Letters: Ethnic studies | Holmes’ imprisonment

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Kids will bear brunt of
Holmes’ imprisonment

In October I wrote about women of color with children being incarcerated for less egregious crimes than those for which Elizabeth Holmes was convicted. (“Is Holmes playing child card in sentencing?” Page A6, Oct. 21) Today the story changes.

Holmes has never experienced the sound of the electronic lock of a prison door being shut. I have heard it but only as a free person. It will sound different to her ears. She never once paused to conceive what her behavior and convincing voice could lead to. My mother’s heart feels for her children born during her trial days.

Shirley Cantu
Los Gatos

Cupertino leaders must
focus on governing

Re: “2 members of council force from committees” (Page B1, May 14).

Cupertino’s City Council majority has spent months during a fiscal crisis persecuting two of their colleagues for asking questions and has alleged in a referral criminal behavior based upon anonymous insinuations and “no evidence,” as the District Attorney’s office recently wrote in a letter to the Cupertino city attorney (“DA’s office ends probe of former city leader,” Page B1, May 31), 12 days following the referral.

These were meritless, politically-driven allegations. The majority that brought forward these allegations to the district attorney, comprising Mayor Hung Wei, Councilmember J.R. Fruen and Vice Mayor Sheila Mohan, should focus on the work of governance. As an elected official, the keys to solving problems and making improvements are reading, thinking, asking salient questions and standing up on behalf of one’s constituency, as opposed to attacking people for doing the work. Being an elected official is not about persecuting people and sanctimonious brutality.

As our problems accumulate, when will the actual work of governance be done?

Darcy Paul
Cupertino

Letter miscasts reason
for poem’s removal

Re: “Headline distorts reasonable solution” (Page A6, May 30).

Reader Kathyrn Tomaino of Los Altos comes close to stating the actual problem with Amanda Gorman’s being “moved to the media center,” but aims her disappointment at the side-point of an overstated headline rather than the actual issue.

Tomaino writes in her letter, “I read the poem myself [and] don’t know that that I would have understood … it when I was in grades K-5.” But it was not removed from the library because of a “reading comprehension issue” as she optimistically suggests. As stated in the article itself, the complaint was that the poem “is not educational and have [sic] indirectly hate messages.” The complaint also sought the removal of a biography of Black poet Langston Hughes as well as a book entitled “The ABCs of Black History.”

Maybe a lesson in reading comprehension really is in order.

Scott Best
Palo Alto

We must support
updating water rights

Re: “California water proposal has dark, hidden currents” (Page A12, May 28).

In response to Jerry Hill’s recent op-ed, I must express my support for the proposed water rights bills currently under consideration in the California Legislature.

These bills, including AB 460, AB 1337, and SB 389, offer vital updates to the State Water Resources Control Board’s authority to help ensure fair water management for all. AB 460 enables immediate action against illegal water diversions, protecting users and the environment. AB 1337 allows the Water Board to curtail water rights during shortages, promoting balance and fairness. SB 389 verifies senior water rights, making more water available during droughts.

Opponents seek to preserve the outdated system, but these bills are essential for a 21st-century water management approach. Let’s support these modest changes and retrofit our water rights system.

Cheryl Weiden
Los Altos

We must prepare for
effects of climate change

According to the United Nations, 21.5 million people have been forcibly displaced due to floods, storms, wildfires and extreme temperatures since 2008. As weather has become more severe, so has the loss of life and property. I believe there needs to be better preparation to help people who are being displaced.