Christmas in May at the stop lights of Pasadena

If you live in Pasadena, take a few minutes out of your busy schedule and go south on Hill Street, past Walnut, and turn right on Union. You will now have entered Pasadena’s own Christmas Tree Lane.

Starting on Hill and going west to Fair Oaks, every cross street will soon be equipped with a red, yellow and green traffic light.

Couldn’t at least a good part of this expense have been used to synchronize all of Pasadena’s hundreds of electric stop lights, rather than have the usual stop-and-go system we now endure? Or perhaps install green arrows at the large intersections so that people wanting to go left can have that opportunity to do so without risking a collision from approaching cars?

— Gary Stellern, Pasadena

Inconvenient Metro buses hurt their ridership

I don’t know why Metro never acknowledges that the first item on the agenda must be convenience. If it is too inconvenient to use the bus, it doesn’t matter if it is clean and safe. Any trip that involves a transfer and has a beginning and/or a terminal point using a route that has hourly service is tremendously inconvenient. Only a very limited number of routes have frequent service outside of rush hours.

— James King, Covina

Succession

If President Biden is found guilty of his crimes and removed and Vice President Harris is also removed from office, guess who becomes president? The speaker of the House!

— James Martin, Whittier,

Disinformation

In Susan Shelley’s column on Thursday, she would like readers to believe that attempts to deny access to re Twitter for a reporter who questioned the value of a mask-wearing policy by thed irector of L.A. County Public Health is a free-speech issue. To me this shows a lack of awareness of the disinformation about COVID-19 that was disseminating on social media.

Shelley neglects to tell readers that most COVID deaths occurred in counties and states where voters who voted for Trump resided. Based on the metrics, Republican voters in red states and counties had the least number of vaccinations and showed no interest in any expert-recommended practice, including mask wearing.

The arrogance by a columnist to question the expertise and knowledge of pandemic health scientists and make it a free-speech issue is what author Tom Nichols wrote about in his book, “The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters.”

— Larry Naritomi, Monterey Park

Social work

As Susan Shelley notes, Barabara Ferrer has a Ph.D. but does not remember precisely what her degree was about. It turns out that she has a degree in social work. How does that relate to her pronouncements about COVID statistics and the deceit she perpetrated?

Well, this phrase and her pronouncements for the last three years is a disgrace to the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, the state of California and the public. She should be removed from her position.

Let’s bring back some truth at all levels of government.

— Ellie S. MacMullin, Pasadena

Permanent housing not the real solution to the homelessness crisis

I am convinced that permanent housing is not the solution to homelessness in our community.

I believe that the vast majority of homeless persons suffer from mental illness and/or addiction. There are also some who simply want to live off the social grid of the majority of the general public.

I base much of my conclusion on my past experience as a director of the South Lake Business Improvement District. Only two out of 100 at best of the homeless encountered in the district annually would accept direction to nearby homeless shelters.

Clearly we must prioritize getting people off the streets now, not later.

They need mental health and addiction assistance, not permanent housing.

— Joseph F. Paggi Jr., Pasadena