PG&E doesn’t deserve more money from fed-up California taxpayers | Opinion

Burdened taxpayers

“House GOP taps Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana as Speaker. Is the California delegation happy?” (sacbee.com, Oct. 23)

Republicans in Congress love to pose themselves as “deficit hawks,” screeching outrage that our government debt is so high. They are especially vocal about cutting necessary government programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program because “government debt is too high.” They pretend to care about debt despite having approved tax cuts and spending during Donald Trump’s presidency, which increased government debt by $7.8 trillion — more than any previous administration.

The newly elected Speaker of the House, Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson, claims to care about the debt by proposing to fund national security assistance for Israel only if funds are cut from the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS uses those funds to catch billionaire tax cheats, which actually reduces our debt.

When Republicans let billionaires evade taxes, the burden falls on the rest of us tax-paying, law-abiding citizens. Next November, taxpayers will have our chance to vote out those phony Republican deficit-hawk hypocrites.

Bruce Joffe

Piedmont

Crash course

“More deaths, more traffic. How Highway 50 construction in Sacramento went horribly wrong,” (sacbee.com, Nov. 2)

I often drive through the construction on Highway 50. The problem with accidents isn’t the construction, infrastructure or signage. It’s simply that people are driving too fast and crazy.

Bill Taylor

Sacramento

Opinion

Traffic conditions

“More deaths, more traffic. How Highway 50 construction in Sacramento went horribly wrong,” (sacbee.com, Nov. 2)

Interesting article on the current construction dangers, along with the history of Highway 50 as it was developed from a local arterial into a five-lane expressway over the past 70 years. However, the assertion that road capacity expansion inevitably leads to increased miles of travel ignores the fact that Sacramento County’s population has mushroomed from under 300,000 in 1950 to almost 1.6 million currently. It is population growth that underlies this travel expansion and the need for more traffic lanes.

If that growth continues, 70 years from now our grandchildren will see extremely challenging transportation conditions.

Antony Smith

Sacramento

Hold PG&E accountable

“PG&E’s poor safety record & performance shows it has not earned a big rate increase | Opinion,” (sacbee.com, Nov. 1)

As PG&E balances its books, how much of the upcoming rate hike includes fines for igniting the fires that killed 84 people and deprived thousands of their homes?

PG&E is like a felon passing the fines back to its victims. The executives who made the decision to funnel money away from power-line maintenance were untouched for their actions.

Where did the money for power-line maintenance go? To politicians (Newsweek reported hundreds of thousands of dollars to Mrs. Newsom’s foundation) to lobbyists or to executive salaries and bonuses?

Now is the time for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to step in to review the actions (and inactions) of the California Public Utilities Commission. The Feds can start with a list of PG&E’s campaign donations, then make PG&E accountable to the citizens of California instead of to its shareholders on the New York Stock Exchange.

Curtis Panasuk

Sacramento

Public support

“Gavin Newsom spent $50 million to end animal euthanasia. So why are more pets being killed?” (sacbee.com, Oct. 18)

Blaming shelters for the greatest animal intake in decades ignores the variables driving it: the economy, a profound shortage of veterinarians and significant housing issues facing families today. These serious challenges will take more than $50 million and two years to solve.

This year, shelters have seen an influx of animals far exceeding resources, consistently operating at over 150% capacity. But we are responding with new shelter partnerships, mobile

spay/neuter programs, affordable veterinary services, food banks and behavior resources. The

governor signed Assembly Bill 1399 and Senate Bill 669 into law, expanding veterinary telehealth and vet tech responsibilities. These programs take time and more resources than most shelters have.

But shelters cannot do this alone; we need the public’s support to care for animals and keep their families together where they belong.

Dr. Gary Weitzman

San Diego Humane Society, president and CEO

Not the solution

“CA must implement forest restoration work to necessary scale,” (sacbee.com, Nov. 5)

Contrary to logging industry claims, “biomass” is not sustainable nor healthy. Burning wood for electricity releases more carbon emissions per unit of energy than fossil fuels — even coal. Add to this the emissions from the logging, smokestacks of the mills and shipping to foreign markets.

Despite industry claims, wood pellets are not “waste wood” or “thinning”; the majority of biomass is from clearcutting living trees, destroying healthy forests, depleting soils and degrading watersheds. Replanted areas take years to match the carbon absorption of old forests, and the replanted plantations are even more dense and flammable than natural forests. Nor does stripping fire breaks or thinning reduce flammability.

The most damaging wildfires (including the Camp Fire) are pushed by extreme winds and burn right through logged and thinned areas. Lahaina was fueled by hurricane winds and wooden structures. Wood pellets are part of the carbon problem, not a solution.

Kristin Mercer

Belmont