Letters: E-bike regulations | Simpson-Mineta example | Biden’s peers | Economic pain | VP’s importance | Safe storage

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Most e-bikes similarto manual pedal bikes

Re: “Cities struggle to get a handle on e-bike safety” (Page A1, Aug. 19).

“E-bikes” is too generic a term. Most of the e-bikes referred to are really electric motorcycles, using the loophole of having pedals, and were never intended to be pedaled

The solution is simple: Update the regulations so that an e-bike with pedal assistance up to 18 mph is a bicycle and any e-bike with a throttle is a motorcycle and is regulated with licensing, insurance and registration.

In the short term enforcing current laws would be a start.

James MurdySan Jose

Simpson, Mineta offervoters an example

Former Congressman and Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta joked that he was named after an airport. The namesake of the San José Norman Y. Mineta International Airport and the Mineta Transportation Institute, now adds the Mineta Simpson Institute at Heart Mountain to the list.

Former Sen. Alan Simpson and Mineta met behind the barbed wire of Heart Mountain Incarceration Camp as Boy Scouts. They reunited decades later in Congress. Recently, intolerance has become a dominant political force. This climate, with a resurgence of xenophobia during the COVID-19 pandemic, feels all too familiar.

As ballots arrive and election day nears, our elected leaders must foster empathy, courage and collaboration. The Mineta Simpson Institute embodies putting aside political differences, Simpson a Republican and Mineta a Democrat, to work together in service and better the lives of all. Their example does not have to be a bygone of the past but a part of our brighter future.

Ellen KameiMountain View City Council

Biden withdrawal wascatalyzed by his peers

Re: “‘Renewed sense of energy’” (Page A1, Aug. 18).

Grace Hase’s front-page article in Sunday’s paper was uplifting — reading that the spirits of the nation’s next generation of Democratic leaders have been “renewed,” to quote the title, by Joe Biden’s sudden decision to end his reelection bid, which he had rightfully won, on July 21.

While the piece is about the five young delegates from the South Bay and Peninsula, aged 22 to 31, it’s important to note that the pressure to oust Biden came from his peers, namely Rep. Nancy Pelosi, three years his senior, and Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, four years his junior, the first Congress member to ask for his withdrawal on July 2.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd noted in her June 29 column on Biden’s hubris that “Democratic strategist Paul Begala … explained on CNN: ‘The first Democratic politician to call on Biden to step down, it’s going to end their career.’”

Irvin DawidBurlingame

Harris policies promisefurther economic pain

Democrats have been positioning the recent inflation reduction as things are now great again. Unfortunately, they’re not. Prices remain painfully high. Runaway spending and disruptions of domestic energy supply are the primary causes. High interest rates were the other result.

Kamala Harris’ proposed new spending will invariably raise inflation again.

Noted economists know through history and basic economic principles that the only practical way to drive down prices and raise worker wages is through robust GDP growth. Protecting the current corporate tax rate and the elimination of burdensome regulations are the keys. Unfortunately, Harris and her advisers have not demonstrated an understanding of basic economic fundamentals.

Henry RissierHollister

With elderly candidates,VP’s importance grows

In 2008, I seriously considered voting for John McCain, a 72-year-old man with serious medical issues. That is, until he demonstrated poor judgment in selecting his running mate, a person with a good chance of becoming commander in chief during his first or second term.

Although I never considered voting for the cognitively challenged 78-year-old likely obese man currently on the ballot, once again, his choice for a 25th Amendment beneficiary is similarly unfortunate.

While the role of a vice president can be minor, that can change radically after their boss’s final heartbeat.

Barry BronsonSaratoga

Safe storage canmitigate gun danger

Guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens. We can all help to address — and hopefully reverse — this awful statistic by spreading the word about secure gun storage.

The gold standard for secure storage is keeping guns unloaded, locked and stored separately from ammunition. It’s a regimen that all gun owners should follow, to help keep kids, classrooms and communities safer.

August 26 to 30 is SMART Week, in which all of us — gun owners and non-gun owners alike — can come together to spread the word about secure storage. Please lend your voice to this effort in one-on-one conversations, on social media and beyond. Our kids and communities deserve to be safer.

Sarah BayerleSan Jose