Letters: Prop. 45 would help developers, not affordability

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Prop. 45 means to aid developers, business

Re: “Poll points to strong Prop. 45 backing” (Page A1, July 16).

Don’t let the supporters of Proposition 45 fool you. Their main interest is in lining their own pockets. It is supported by developers and businesses.

They care nothing about our neighborhoods, our environment or actually providing affordable housing.

We actually need to strengthen CEQA to protect our environment, neighborhoods and the ability of cities to determine their own development.

Please vote no on Proposition 45.

Marcia Fariss
Saratoga

Prop. 43 should need two-thirds vote to pass

Re: “Prop. 43 spurring fight on tax vote” (Page A1, July 27).

Since I am personally opposed to California’s proposition ballot initiatives (due to the lack of transparency, minimal accountability, intentionally vague and misleading language, big budget advertising that can easily convince people to vote against their own self-interests and other serious irregularities), my personal opinion of Proposition 43 is immaterial.

However, I believe that if “the measure would set the threshold to impose or extend a tax earmarked for specific purposes at a two-thirds vote,” then Proposition 43 itself should require a two-thirds vote to pass.

Jerry Gudeman
Santa Clara

Don’t allow ICE abuses to come to Gilroy

The League of Women Voters of Santa Clara County opposes the opening of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center near Gilroy, as Congress has shirked its responsibility to condition the use of federal funds for immigration enforcement in a way that ensures accountability, transparency and the protection of civil liberties. The League believes that all immigrants, regardless of status, are entitled to due process of law.

Beatings, denial of medical care and overcrowded, filthy living conditions have been reported at ICE detention centers around the country, including sites in San Bernardino, Texas and New Jersey. A federal court recently ordered ICE to stop inhumane conditions at the San Francisco ICE detention center. The California AG and Santa Clara County, rightly concerned about these cruel conditions being duplicated by ICE at Gilroy, filed suit to stop the Gilroy facility. We agree.

Polly Bove
Chair, League of Women Voters
Santa Clara County

Speak out over nuclear bomb development

This August marks 81 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While many see those tragedies as distant history, the Bay Area remains directly connected to the nuclear weapons enterprise through Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

LLNL is where U.S. nuclear warheads are designed, and today it plays a supporting role in plans to expand plutonium bomb core production and modernize the nation’s nuclear arsenal. These decisions carry environmental, financial and moral consequences that deserve far greater public attention.

On Aug. 6 at 10 a.m., community members will gather outside Livermore Lab for the annual August Action to honor the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and call for a safer future. Whether or not you attend, I hope more Bay Area residents will recognize that nuclear weapons policy is enacted upon in our own backyards.

Anoushka Raj
San Jose