Taking a ride on SMART is a victory every time

Editor: I love living in the North Bay. It’s nearly perfect. But when I want to go see my favorite baseball team, the San Francisco Giants, I absolutely hate the drive. Between the bridge toll, exorbitant parking fees and the traffic, I hate it all. But I have another option. I can jump on the SMART train in Santa Rosa, get to Larkspur in about an hour, take the short walk through Larkspur Landing, where I grab a cup of my favorite coffee and take the beautiful ferry ride to San Francisco. All for less than the cost of bridge toll. And the best part, after the game I can enjoy the reverse trip and all its beauty while I relax and savor in a win or lament a loss. Please join me in voting yes on Measure B so we can all continue to get where we need or want to go without the stress and expense of driving or contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. And that’s a win every time.

— Sheralynn Freitas, Santa Rosa

When imprecise language shapes civic discourse

Editor: Gadi Eisenkot, a potential future Israeli prime minister, is a Moroccan Jew — one of many, as Moroccan Jews comprise roughly 10% of Israeli Jews. The Israeli Defense Force commander, Eyal Zamir, is an Iraqi Jew. This is notable: Baghdad was once 25% Jewish, yet virtually no Jews remain anywhere in the broader Middle East today.

This demographic reality is rarely discussed. Like the Cherokee Trail of Tears, Jews across the Arab world were expelled from their communities and resettled in Israel. Most Israeli Jews are of Middle Eastern and North African origin — yet because they are Jewish, they aren’t recognized as Arabs, hyphenated or otherwise. Israel, then, is better understood not as a colonial project than as a refuge — a place where survivors of ethnic cleansing rebuilt their lives.

Some letters casually accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza. The devastation is real, the civilian suffering genuine and the images harrowing. But genocide requires the intent to destroy a people. What happened on Oct. 7, 2023 — armed fighters crossing a border, massacring civilians, and abducting hostages — far more precisely fits that definition.

Words matter. We should use them carefully, particularly where errors do not merely mislead but actively distort public judgment.

— Marc Coopersmith, Petaluma

A long list but no clarity in Mendocino County’s Measure A

Editor: I received a flyer in the mail in support of Mendocino College’s Measure A that says “Join Local Nurses and Firefighters” to “expand job training programs” and provide “affordable education.” I read the full text of Measure A in the voter pamphlet. I found nothing in the measure specifically about job training for nurses and firefighters, nor affordable education.

Measure A does have a list of projects the bond money can be used for. It includes dining rooms, bookstores, theaters, galleries, athletic facilities, wellness facilities, performing arts facilities, a district data center, land acquisition and building demolition, vehicles, bus stops, parking lots, roads, fencing, traffic circulation, fields, walkways, turf, irrigation, sculpture gardens, elevators, restrooms, furniture and generators — and more.

Measure A doesn’t to say which of the many projects will actually be started: “Based on the final budgets of projects or on the current priorities of the District, certain of the projects described above may be delayed or may not be undertaken.”

Measure A is a $98 million bond. With interest, Measure A will cost property owners in Mendocino County $210 million. The tax to pay for Measure A will be on our property tax bills until fiscal year 2060-2061 — 35 years.

— Bernard B. Kamoroff, Willits

Supporting Paun and Bagby for county supervisor

Editor: Sonoma County voters spoke loudly and clearly when they passed Measure P with nearly 65% of the vote. Measure P was about transparency, accountability and independent civilian oversight of the Sheriff’s Office. Voters wanted meaningful oversight, greater public trust and an end to closed-door decision-making surrounding law enforcement accountability.

Today, many residents are concerned about efforts to weaken or sidestep the intent of Measure P through insider politics and back-room deals. The voters already made their decision. Their voices should not be ignored simply because political insiders no longer like the outcome.

Chris Coursey has been the one consistent voice on the Board of Supervisors supporting Measure P and meaningful sheriff oversight. That leadership matters.

This is one reason I strongly support change on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. Joanna Paun and Melanie Bagby support transparency, accountability and respecting the will of the voters. Both oppose cooperation between the Sheriff’s Office and ICE and understand that public trust is earned through openness and honesty, not political maneuvering behind closed doors. Measure P matters. Transparency matters. Public trust matters. Most importantly, respecting the voters matters.

That is why Coursey has endorsed Joanna Paun and Melanie Bagby and why I proudly support them as well.

— Janice Cader Thompson, Petaluma

Carpenter bees should be encouraged, not killed

Editor: Look up any insect online and the first thing that comes up is how to kill it. Your article about carpenter bees read as if it was written by the insecticide company (“Carpenter bees can dig into your home or deck,” May 9). Carpenter bees are not our enemy. They will not cause your house to fall down. They are important native pollinators and should be encouraged, not killed.

— Molly Martin, Santa Rosa