Letters to the editor, Jan. 27, 2012
Cities should run wastewater plants
Congratulations to the City of Barstow for taking back public control of its wastewater operations. As Oliver Chi found, there is absolutely no cost or service benefit to having United Water or any private corporation run a municipality’s essential services like treating wastewater.
Cities across the state, from Felton to Petaluma to Stockton, are achieving water independence against multinational corporations like Suez Environment, the French company that owns United Water. These global conglomerates' top priority is increasing shareholder value and leaving ratepayers to foot the bill for abysmal service.
May Barstow be a shining example for other cities that keeping water resources in local, public hands is the best way to save money, maintain good service and keep good local jobs in our communities.
Adam Scow, Food & Water Watch, San Francisco
Dream Act steals from the law-abiding
Anita DeLeon writes in her Jan. 19th letter to the editor that children should not be held accountable for their parents’ actions and that Cal Grants are only given to top students and that is why the Dream Act is a good thing.
That is some interesting logic. Let’s suppose that I illegally enter Anita DeLeon’s house and take her jewelry and give that jewelry to my daughter. My daughter then goes on to live her whole life not knowing that the jewelry was illegally obtained and my daughter takes very good care of that jewelry and lives a law-abiding life. Then when my daughter turns 18, she decides that she wants more jewelry and goes to the jeweler only to find that the jewelry I gave her was not legally obtained.
Obviously a law must be passed so that not only can my daughter keep Anita DeLeon’s jewelry, but Anita DeLeon should be required to help my daughter pay for more jewelry. That would be fair, wouldn’t it? It would not matter that Anita DeLeon was already broke and had no money. The only thing that would matter would be that my daughter could expand her illegally obtained gain at Anita DeLeon’s expense and not be held accountable for my actions. Right? Or is it different when it is the taxpayers’ money?
As for Assemblyman Tim Donnelly trying to carry a gun onto an airplane, if you have ever been to an Assembly or Senate hearing in Sacramento, as I was last week, and you could see for yourself how our laws get passed or not passed, a gun on an airplane would be the least of your worries. And personally, I’m betting that the majority of Americans that fly a lot would prefer to carry loaded guns on airplanes after 9/11.
Nick Benson Sr., Barstow
