On Fourth of July, give thanks for our republic

As we celebrate the 249th anniversary of the United States of America, I invite you to reflect on some of the timeless words in the Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

These words remind us of the courage and vision of our forefathers, who risked everything to secure our independence from England.

Their legacy continued with the creation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, establishing our constitutional republic — a beacon of freedom and opportunity for all.

Let us honor the brave men and women who founded our nation by giving thanks to God for their sacrifices and embracing the values that define America: hard work, honesty, lawfulness and patriotism.

— David Ott, Pleasanton

State must build smarter rather than faster

Re: “State bill pausing local building codes forfeits climate progress” (Page A6, July 1).

The referenced article by David Cohen and Vicky Veenker is spot on.

Dismissing building codes purely to speed rebuilding is a false economy. In this time of need for more housing, including the replacement of housing destroyed by wildfires, now is the time to build smarter, not quicker and more slipshod.

When a wooden bridge collapses, it is not replaced in kind. It is replaced with a bridge that will be stronger and last longer.

When your car finally dies, you replace it with a newer, better, more efficient and safer (and actually cheaper in terms of constant dollars) model.

California is too smart to be a victim of reminiscences about the “good old days.”

— George Licina, Santa Rosa

Supervisors should find way to say no to election

Re: “Assessor’s race will cost at least $13.1 million” (Page A1, June 30).

According to the Mercury News, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has scheduled Nov. 4 for a special election with a possible runoff, which will increase the cost of the race to $26 million.

Assessor Larry Stone is leaving early, and the county’s charter requires an election to be held within 120 days.

A large field of candidates is expected.

Only the candidates will be happy with a special election that will cost $26 million.

It will be a “low voter turnout election for one office,” as per Stone, who then proceeds to endorse a potential replacement. Is there no one in county government to argue that this is a ridiculous waste of money?

Isn’t there a method of overriding the charter and having the assistant assessor take over for the remaining year?

The county is already cutting back spending that affects all residents. Who is going to stand up for us?

— Judy Barbeau, San Jose

Artificial turf isn’t an athlete’s friend

Artificial turf fields are extremely harmful to athletes’ health.

Artificial turf has PFAS, carcinogens that are released into athletes’ bloodstreams. This poses an increased cancer risk, especially for children. For example, a study conducted by Dr. Kyla Bennett, a scientist formerly with the EPA, found PFAS in artificial turf.

Many also believe that artificial turf helps prevent injury. However, this is statistically untrue as artificial turf was found to be 20% more likely to cause noncontact-related injuries than grass. The NFL Players Association begged to have their synthetic turf fields replaced with grass.

As an athlete myself, I believe that artificial turf is not the solution to provide better playing fields to athletes. I think we should stick with grass and implement technologies such as new robotic mowing systems to have better maintenance of grass playing fields.

— Avni Desai, San Jose