{"id":7265,"date":"2026-08-19T23:37:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T23:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7265"},"modified":"2026-08-19T23:37:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T23:37:55","slug":"letters-berkeley-plan-inconveniences-community-for-a-few-cyclists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7265","title":{"rendered":"Letters: Berkeley plan inconveniences community for a few cyclists"},"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

Plan inconveniences many for a few cyclists<\/h4>\n

Re: \u201cBike lanes plan generates outcry\u201d (Page B1, Aug, 18).<\/p>\n

Public officials repeatedly misstate several important \u201cfacts\u201d about Hopkins Street. There have not been 46 pedestrian and cyclist crashes on Hopkins; the phrase \u2018Hopkins Corridor\u2019 is used to mislead everyone. It has allowed the city to attribute to Hopkins accidents, including fatalities, that occurred blocks away.<\/p>\n

Read more Bay Area\u2019s largest music festival keeps adding more artists to lineup<\/a><\/p>\n

The $20 million measure Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani sponsored requires city staff to plan all street upgrades in the context of cycle tracks, thus precluding any consideration of safer alternative routes for bicycles. The cycle tracks will cross over 100 driveways and cross streets, endangering cyclists at each intersection. It poses dangers for the elderly and disabled in the city\u2019s oldest demographic area. Removing all parking creates problems for garbage pick-up, deliveries and aid workers. Floating bus islands are dangerous for the sight-impaired.<\/p>\n

And for what? So cyclists don\u2019t have to go one-half block out of their way to avoid the street\u2019s two-block-long congested area.<\/p>\n

Donna DeDiemar<\/strong>
\nBerkeley<\/em><\/p>\n

Lincoln sailors should have expected sacrifice<\/h4>\n

Re: \u201cNew aircraft carrier heads to Middle East\u201d (Page A4, Aug. 14).<\/p>\n

I am surprised to see all the concern about the Lincoln\u2019s 240-day deployment. I believe every sailor on board is a volunteer and their service is appreciated. If you enlist in the Navy, one might expect a lot of time at sea.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

I was stationed on a ship during the Vietnam conflict. In two years, the ship was away from home port about sixteen months, including nine months in Vietnam.<\/p>\n

Friends served \u201cin country\u201d for 12- to 13-month deployments. One said he lived in a doorless hooch with several others along with rats and bugs. Being on a ship is plush compared to that. Another friend was in the Army in WWII in the Pacific away for \u201conly\u201d three years.<\/p>\n

Wearing the uniform often means sacrifice for the USA. Thanks to all who have ever worn the uniform serving the USA.<\/p>\n

Michael Erickson<\/strong>
\nWalnut Creek<\/em><\/p>\n

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It may be time for Israeli reparations<\/h4>\n

Re: \u201cSettler charged in death of Palestinian activist\u201d (Page A4, Aug. 7).<\/p>\n

In the Iran-U.S.-Israel war negotiations, the idea of reparations has surfaced, like the over $90 billion Germany paid after World War II, and continues to pay, to Jews via individual pensions, property restitution and ongoing welfare support to survivors.<\/p>\n

Read more Pac-12 football forecast: Boise State is the clear favorite, with Fresno State and Texas State (yes, Texas State) on the next tier<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure which way they\u2019ll go between Iran and the United States, but with the promised rebuilding of Gaza, Israel\u2019s ongoing taking of land and killing of Palestinians in the West Bank, and its invasion of Lebanon, perhaps Israel should pay reparations to its victims in those invasions via pension, property restitution and ongoing welfare support.<\/p>\n

It could be the start of Israel fulfilling its obligation as the occupying force to care for and protect the occupied people.<\/p>\n

Congress should support a weapons (including nuclear) ban on Israel and a move to reparations for survivors of the occupations.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Fisher<\/strong>
\nPleasant Hill<\/em><\/p>\n

Change out a Congress that fails constituents<\/h4>\n

I\u2019m an old Blue Dog Democrat from Danbury, Texas, now registered independent, because neither party represents people like me anymore.<\/p>\n

Congress\u2019s approval rating has been stuck in the teens, at times barely above single digits. Yet more than 97% of incumbents get reelected. That gap is the whole story: Americans overwhelmingly agree Washington isn\u2019t working for them, while the people already there almost never lose their seats. Both parties have let public service become a wealth-building exercise \u2014 stock trades, revolving-door lobbying, donor-written bills \u2014 while working families get campaign promises instead of results. This isn\u2019t a right or left problem. It\u2019s an everyone problem.<\/p>\n

Real fixes exist: term limits, a real ban on congressional stock trading, longer lobbying cooldowns and redistricting reform. My daughter and granddaughters deserve a government that answers to them, not one that already thinks it knows best. Drain the swamp \u2014 all of it.<\/p>\n

Dennis Nolen<\/strong>
\nClayton<\/em><\/p>\n

GOP must remove Trump to salvage future<\/h4>\n

As the physical and mental abilities of our president continue their decline, it is daily more apparent that his presidency is a ship adrift. With percentage approval ratings undeniably in the thirties, it is evident that the American public has lost confidence in Donald Trump and his MAGA lapdogs\u2019 capacity to lead the country. As the midterms approach, it is increasingly clear that voters are opting for anything and anyone non-Trump. The legendary lyrics of Sam Cooke \u2014 \u201cA Change is Gonna Come\u201d \u2014 now seem apropos.<\/p>\n

At this juncture, the last hope for the feckless Republicans lies in stopping all things Trump \u2014 his vanity projects, his war and, ultimately, his presidency. Removing Trump from office using Section 4 of the 25th Amendment could salvage some closely contested races. Failure to do so will result in a lame duck remainder of the term and Democratic leadership in the House and Senate.<\/p>\n

Read more San Jose City Council stops short of endorsing plan to quadruple housing density<\/a><\/p>\n

Jon James<\/strong>
\nPleasanton<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Also: Expect sacrifice | Israeli reparations | Change Congress | Remove Trump | Communist drift. East Bay Times reader letters to the editor for Aug. 20, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nLetters: Berkeley plan inconveniences community for a few cyclists - 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=7265\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Letters: Berkeley plan inconveniences community for a few cyclists - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Also: Expect sacrifice | Israeli reparations | Change Congress | Remove Trump | Communist drift. 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