope to stop the migration from Mexico.
For the last eight years, the net immigration from Mexico has been a big fat zero.
He says he is a taxpayer tired of paying for services to “illegals.” Does he have any idea of how the price of all food would skyrocket if they all went back to Mexico? They work hard to provide this food and we should not deny them health care.
If we deny access to college to these kids, then we give someone who had ambitions of being a valuable member of society only two options: Be a laborer or a criminal. How would you feel if you were denied the same opportunities as your classmates just because of where you were born?
Gabriel Lewin, Davis
Linda Katehi sends a sour message
Re “UC Davis was on a roll before bid to alter its online image” (Insight, May 17): A homeless man gets sentenced to a year in jail for trying to bring joy to his sister’s wedding by borrowing a trellis without permission. A university chancellor with a $424,360 salary fattens it up by lending the university name to help textbook publishers.
It’s no wonder that ordinary people feel swindled and succumb to the ravings of any lunatic, such as Donald Trump, who promises to tear down the system. Why don’t we let Linda P.B. Katehi make partial restitution for abusing her tax-funded position by providing Richard Hengeveld with housing for the year?
Gary Palmer, Nevada City
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This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 5:31 AM with the headline "Letters: Aerojet, Sacramento development, Linda Katehi, undocumented immigrants."