Letters: Merritt Lake | food truck

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Lake Merritt needs bailout too

Lake Merritt is too big to sink, given the impact our downtown lake has on Oakland. By this, I mean that if Lake Merritt sinks and succumbs to rotten algae, dead fish, and the smells associated with contaminated water, the real estate value of thousands of people, countless wildlife, hundreds of businesses, and thousands of mortgages will suffer. .

It can. A warming global climate and a thriving El Niño can bring late summer temperatures to levels conducive to harmful algal blooms, which can again lead to zero oxygen and more dead fish. Nutrient levels are already present and tidal flows continue to remain below historic levels. Add in the urban runoff and the fact that most storm drains and inlets are unfiltered and you can get pretty messy.

The water quality of the lake is overestimated. We save banks, auto companies and insurance companies: one wonders why not a lake.

Richard BaileyOakland

Bring the food trucks back to Stone Valley Road

The Contra Costa County Supervisory Board may have overlooked something when they voted to remove the food trucks from Stone Valley Road. That’s the added pollution for all the workers and students who now have to commute an extra six to eight miles each day for food.

I’ve driven past trucks for years. They serve hungry local workers, some high school students, and local residents in the area. They didn’t do any damage, parked off the road and I’ve never seen trash left in the open after they’ve gone.

Bring them back, please.

Betsy SargentAlamo

Late trains cost BART drivers

BART wonders why passenger numbers are decreasing. One of the main reasons is that you can’t count on being on time anywhere.

Here at Lake Merritt station, waiting for the train to Pleasanton, the first waiting time when I got to the platform was 24 minutes at 3:30 in the afternoon. After waiting 10 minutes, the time changed to 27 minutes. Meanwhile, three more trains to the south and east passed.

Head to Chicago or Atlanta and wait no longer than 10 minutes for a train to your desired route. This is one of the main reasons why they keep losing drivers.

barry johnsonpleasanton

Don’t waste money on I-980 removal

Even in spite of the editorial correction “To review the removal of Caltrans I-980” (Page A1, Feb. 28), which reduced the federal grant from $680 million to $680,000, there is still a lot of money to be spent working on this idea. destroying a critical transport artery.

The money (from our tax payments) would be much better spent repairing the many potholes on I-980, I-580, and I-880 in Oakland. Any remaining money could best be used to repair the many potholes on the streets of Oakland. Driving over potholes weakens and damages our cars’ tires, balance and suspension systems. Our repair bills are due to Caltrans and the city of Oakland not spending our tax money wisely.

Bruce JoffePiedmont

In the real world, Holmes deserves jail time

Re: “Why the risk capitalist believes Holmes should be released” (Page A6, March 10).

Venture capitalist Tim Draper believes the former CEO of failed Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, who was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison from November 18, should be released. She claims she has done nothing wrong, has been turned into a villainous character by the media, and is solely responsible for the crime of “distorting reality”, a mark of “top entrepreneurs” according to Draper.

What alternate universe does Draper live in? Holmes easily took investor money and tricked these investors into believing Theranos was not at the peak of success. He was tried fairly and declared guilty.

Tim Draper believes that entrepreneurs just did the right thing and were cleared of crimes while the rest of humanity committed crimes for which they would go to jail. This is what’s known as a double standard, Mr. Draper. It doesn’t work in this universe.

Larry QuilicFremont

The state needs housing solutions, not lawsuits

Re: “Government sues Huntington Beach over housing” (Page B1, March 10).