Letters: Homelessness is not an identity for Oaklanders

Submit your letter to the editor via this form Read more Letters to the Editor Homelessness is not an identity Re Homeless issue puts Lee on hot seat Page A July Oakland is overrun by encampments and their detritus rats syringes feces etc Sidewalks are blocked forcing pedestrians into the street Related Articles Letters Only the GOP denies humanity s effect on surroundings change Letters With Trump s tax law signed protest is even more critical Letters Donald Trump s tax law is no gift to the U S Letters Supreme Court upholds Trump s inhumane policies Letters DA reflects Santa Clara County s views on death penalty Barbara Lee seems to miss the point but that s also because of how the issue is framed This isn t about homelessness That s not what s prohibited let alone criminalized in San Francisco and San Jose It s about the abuse of residents space about encampments and the entire encampment subculture If the inhabitants of these encampments have such deep roots in the population why don t their neighbors want them around Respect and consideration are a two-way street Homelessness is a predicament not an identity In the past I ve been homeless and destitute There s dependably someplace else to go another way to approach life It s a big planet Time to move on Mitchell Halberstadt Oakland Tax credits are best way to help renters Re City rejects new renter protections Page B July Renters do not receive tax advantages equivalent to those available to homeowners Homeowners if they itemize can deduct home mortgage interest and with the increase in state and local tax SALT deductions up to the advantage to homeowners is decidedly more favorable To make it more proportional we could allow renters to deduct up to a month yearly from their adjusted gross income My Gen Z granddaughter tells me that she will be renting for the next years despite earning a year The cost of buying a home is just too high in major cities Let s do something for renters instead of development-stifling rent control James Hammill Walnut Creek BART must cut spending to get more funding BART is very critical to the Bay Area but neither the SB proposed resident tax nor a tax on Silicon Valley businesses is the answer to BART s budget issues Those are just handouts with no incentives Instead I suggest the state match additional funding to BART for every dollar BART reduces from their current actual spending Eliminating unfilled employee positions or unspent funds are not actual spending and would not count as reductions If BART wants us to help close its budget gap it requirements to have skin in the battle and show us it is willing to make structural changes too Yes this will require making arduous decisions and also working with the unions to accomplish this but that is the responsibility of BART management with the board s advocacy If BART wants our help they need to first show us they are willing to help themselves Louis Lucibello Alamo Let s open our eyes to Trump s power grab Resist like it s Germany It took the Nazis fewer than days to dismantle a constitutional republic At present in our country people are being snatched off the street by masked unidentified agents and thrown into unmarked vehicles No ID no warrants no due process just our very own ICE Gestapo hard at work spreading fear chaos and worse Make no mistake These power grabs that Donald Trump has achieved are flashing warning signs of a police state One asks why the good Germans allowed the Third Reich to happen Indifference Fear Racial hatred With apologies to Pastor Martin Niemoller first they came for the Brown people and I did not speak out because I was not Brown Then they came for the gay people but I did not speak because I was not gay and so on We must wake up people Marilynn Gray-Raine Danville Live landscaping can mitigate heat islands In a warming surroundings and with shrinking water supplies water-wise landscaping offers a thoughtful response But what about plant-free yards where greenery is replaced with gravel stone or artificial turf Should we adopt this approach to save water Here are three points to consider First research from Virginia Tech shows that plant-free yards can lower property value by up to about percent because buyers appreciate living landscaping Second eliminating plants deprives birds pollinators and small wildlife of habitat reducing the biodiversity that brings our neighborhoods to life Third hard surfaces don t cool the air like plants raising local temperatures and power bills This is known as the urban heat island effect The U S EPA recommends vegetation and trees as a simple way to reduce heat islands I invite local leaders to update landscaping guidelines and encourage designs that conserve water sponsorship wildlife and help cool our neighborhoods Yana Burakovsky Pleasanton Fossil fuel remains a necessary evil Re Insurance companies should sue Big Oil for harm to circumstances Page A July I spent my career in the insurance business I am surprised that Rep John Garamendi and state Sen Jerry McNerney could be so naive Until we come up with a better propulsion source and electricity and EVs are not the answer oil companies are for better or worse our necessary evil Nowadays s Wall Street Journal has a column that talks about the Big Beautiful Bill having eliminated multiple potential subsidies It contains a pertinent quote A new green elite now has a chance to arise and deal in adult fashion with the circumstances puzzle not only its scientific uncertainties but its demanding yet bridgeable political intricacies Ed Griffiths Pleasant Hill