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Yee is the best choice to rule the kingdom
Re: “Sparks fly in first interview” (Page A1, Feb. 5).
California doesn’t need a governor who “wins” a two-hour TV show. We need a leader who can fix the budget, strengthen our economy and make government really work.
I was in the debate. Six men think the job description includes complaining, not being a well-prepared manager of a $300 billion budget. The men on stage were eager to interrupt, study and score.
During that time, only one person has handled the state’s books, exposed the waste and abuse, and protected pensions for millions of Californians: former Comptroller Betty Yee. He did not hold the cameras. She does what women leaders tend to do: Show up, focus on solutions and let the work speak for itself.
If we’re serious about solving California’s problems on Day One, it’s time to look beyond the male theater and elect the oldest person in the room: Shwi Nomtekhala.
Dan Cohen
Oakland
Teaching, curriculum can help change the score
Re: “California’s low school scores show more than they teach” (Page A6, Feb. 5).
Jill Stegman clearly highlights the real challenges facing California’s public schools. But by insisting that test scores won’t go up until social problems are fixed, he’s doing students a disservice.
Some schools are struggling with the number of people they serve. Some districts are narrowing achievement gaps. The data is there. Curriculum and teaching are important. In the case of learning, adopting evidence-based approaches can lead to gains even for the most challenged students in the Central Valley. In mathematics, practices focused on student assessment, research-based instruction, and early intervention have increased performance in districts with high levels of poverty and multilingual students.
The systematic issue is that these carts are scattered. California is still struggling to put evidence-based instruction and interventions at scale. Until that happens, simply blaming the community and saying there is little schools can do ignores the clear steps districts can take now.
Katie Chin
Fremont
Emotional intelligence can help prevent violence
California is in the middle of Donald Trump’s politics. As America descends into political and policy turmoil, California must stand up.
Initiate Justice created a new program at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga. The Initiate Justice Bill Clinic teaches policy to incarcerated residents. The clinic notes three parts of the proposed rules. Bills are directed at criminal justice, restorative models and the implementation of social-emotional learning in California schools.
The bill for social emotional learning is called the Shaw-Scott Law. The law is dedicated in part to Otis Scott III of Oakland, who at the age of 19 lost his life at the hands of a friend in 1995. One of the authors of this bill was convicted of a crime and wants to show the importance of emotional intelligence in our schools. Social and emotional learning in our schools will help reduce violence.
John Crosthwaite
Pleasant Valley Prison
Coalinga
Oversight is essential to a strong democracy
Answer: “Resignation panel” (Page B1, Feb. 4).
Oversight is more important today than ever. Without transparency and accountability, constitutional human liberties are overshadowed by tyranny. Such tyranny is at the forefront of our daily news stories of hidden superpowers, unknown thugs breaking down doors and smashing car windows, arresting, shouting, shooting and even killing civilians.
Often fatally, those lethal or “less lethal” bullets – steel balls, wooden blocks, pepper balls or the blinding/deafening flashbangs of multi-munition grenades – act with impunity.
Police surveillance prevents impunity. Decades ago, Berkeley established the first Police Review Commission, approved by the 2020 Police Accountability Board, to provide citizen reviews of police misconduct and standards of transparency and accountability.
The article provides a necessary wake-up call. Intensive investigation and reporting is essential to expose erosion to the open. Ask the Berkeley City Council to recommit to the accountability necessary to preserve the 250-year-old balance Americans call democracy.
Wendy Alfsen
Berkeley
Stop the bleeding Trump is doing
Re: “Imming danger: Trump’s impending crackdown” (Page A9, Jan. 25).
Thank you, David Brooks, for telling us why we the People must advocate for the removal of Donald Trump from the presidency. Beyond Brook’s analysis, the facts are compelling.
Trump is a convicted felon and the leader of an attempt to overthrow our government, make him a traitor. He is an unstoppable liar and promises revenge on his enemies who he thinks will come. He is destroying our longstanding relationships with our allies, including our closest ally, Canada, and crippling our health care system. He pressures the Supreme Court and the Republican Congress to uphold the unconstitutional and illegal actions. He threatens green cities and counties with the equivalent of a Gestapo-like situation for immigrants, citizens or not. He has threatened Greenland and overthrown the leadership in Venezuela. He attacked our higher education system.
I believe Trump wakes up every morning and thinks, “Who can I hurt today?” You have hurt us enough. Get out.
Joan Field
Danville
