Reader Reactions

RE: “A million independent voters risk being irrelevant in California’s presidential primary,” June 19, 2019. CALmatters’ Ben Christophe reports that Chad Peace wants a presidential primary ballot that lists all the presidential candidates.   Ironically, California had a presidential primary like that in 2000. There was one presidential primary ballot that listed all the candidates of all six […]

Michelle Doty Cabrera, executive director of County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, Sacramento California’s public mental health system is unique in that counties serve Medi-Cal, uninsured, and commercially insured individuals. However, we had concerns with how our responsibilities and the availability in certain services was represented in your piece. County mental health plans do […]

Mark Herbert, California director for Small Business Majority, Concord Although California leads the nation in expanding healthcare coverage, too many middle income entrepreneurs and small business employees are struggling to afford health insurance. Something is being done about this problem, but it isn’t quite enough just yet. As part of the next state budget, California […]

Robert David, Sacramento Yes, the Russian people suffered greatly and fought bravely in WWII.  But to equate the forces of freedom on the Normandy beaches with the Stalinist forces of totalitarianism is offensive and just plain wrong. Ask the people of Eastern Europe how they enjoyed Soviet “lebensraum” after the war.

Michael J. Scippa, Alcohol Justice, Tiburon It would be more objective if all publications would include the public health perspective when covering the issue of extending last call at bars. Senate Bill 58 is Sen. Scott Wiener’s relentlessly dangerous 4 a.m. bar bill. It marks the third consecutive year in which he has attempted to […]

Ralph W. Guida IV, president of American Council of Engineering Companies-California, Yorba Linda, and Benjamin I. Kasdan, president of American Institute of Architects-California Council, Santa Ana CALmatters’ columnist Dan Walters severely misconstrues Assembly Bill 626. Recent ambiguous court rulings have upended decades of local contracting practice and created chaos for local agencies. The result is […]

Dawn Hakim, Santa Clarita Our family moved to the Santa Clarita Valley because it was a great community. Since then, our family has seen first-hand the value of school choice. One size does not fit all. Although our local school was great, we quickly concluded it wasn’t a good fit for our son as he […]

Susan Kirsch, Livable California, Mill Valley I read “California’s hottest housing bill moves ahead—with a break for smaller counties” while sitting in a café in Athens, Greece. I was struck by the irony of being in the birthplace of democracy while Sacramento legislators deliver death by a thousand cuts. Senate Bill 50 marches ahead under […]

Susan Harman, California Public Banking Alliance, Oakland Dan Walters’ April 28 Commentary on Assemblyman David Chiu’s Assembly Bill 857, the local public bank bill, is a dumb comment on a very smart bill. In his commentary, Walters writes says that shifting local governmental funds away from the Wall Street banks they’re in now will have “virtually […]

Brett Garrett, Santa Cruz Cities such as Oakland and Los Angeles are eager to divest from large banks that invest in fossil fuels or engage in unethical business practices. These cities can benefit from Assemblyman David Chiu’s Assembly Bill 857, which will establish a framework for licensing public banks, owned by local or regional government entities. […]