Wednesday’s Letters to the Editor

Unexpected consequences

EDITOR: Think permanent Daylight Saving Time sounds like a great idea (“Let there be light,” Letters, Oct. 17)? Think again. The United States switched to permanent DST once before, on Jan. 7, 1974. Before the month was out, eight children going to school in the dark in Florida had been hit and killed by cars. Millions found the prolonged morning darkness — sunrise came as late as 8:25 a.m. in the Bay Area — damaging to their mental health.

Writing of the 1974 change, Washington Post journalist Brittany Shammas noted that “as the dark mornings continued, the complaints kept coming.” While 79% of Americans supported the idea of permanent DST before actually experiencing it, within months, that number dropped to 42%. Congress repealed the law less than a year after it had gone into effect. Needless deaths and months on end of getting up in the dark? Why go through all this again?

LORI BARRON

Sonoma

Yes on Prop. 30

EDITOR: Proposition 30 is a genuine climate initiative that will benefit all Californians. It will drive down climate pollution in the transportation sector, improve air quality for everyone and help prevent catastrophic wildfires for decades. It will raise billions for these activities by adding a 1.75% income tax to a small class of taxpayers who earn over $2 million per year — just 0.2%percent of the population.

So where does the money go? Forty-five percent goes to support zero-emission vehicle adoption, including semitrucks, transit buses, school buses and farm equipment. Thirty-five percent goes to acceleration of charging infrastructure across the state. Twenty percent goes to prevent wildfires.

Proposition 30 originated with clean air and climate nonprofits including the Climate Center — not Lyft. It is true that the primary funder of the proposition is the ride-hailing service Lyft, but none of the money raised goes to the company, but is directed to state agencies to increase subsidies for clean vehicles that go to individuals whether they drive for a ride-hailing service or not.

For our climate and clean air, vote yes on Proposition 30.

BARRY VESSER

The Climate Center

A collaborator

EDITOR: As a citizen and voter, I want elected officials to be reasonable, collaborative, considerate of diverse viewpoints and engaged. That’s why I’m supporting Kevin McDonnell for Petaluma mayor.

McDonnell has been a leader in our community for nearly 40 years. His engagement spans sports, public art, affordable housing and city planning. He has listened to and engaged with the many sides of our affordable housing issue. He has brought developers and nonprofits together to find reasonable solutions.

The thing that sets McDonnell apart is that he is willing to listen to and consider opinions of others. He looks for solutions that will satisfy as many parties as possible. He’s a great collaborator and the best candidate to serve as mayor.

ALLAN JAFFE

Petaluma

Yes on Prop. 1

EDITOR: In their zeal to protect the unborn and condemn irresponsible sexual behavior, Bernard and Carol Woessner distorted the facts about abortion (“No on Prop. 1,” Extra Letters, Oct. 15). Their inflammatory comments — “abortion up to the moment of birth,” “grounds for legalizing infanticide” and “institutionalize reproductive irresponsibility” — are inaccurate and offensive. In 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 93% of abortions in the U.S. occurred at or before 13 weeks of gestation; 6% occurred between 14 and 20 weeks; 1% occurred after 21 weeks; and 0.2% occurred after 26 weeks.

Does the moral outrage of many pro-life individuals extend beyond birth? Do they support free school lunches for the estimated 16,570 Sonoma County children who experience regular hunger (according to a Petaluma Patch article in 2010)? Do they support subsidized child care for lower-income women to allow them to work to support their families?

Voting yes on Proposition 1 will allow abortion to remain safe and legal in California so that a woman can decide whether to bear a child based on her personal circumstances and not on the judgment of others.

PHYLLIS BREWER

Santa Rosa

Loan forgiveness

EDITOR: I’ve been reading and listening to all this foolishness about student debt forgiveness for quite some time now. In my opinion, if you borrow money, you pay it back with interest, like I did for 30 years to pay off my mortgage. But since our current administration is dead set on forgiving these loans, wouldn’t also be a wonderful idea to forgive all the VA loans veterans borrowed to purchase a house? They actually deserve loan forgiveness.

RALEIGH CHAIX

Willits

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