Ask local voters whether they favor tax for train

Perhaps what is needed to settle the rail/trail debate is a directly worded ballot measure with a fiscal commitment: Should the RTC build a pedestrian and bicycle trail and save the dormant train rails in place for future use, and assess each business and residential property an annual assessment to pay for the planning, construction and operation of the train and its infrastructure. Otherwise, it seems we are going to be spending millions of dollars of taxpayer funds (whether federal, state or local taxes, they are coming from taxpayers that include us) to settle a political commitment that faces many fiscal challenges, to say the least.

— Katherine Harasz, Capitola

Supervisors need to put brakes on battery storage

The Guest Commentary on Feb. 26 (“Moss Landing Aftermath: Tough Love for the Battery Industry”) is a great call to action for residents in Santa Cruz County to demand our Board of Supervisors immediately approve an Urgency Ordinance on lithium Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), putting the brakes on the current plan to build such hazardous facilities in Watsonville, Aptos and Santa Cruz. The Seahawk project in Watsonville is already zooming through the permit approval process, while those who live in the area of 90 Minto Road are largely unaware.

Supervisors need to follow the good leadership example of the city of Morro Bay, and Orange and Solano counties to pass an Urgency Ordinance, convene an impartial Technical Advisory Group and look at alternative battery systems that will not cause a disaster the likes of Moss Landing’s.

At the very least, there should be well-noticed town hall meetings to alert the public.

— Becky Steinbruner, Aptos

‘Unspeakable’ crime for Trump to halt Ukraine aid

It’s unspeakable that Donald Trump has halted aid to Ukraine, following the cult leader’s disgraceful treatment of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office for daring to reject Mafia Don‘s attempt to extort mineral rights out of him as a condition of our alliance. Zelenskyy should not have to “make a deal” for support in defending his country against an unprovoked Russian invasion. We are way beyond “Hire a clown, get a circus.” With Trump 2.0, it’s “Hire a crook, get a crime scene.”

— Lisa Jensen, Santa Cruz

If Trump’s ‘for endless war’ would left support him?

Trump got elected because the left went on far and long enough for people to figure out just how badly they were lied to, how corrupt and stupid government had become, how awful and culpable U.S. overseas involvement has been, how our country was being destroyed by cultural Marxist haters, and on and on.

The ones who haven’t figured it out all seem to live here and write Sentinel letters opposing Trump no matter what the subject in knee-jerk fashion. If, I say if, their opinion still mattered any more, all Trump would have to say was he is “for endless war” not against, and he’d have their support for peace.

— Garrett Philipp, Santa Cruz

Trans girls pose no more threats than other girls

DEI is the new dirty word. Yet in the past it was called affirmative action. One has to wonder if its name never changed, would it be such a dirty word and would people be so apt to condemn it? A trans girl who is doing puberty blockers poses no more threat than any other girl. A trans girl without blockers decides in her final year to go from boys to girls sports; maybe evaluated by a committee in the light of fairness. One local trans girl took five years off volleyball; mainly because she didn’t like the way the male muscle mass made her look in a bikini.

Life is rich, let’s not forget that.

— Chelsea Wagner, Soquel

DOGE approach ‘horrific’ for government workers

You’re fired!

That may have sounded good on “The Apprentice;” this is horrific for a government worker. They lose their unemployment rights and possibly their retirement benefits. The government saves money in multiple ways and the employees suffer losing their safety net.

Al Gore enacted a government employee reduction plan in the late 1990s that was done without lawsuits and treated the dismissed employees with dignity. The DOGE approach does none of this. It is crude and insensitive. It tramples on the many while helping the few.

— Bill Beecher, Aptos