{"id":4152,"date":"2026-07-09T23:08:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T23:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4152"},"modified":"2026-07-09T23:08:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T23:08:50","slug":"letters-meaningful-regulation-must-catch-up-with-waymo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4152","title":{"rendered":"Letters: Meaningful regulation must catch up with Waymo"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Regulation needs to catch up with Waymo<\/h4>\n

Re: \u201cWaymo car delivers misbehaving teen passengers to San Mateo police\u201d (July 7).<\/p>\n

Read more Dine Downtown San Jose: 45 restaurants, 11 days of deals<\/a><\/p>\n

I am writing to discuss the safety and policies surrounding self-driving ride-sharing services.<\/p>\n

In the United States, you need to be at least 16 years old to have a driver\u2019s license, and even after you get your license at 16, there are still restrictions, so why are there no restrictions when a driver is not present? If a person couldn\u2019t manually stop the car to prevent harm such as a crash, they shouldn\u2019t be in a self-driving vehicle.<\/p>\n

Technology may be advancing at an incredible rate with each passing day, but that does not mean it is immune to mistakes. As with AI, self-driving cars and their services are advancing faster than laws can be made, and they are in desperate need of regulation.<\/p>\n

Ginnette Hamelin<\/strong>
\nMarina<\/em><\/p>\n

Regulators must answer electrification questions<\/h4>\n

Re: \u201cNo getting around cost of switching to gas\u201d (Page A6, July 3).<\/p>\n

Thank you to Marty Kahn for his important letter about electric appliances printed in the Mercury News. Kahn raises some important questions that must be addressed by PG&E, state legislators and local authorities.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Electric appliances are emissions-free and, per the City of San Jose, three times more energy efficient. Rebates are going away, so in most cases, installing electric appliances costs homeowners more than gas appliances. The higher cost will continue until the scale of replacements lowers the costs to the same level as gas appliances.<\/p>\n

Restoration of rebates and state legislation would help get us to a point where electric appliances are the standard, not the exception.<\/p>\n

Please note, however, that most replacements of gas appliances with electric appliances will not require a panel upgrade. Please urge your city and county representatives and state legislators to make it easier to electrify our huge installed base of natural gas appliances.<\/p>\n

Rob Hogue<\/strong>
\nMenlo Park<\/em><\/p>\n

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Electricians can clear up concerns about cost<\/h4>\n

Re: \u201cNo getting around cost of switching to gas\u201d (Page A6, July 3).<\/p>\n

Marty Kahn\u2019s July 3 letter highlights a common misconception about replacing gas water heaters with electric heat pump water heaters \u2014 something inexperienced contractors will tell you. Consult a good, trustworthy electrician. There\u2019s also an array of 120V heat pump water heaters that will install without a service upgrade.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just installation cost but operating cost that matters. Heat pump water heaters pump free, inflation-proof heat extracted from ambient air into the tank, sort of like your refrigerator running in reverse. Just the pumping is what you pay for.<\/p>\n

We find that the total lifetime ownership cost of a heat pump water heater is about break-even. Moreover, the environmental and health costs of continuing with gas make the decision to electrify a no-brainer.<\/p>\n

David Cain<\/strong>
\nLos Altos<\/em><\/p>\n

Essays offer patriotic call to action for nation<\/h4>\n

All four commentaries (Page A10, July 5) were thought-provoking for the day after \u201cThe Fourth.\u201d<\/p>\n

From John M. Crisp\u2019s Proverbs 27:2 \u201cLet someone else praise you,\u201d to Maureen Dowd\u2019s essay\u00a0on American fairness, the writers made us think and touched our hearts and political souls.<\/p>\n

Max Taves\u2019 essay\u00a0on the importance of studying Constitution Day every Sept. 17 was a \u201ccivics lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, lastly, Carl Leubsdorf\u2019s comparison\u00a0of America\u2019s celebration of Independence Day this year compared with 1976 was both disturbing and a wake-up call for a better American spirit.<\/p>\n

Jerry Sheahan<\/strong>
\nSan Jose<\/em><\/p>\n

We can\u2019t let Republicans undermine the midterms<\/h4>\n

Re: \u201cEnshrine voting as our explicitly protected right\u201d (Page A6, July 3).<\/p>\n

Long overdue is the recognition of the danger signs of a breakup of the union and the real possibility of violence, given the polarized political environment we live in.<\/p>\n

Former U.S. Attorney and Special Counsel for the DOJ, Jack Smith, recently warned of his dire concerns for the end of the rule of law. Donald Trump\u2019s acting attorney general has openly defied\u00a0court orders. Trump used a violent mob to attack the very government he took an oath to protect in an attempt to stay in power. No president has ever attempted such a blatant act of sedition. Many in the Republican Party are not restrained by the rule of law. The far-right Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups are actively attempting to suppress voting.<\/p>\n

Democracy may very well give way to a despotic plutocracy if they succeed in undermining elections.<\/p>\n

Warren Seifert<\/strong>
\nGilroy<\/em><\/p>\n

Supreme Court rulings expose American ruse<\/h4>\n

Money is speech; corporations are people; the president is above the law; gerrymandering based on partisanship is fine. Thank you, Supreme Court justices, for highlighting so many ways in which America never was what we thought it was, for pointing out all the ways in which our vaunted Constitution is not a bulwark against executive tyranny but rather a deeply flawed and vulnerable few sheets of parchment. Thank you for showing us that our foundational checks and balances aren\u2019t really there and that under the right circumstances, a dictatorship is not only possible but inevitable.<\/p>\n

For 250 years, we have believed in an illusion based on the notion that only honorable people would rise to the top of our government; you have opened our eyes to the reality of what happens when the charlatans take over, including you. It\u2019s time to wake up.<\/p>\n

Read more Every city you can fly to nonstop out of Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK)<\/a><\/p>\n

Robert Mitchell<\/strong>
\nMorgan Hill<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read more Kurtenbach: Five under-the-radar moves that could loom large for the 2026 49ers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Also: Answer questions | Clear up concerns | Call to action | Threat to democracy | American ruse. Mercury News reader letters to the editor for July 10, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nLetters: Meaningful regulation must catch up with Waymo - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4152\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Letters: Meaningful regulation must catch up with Waymo - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Also: Answer questions | Clear up concerns | Call to action | Threat to democracy | American ruse. 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