How can it take two years for Murray Street Bridge?

One question for the powers that be: If the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge were built in four years, why is it going to take two years to retrofit the Murray Street Bridge? Why not just shut the road completely down for three months and get it done rather than making us suffer for two years?

— Joe Ward, Watsonville

Resist Trump’s attacks on freedom of speech

Dear UCSC Chancellor Larive, and elected officials Pellerin, Addis, Laird, Panetta, school leaders Sabbah, Contreras, Munro, and all:

When will elected officials, university and school leaders resist the overt suppression of academic freedom and freedom of speech by the president of the United States? Trump’s latest: “All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came.”

This is no ordinary moment, no time to protect one institution alone. This is time for leaders in every institution to unite and resist attacks on democracy, and attacks on people. There will be costs. The impact of silence and accommodation will be much greater cost.

Enacting limits on free speech and freedom to learn accommodates intimidation. Stand with students, faculty and community in acting for freedom and against colonialism, islamophobia, antisemitism, racism — for the dignity of every people’s stories and liberation. Vulnerable people depend on you to risk your careers and institutional self-interests as they/we risk everything.

— Peter Klotz-Chamberlin, Santa Cruz

Editorial: ‘A train whistle remains a distant sound’

The train whistle may be distant, but it’s coming. The multi-use trail is already here. Enjoy! And more being completed as we speak.

The whistle I really hear is the constant dog whistle of the Santa Cruz Sentinel in relation to the Rail Trail.

— Kristen Raugust, Santa Cruz

Record shows supporters are drinking ‘Trump-Aid’

In a March 6 letter, the author opines “Trump got elected because … people (figured) 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.”

Let’s review some highlights of Trump 2.0.

During a Fox News interview on Feb. 18, Trump said “Medicare, Medicaid, none of that stuff is going to be touched.” Yet, the House Republicans’ budget plan aims to cut $880 billion from Medicaid over the next decade. So, Trump lied!

The Trump administration said on March 5 that it would overhaul a $42 billion federal grant program for expanding high-speed internet to the nation, including easing some rules that could benefit Elon Musk’s Starlink service. How corrupt is that?

Also, on March 5, Trump threatened Hamas, as well as the Palestinian public, to release the hostages — or be “dead.” Wasn’t that “awful and culpable” or was that just part of Trump’s plan to make Gaza the “Riviera of the Mediterranean”?

Please stop drinking the Trump-Aid!

— Peter Gibson, Soquel

What actually is wrong about DEI and ‘woke’?

Once again, Republicans go overboard in response to things. This time their knee-jerk reaction is in rejecting DEI, as the Department of Defense is “scrubbing” its records, marking tens of thousands of historic documents for deletion. Does this even make sense, since (1) these are historic records of things that actually happened, and (2) are documents that existed before any DEI programs took place?

And come to think of it, why would anyone be against the ideas of diversity, equality and inclusion in our world in the first place? I guess it is the same people who are against being “woke,” which if they understood the term, means being aware of social and racial injustices. What the heck is wrong with that?

But then again, I am asking the same people why they voted for Trump.

— Phil Hormel, Scotts Valley

Correction/clarification

In the March 11 Editorial regarding declining school enrollment, the cumulative enrollment for Santa Cruz City Schools referred only to elementary schools. The total 2023-24 enrollment both for Santa Cruz elementary and the high school district was 6,497 students, according to Ed Data Source.