State must stop wasting rainwater

Professor Andrew Fisher’s article on increasing groundwater storage (“How California can save water from the atmospheric river,” Page A9, Jan. 8) may be feasible in the Pajaro Valley but not in the Central Valley due to the hardpan and salt buildup in the soils there.

It would be far better to build the Sites Reservoir south of Sacramento to store winter rains from the Sacramento River. But despite voters approving Proposition 1 in 2014 to build more water storage, Sacramento politicians seem to prefer sending years of excess rainwater down the Sacramento River to the ocean.

— Ed Kahl, Woodside

Don’t reward migrants for breaking the law

If you don’t own a car and steal one, the law will not let you keep the car. If you embezzle, even if you are needy, you must repay the money. Similarly, if you break immigration laws, you should not be provided with food, housing, medical care or travel. Our justice system is based on the idea that you cannot benefit from breaking the law.

When people know that by crossing a border they can immediately improve their lives because of the foolish generosity of Americans, they will come in droves, as they have been. We need to stop giving away our wealth to lawbreakers; there is enough need here. Work on changing immigration laws, but don’t open the border and welcome lawbreakers with our taxes.

— Denise Kalm, Walnut Creek

Letter ignores critical COVID stats

Bob Wheeler would have us believe blue states with sustained lockdowns saved lives compared to red states that minimized lockdowns (“Plenty of reasons to vote for Democrats,” Page A6, Jan. 3). As evidence, he correctly states COVID deaths were higher in Florida (3,919 per million) than in California, (2,504 per million).

He conveniently ignores COVID deaths in New York, the poster child of lockdowns, which were almost the same as Florida — 3,897 per million according to the website World-ometer.

He also needs to take into consideration that about 75% of COVID deaths occur in people 65 and older, and Florida has a much higher percentage of seniors than either California or New York.

He also believes school closure learning loss is no big deal. In an affluent city like Walnut Creek with an abundance of resources, the learning gap in math and science can be closed. In Hayward, not so much.

— Martin Wilmington, Hayward

Paper should update the comics page

I am really tired of seeing political commentary on the comic pages: “Doonesbury,” which is outdated; “Mallard Fillmore,” which is out of touch; and “Dilbert,” which is just bad.

If you quit publishing dead white guys (Charles Schulz — and I love “Peanuts,” don’t get me wrong), please make room for new voices, especially women and people of color. The comics pages are still largely white, heterosexual, male, patriarchal standard fare.

Please update your comics pages. (And I’m sorry, “Cathy” doesn’t count.)

— Karinne Gordon Pacific Grove

CEQA isn’t holding up affordable housing

In his recent column, Dan Walters falsely declares that the California Environmental Quality Act blocks affordable housing (“Environmental law’s misuse blocking housing brings calls for CEQA reform,” Page A9, Jan. 8). His argument relies on inflammatory rhetoric rather than established fact. He ignores empirical studies by reputable authorities — The Housing Workshop, UC Berkeley Law and Association of Environmental Professionals — finding CEQA is not a major impediment to housing.

Walters discusses a case in Livermore, twisting the facts to criticize CEQA.

The lawsuit’s plaintiffs sought to halt an affordable housing project, alleging it conflicted with the city’s downtown plans and challenging the city’s use of a CEQA exemption. The court easily dismissed these arguments, ruling the project was exempt from CEQA.

Walters got it exactly backward: The Livermore case demonstrates CEQA’s affordable housing exemptions are working. With its strong set of categorical exemptions, CEQA allows affordable housing to be built, while adhering to its purpose of protecting public health and the environment.

— Rick Longinotti Santa Cruz

With fentanyl, don’t be ‘the cool parent’

Thank you for your insight Johann Jacob (“Parents have critical role in fentanyl fight,” Page A6, Jan. 11).

Some adults just throw up their hands and say “they are just being teenagers” as a child starts messing around with drugs. These adults are a do-nothing lot. The result often is an escalation of drug use and in some cases death (or very close calls).

Parents, get involved, heavily. Being the cool parent is not cool.

— Sue Kensill San Jose