Letters: New Gilded Age | Endangering consumers | Positive message | Vaccine stance | Early campaigning | Student workload

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Does story herald
a new Gilded Age?

Re: “‘I don’t know how we got so lucky’” (Page A1, Dec. 2).

The Gilded Age in the United States was a period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which involved materialism and excess wealth for some. Newspaper “society pages” began to feature stories of the rich and famous. Also, apparently, in the 1920s, newspaper society pages regularly covered the lavish parties, weddings, fashion choices and social events of the rich and famous.

But in 2024, why would the East Bay Times want to do a story about a couple who are able to buy a $3.7 million home, one that must be in a “good” school district and have a good-sized backyard for their dog and growing teenager?

Are we back to admiring the story of such a couple, when most in the Bay Area cannot afford to buy even a starter home? Why would we want to go there in our daily newspaper?

George Fulmore
Emeryville

Raw milk producers
endanger consumers

Re: “Dairy standing by its products” (Page A1, Dec. 4).

There is probably no faster way to destroy a beneficial industry than by allowing the sale of raw, unpasteurized milk.

Exposing children to salmonella, blood infections and other horrors is unconscionable and unnecessary. Safe, pasteurized milk contains no added sugars plus five times as much protein as oat milk and 10 times the protein of almond milk. Nevertheless, a terrified public — believing that all milk is unsafe — will flee to these products unless the producers of raw milk begin protecting their customers with practices that have been in place since 1895.

Milk drinkers and cheese lovers need to contact regulatory agencies now, before dairy after dairy collapses due to the irresponsible actions of one or two producers.

Robbie See
Pleasanton

Take op-ed’s positive
message to heart

Re: “A better state government is best defense” (Page A6, Nov. 27).

How refreshing! Bob Stonebrook’s op-ed was refreshingly positive.

Instead of the vitriol that usually get published lamenting the outcome of our recent election, he actually provided some positive, helpful ideas for us to use to move forward.

Implementing his ideas will surely result in better outcomes for all of us than the carping we’ve resorted to so far.

John Griggs
Danville

RFK Jr. is wrong on
vaccines, right on food

I do not support the denial of vaccines. I have a birth defect because of an early vaccine. One reason for the heated discussions is that many people do not realize that vaccines have been greatly improved. However, I feel that health care providers need to do a better job of educating the public. Education and teaching responsibility would be a lot better than mandates.

Aside from this issue, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. brought up other issues such as healthier food and food inequality. I agree with him there. We could do a lot to make food healthier, especially for children.

Marianne Haas
Berkeley

Politicians should work
rather than campaign

Re: “Is Newsom running for president already?” (Page A1, Nov. 10).

The East Bay Times covered a front page last month, only five days after the election, with a giant cartoon showing Gavin Newson running for president in 2028.

In Italy and many other countries, no one in office may run for office until six months before the election. Imagine what America could have done with the money spent on this last election?

Everyone in office needs to stop politicking and get back to work. And the East Bay Times needs to find some relevant news to fill the Sunday cover instead of fanning the flames of America’s never-ending election peddlers that are destroying our country. Please wake up and sell the real news.

Paul Rosa
San Ramon

Workload puts too much
pressure on students

I am writing to express my concern regarding an issue that has been widely acknowledged but insufficiently addressed: the never-ending academic pressures teenagers face.

High schoolers are expected to navigate a seemingly endless workload, with hours of homework on top of schooling. This leaves little time for things critical to a teenager’s development: rest, social interaction or extracurriculars. The stress from these expectations has led to an unnerving increase in anxiety, depression and burnout. Despite widespread awareness of the issue, temporary measures such as occasional mental health days or additional counseling resources are all that is being done to “solve” this issue.

The real problem is the unrealistic workload. It is time for educators to rethink the balance between academics and mental health. I hope your newspaper will continue to shine a light on this topic and advocate for actionable change.

Caitlin Osmond
San Ramon