Deputy injured in ambush needs workers’ comp help

Friday there was a remembrance of Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller and his June 2020 ambush shooting death.

The aftermath of this horrific attack has unfortunately dragged on for Deputy Alex Spencer.

Deputy Spencer was the officer present when Steven Carillo shot and killed Sgt. Gutzwiller. Spencer selflessly ran to protect Gutzwiller but was then shot in the chest, wounded by bomb shrapnel and run down by the killer’s escaping vehicle.

Spencer was hospitalized, spent months in pain and rehabilitation and severe mental and emotional suffering. Spencer’s regular income level was significantly reduced during this period.

After five years of legal wrangling and delay with workers’ compensation Spencer is still not financially whole. The CAO and Sheriff’s Office apparently cannot advocate for Spencer with the insurance company.

It is unconscionable that after Spencer’s bravery and sacrifice he is still waiting to be fairly treated financially. I ask the Board of Supervisors, Sheriff’s Office and CAO to investigate and take immediate action.

If the workers’ compensation company won’t do the right thing, the county should, so this hero knows they have his back.

Five years’ wait is far too long.

— William and Mary Ivison, Capitola

BLM mural just a meme that’s mostly ignored

I have a slightly contrarian take on the re-painted BLM mural on Center Street. The original idea was always a reactionary, performative nod to progressives, who seemed to believe that their communitarian effort would change hearts and minds. If only that were so. In fact, this mural could not be more disrespectful to the Black community. Instead of a more reflective and perhaps tactile reminder of the inherent racism that still exists, it’s merely an unreadable smear of yellow paint on a hot stretch of asphalt that gets driven over hundreds of times a day by drivers who miss entirely the mural’s symbolism, principally because it gets flattened and gradually erased under their wheels.

I am all for any artistic representation that is created to move the viewer, such as Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in D.C. But this (BLM mural) is not one of them. What it is is a meme that got co-opted, then got a little out of hand.

— Tim Rudolph, Santa Cruz

Train is a ‘lot of money’ — but the right thing to do

Tuesday’s Editorial used the term “lot of money” referring to the estimated RTC rail cost: $4.28 billion.

For us normal folk who feel $2,500 is outrageous for a Keeley-ville, 370-square-foot apartment, that is a lot of money.

However, what was a “lot of money” is not a lot of money in today’s world.

The price for this train would cost Elon Musk 1% of his wealth.

Trump’s Cabinet could chip in and raise $4.28 billion without altering their lifestyle.

If you are fortunate to own your home or have bought 25 years ago, when “affordable” was actually affordable; if you are a struggling renter; or just struggling on a 1970s-era wage, yes, that’s a lot of money.

Yet when we, collectively, put our will toward something that is bigger than our individual selves, something for future generations, something like this train, we will join the other First World countries who have the choice of train transportation

It’s the right thing to do.

— Lee Brokaw, Santa Cruz

No sympathy for local GOP in Trump’s ‘reign of terror’

I refer to the June 5 op-ed by the local GOP, lamenting discrimination and fears about the safety and livelihood of its members. I find it ironic that you take the moral high ground in lecturing about the ideals and values that we all strive for in a democratic society. Just where were those values when you voted for Trump, who ran a campaign based on misogyny, hate, xenophobia and racism? It appears you had no problem embracing his undemocratic ideology, knowing full well what he was going to do to the marginalized people in this country and how he would upend their lives. Well, he’s gone even beyond that, and we are now all caught up in his reign of terror where thousands of lives having been affected in some ill fashion or another. It’s hard to comprehend just how much damage this grifter has inflicted on this country.

You want our sympathy because you’re afraid? You should be ashamed.

— Gigi Jourdan, Santa Cruz