Rainbow crosswalk

When I saw (the rainbow crosswalk in Monterey) for the first time it warmed my heart just to see the colors of the rainbow — a symbol that I believe universally brings hope and awakens us to possibility.

Can we just appreciate it and allow the surprise and beauty of it and open our hearts to each other?

— Jacquelyn Woodward, Carmel

AB 84

I’m alarmed by AB 84’s attack on non-classroom-based charter schools. These schools offer vital options for students, like those with special needs or in rural areas, who need alternatives to traditional classrooms. AB 84’s 30% funding cuts and tripled oversight fees will force closures, limiting parental choice. The bill creates another Oversight Committee; A redundant Office of the Education Inspector General, wasting millions while California continues to fail as a state with a $12 billion deficit. Existing laws already ensure accountability — AB 84 is another Sacramento overreach, driven by an Anti-School Choice agenda. Children who do not learn in a traditional public school system are finding success in Charter Schools. Why punish success?

— Dalila Epperson, Marina

Rodeo

Here we are again. The ads in the paper. The ads on TV. The time of year when sick and morally bankrupt people get all excited about getting to watch animals being tortured and abused. It is appalling that humans derive pleasure from watching terrified calves being chased down, roped, slammed to the ground and then tied up.

Every year hundreds of animals that are forced to partake in rodeos suffer horrendous injuries. And many of these animals die from their injuries.

How is this entertainment? Better yet, how is this legal?

— Wendy Ledner, Salinas

Preparing for emergency

The tragic flooding events in Texas are a vivid reminder that everyone must be prepared when an emergency strikes. First, everyone should register their cell phone with AlertMontereyCounty.org. It is simple, free and will allow you to receive emergency alerts 24/7 regardless of your location.

Next, have a plan of what you’re going to do in an emergency. Have disaster supplies in easy-to-carry containers with food, water and medications. These will sustain you if you must “Shelter-In-Place” at home, or provide you with valuable resources to take with you if you need to leave quickly. Take pictures of everything in your house, and of the house itself so you can clearly justify your belongings to an insurance company in the event of a catastrophic loss. Keep these pictures on a thumb drive and keep that drive in a safe deposit box or give a copy to trusted friends.

Develop a home fire escape plan. Have smoke detectors in every area of the home where someone sleeps. Practice your plan and have a meeting place outside so everyone can be quickly accounted for in the event of a fire.

Get some emergency training! In a disaster, emergency responders may NOT be able to immediately respond to all the calls for assistance. Take a first-aid and CPR course. Enroll in Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training which teaches emergency and survival skills. CERT training is free of charge to Peninsula residents and you can enroll by emailing certmonterey@gmail.com

— Demetrius Kastros, City Of Monterey

First Nation

Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” allocates $40 million for his “National Garden of American Heroes” to be built next to Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Leaders of the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation are protesting. Given to the Oglala Lakota by the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, no less than a decade later, the Black Hills were taken back so the government could mine for gold.

Then, during World War II, the U.S. Department of the Army seized reservation land for gunnery practice as well as demolition bombing exercises. The reservation inhabitants were forced to relocate. Those who moved back now live with the danger of unexploded bombs, causing psychological and financial hardship related to the loss of family land. The Pine Ridge Reservation is considered the poorest place to live in the United States! Imagine what that $40 million could do to help these First Nations people!

— Nancy Ponedel Parsons, Pacific Grove