Letters: Oakland’s broken government structure needs repair

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Who is trying to fix
Oakland’s problems?

Re: “Broken Oakland needs more than a new mayor” (Page A8, Dec. 22).

This is the best analysis I have ever seen of Oakland’s completely disastrous failure to function as a city. I grew up in New York City, then lived in the Chicago suburb of Park Forest, Cambridge, Mass, and I’m now living in Berkeley and I’m invested in Oakland.

I have never seen such chaos and complete lack of accountability in city government. Steven Falk’s analysis citing the history and the SPUR report stunningly responds to the questions I have been pondering: Is it simply endemic corruption fueled by apparently endemic racial division? Or is there something even more systemic? Falk’s organizational analysis is clearly important. Is there anyone reading this besides myself? Where are those who are working to fix this in Oakland?

Ellen Rodin
Oakland

Newsom should give
state a new CPUC

Could California homeowners hope for a Christmas present from Gov. Newsom in appointing a new California Public Utility Commission in 2025 that would have homeowners and renters in mind when approving the ever-increasing rates charged by PG&E?

PG&E has the audacity in a recent request for higher rates to state that residential customers are going to be helped by having us fund new infrastructure for the likes of AI data centers (think Facebook/Meta) and distribution centers (think Amazon). Contrast PG&E’s heaping costs on residential customers with that of electric utility Entergy in Louisiana, where Meta is sharing the cost of the new data center.

The billion-dollar companies should be paying their fair share in California too.

Craig Bender
Walnut Creek

Peet’s continues to
charge for oat milk

It is good to see Starbucks do the responsible thing for their customers as well as the environment. They stopped charging extra for plant-based milk on Nov. 7.

But Peet’s continues to charge up to $1 more for plant-based milk, no matter the size of the coffee. That’s even though oat and almond milks are the same price as, or even cheaper than, organic dairy milk. And how can they charge the same amount for a small coffee as a large one?

Jojy Michael
Fremont

Musk is buying his
way to presidency

Imagine you are an immigrant, yet you desperately desire to become president of the country in which you currently reside.

The Constitution of this nation you seek to dictate specifically forbids your ascension to the figurehead throne, so you must use the same cunning and guile you used to dupe the country’s electric vehicle conversion and its floundering space program. Your greatest asset is your wealth, so you must use this as leverage in your search to find a pawn to facilitate your plan.

Once this puppet has been targeted, you flatter him incessantly, gain his meager trust and move into his house. You now have access to influence him at every turn. Your next step will be to get the congressional lapdogs in this country to trust you more than the figurehead pawn.

Once done, you are effectively president, and the Constitution be damned.

Jon James
Pleasanton

Trump taking guardrails
off the entire nation

Re: “Trump will drive nation into ditch” (Page A6, Dec. 18).

A writer says that the president-elect is ‘’undermining institutional effectiveness and credibility” and worries he will ‘’drive the nation into a ditch.” It is much worse than that.

Donald Trump and his bootlickers are spreading lies and chaos throughout the world. Insulting our allies and fomenting hate among factions at home and abroad is his shtick. He will torpedo any science-driven help for the environment and accelerate the desecration of our natural habitat, all for money.

So, goodbye to safeguards: Industry will now be free to increase dumping poison into our air, water and soil. What could be the harm of that? And, speaking of disease, I can hardly wait to see how they mismanage the next pandemic: get your syringe, bleach and UV light ready. Maybe we’ll get lucky and it will just “go away.” Then we can focus on polio, soon to re-emerge on the heels of withholding vaccines.

Marilynn Gray-Raine
Danville

Wood smoke threatens
the Bay Area’s health

Did you know that wood smoke is the largest source of air pollution in the Bay Area during the winter? Some residents may be inclined to fire up their woodburning stoves or fireplaces around the holidays. Unfortunately, burning wood can be harmful to ourselves and our loved ones.

The fine particles in wood smoke are so tiny that they can move beyond the lungs and into the bloodstream, which can lead to asthma attacks and heart attacks. People with lung disease, heart disease, as well as kids and older adults, face higher risks from this smoke.

To improve the air quality in your home this winter, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Clean HEET program helps reduce the cost of switching from a wood-burning stove or fireplace insert to an electric heat pump. You can find more information on how to protect your lungs at lung.org.

David Pepper
Oakland