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Proposed development
won’t aid housing
Re: “Housing highrise could sprout near two San Jose mega malls” (Feb. 27).
I feel that the proposed development is inappropriate for this location at the intersection of Pruneridge and Winchester. It is totally out of proportion to the surrounding neighborhood of single-family homes and will only exacerbate the real estate affordability crisis in the Silicon Valley by greatly escalating the per-square-foot cost of land in the area.
Furthermore, it does little to address the problem of lack of affordability and displacement being experienced by low- and middle-income families. Most of the units are one-bedroom apartments suited to high-paid tech professionals. It is composed of 85% market-rate luxury apartments. The remaining 15% of affordable units is a pittance in relation to the real needs of families in Silicon Valley.
Donald Thomas
San Jose
PUC must remember
its oversight mission
I got an email from PG&E this morning. They are offering a $300 generator and battery rebate provided you are in a Tier 2 or 3 High Fire Threat District or served by an Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings circuit.
Missing from the criteria are those with medical needs. Are they not at risk and even more so than any others? Why doesn’t the PUC have approval authority over anything PG&E sends out? And they should as part of their oversight responsibilities.
And therein lies the problem. The PUC still does not know what its responsibilities are. They think they exist to serve PG&E. Well it’s the opposite. They are here to serve the good people of California.
Mark Grzan
Morgan Hill
Veganism best way
to show compassion
Re: “Death of beloved owl Flaco leaves legion of fans devastated” (Page A3, Feb. 25).
The death of Flaco, the 13-year-old Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo and spent a year flying free in New York City, has triggered an avalanche of grief on social media.
While tributes to Flaco are heartwarming, I wonder how many people realize that Flaco’s beauty, joy for life and quest for freedom are not limited to majestic birds. These are qualities shared by all living creatures, including cows, pigs, chickens and other “food” animals.
If you mourn for Flaco, I hope you can also empathize with the 90 billion-plus animals who are bred, incarcerated and slaughtered annually in our food system. They too feel joy and fear. They love their families and their lives, just as we do.
Go vegan.
Karen Rubio
Los Gatos
Media should cover
Trump accurately
Re: “Trump wins South Carolina, beating Haley in her home state” (Page 4, Feb. 25).
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I object to the way the media is phrasing Donald Trump’s primary wins, the Mercury News included.
Winning 60%-40% as the Republican Party’s most recent sitting president and the de facto nominee for the GOP is not an “easy” or “handy” win; it’s actually a really poor performance. The GOP is an increasingly minority party and if its narrowing base is split 60%-40% on their nominee, that is a terrible performance by Trump, but the media just loves to play up his poor performances.
Mathew Clark
Campbell