Turn on body cameras; don’t blame landlords

Police must learn to turn on body cameras

I understand police have a difficult, dangerous job, and must sometimes make split-second decisions to use lethal force.

However, in light of the recently publicized police fatal shootings in the news, why didn’t veteran San Diego Officer Neal N. Browder (“SDPD officer fatally shoots man,” May 1) turn on his body camera in order to record the circumstances leading up to his fatal shooting of Fridoon Rawshannehad?

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In doing so, he may have shown why such lethal force was justified. His failure to do so raises questions of his actions.

Police should be required to turn on their body cameras with all their citizen encounters to avoid being accused of using unnecessary lethal force.

David Miller
Carlsbad

Don’t blame landlords for rising rent rates

In his letter (“Greed adds to the affordability crisis,” May 4), the writer accused “greedy landlords” as the cause of rent increases.

This writer doesn’t understand the laws of supply and demand in the marketplace determine the rent rates.

Excessive local government regulations and high development fees have put a lid on building urgently needed affordable housing, resulting in a housing shortage.

Less supply and more demand means higher rents. Instead of blaming landlords for this situation, unhappy renters should blame their local and state politicians, whose policies created this affordable housing shortage to begin with.

David White
Carlsbad

Building moratorium wouldn’t save water

Facts: Our districts face varying water cutbacks. Because the cutbacks are per-capita based, rural districts fare worse. San Diego has 650,000 housing units built pre-1980s.

Older homes use double the water compared to new housing. With available rebate money, minor appliance-based retrofit actions would truly conserve water.

In contrast, new homes add one-half percent to the existing housing stock. Two-thirds are new apartments. These are dual metered and use virtually no outdoor water. Cutting off water meters doesn’t conserve water. It would cause job-cutting impacts.

New businesses, too, need water meters. Seventy percent of our population growth comes from the people who already live here.

With housing costs escalating, they would neither have the prospect of a new home or a new job. That’s unfair.

Bore Winckel
President/CEO
Building Industry Association

Blame green leaders for higher gas prices

David Carucci (and others I’m sure) like to blame evil oil companies (“No excuse for gas prices rocketing up,” May 5) of price manipulation for high gas prices.

In fact, California’s high gas prices are self-inflicted by our green state government.

The onerous laws/regulations in place restrict supply, which I’m sure the oil companies don’t mind. We only have 13 refineries run by a handful of companies for 13 million cars.

The refineries are almost always running at or close to capacity so any hiccup in production cuts supplies, which equals higher prices.

Bring in gas from outside the state? There are only a few authorized refineries, further restricting competition.

And now we have to pay for the cap-and-trade credits. So if you don’t like the price of gas, blame the right people.

Bart Denson
Encinitas

Safety changes are needed near schools

Here’s what traffic engineers can do to avoid fatal accidents near schools like the one at Santee (“Santee High School student killed, two injured in three-vehicle crash,” May 1):

1. Reduce speed to 15 miles per hour two blocks before and after schools, and enforce it from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
2. Post “right turn only” at parking lot exits.
3. Install stoplights or, at least, stop signs to protect drivers exiting.
4. Or, install a link fence dividing the street to force students to use corner crosswalks and drivers to exit to the right only.
   
5. Increase from six to 18 hours in behind-the-wheel training with a certified instructor before giving a license to a minor.

Something drastic has to be done to stop this loss of young and valuable lives.

Juan Perez
San Ysidro

Baltimore cartoon was far from helpful

Steve Breen’s cartoon (“50 years of Democrat rule,” May 5) is another example of finger-pointing.

How about equal time for cities with 50 years of Republican rule addressing the same issues?

Scoring political points doesn’t solve problems or prevent loss of life.

Jeraldine Young Oborn
San Diego

Apparently, several people are irritated and complain about the La Cucaracha cartoons (“La Cucaracha caption contest,” May 3).

The right-wing cartoon about “urban planners” by Steve Breen will irritate every Democrat in town.

Ron Carrico
Mission Hills

Time to make rodeos a thing of the past

There is nothing courageous about the rodeo in Lakeside. I witnessed animals being kicked and shoved by cowboys in the small enclosures and that was before the rodeo even began. They had no water nor protection.

A horse that was in the show was tethered to his trailer for over one-and-a-half hours, maybe longer, and he could not move, had no shade or water, and it was more than 85 degrees.

Baby calves in the show are roped with wire rope around their necks and slammed to the ground, being choked and injured. Horses and steer rode to be bucked cause injury. The cowboys caused severe bodily harm to all the animals for one-and-a-half hours. All rodeos should be outlawed.

Ellen R. Ericksen
San Diego

Let’s talk about real drought solutions

I agree with Wyman Hack (“Time to embrace greywater systems,” May 1.) All private residences should have greywater systems, but just try to find a plumber in San Diego who knows anything about it.

I’ve called just about every plumber in the county and not one knew anything about installing greywater. Let’s stop the articles on not watering lawns. We all know this.

Let’s hear something practical.

Ross Bartlett
El Cajon

Parking is needed for these new projects

Misguided reasons are being given to reduce parking spaces for new housing developments.

First, why do you need a car when you have a trolley? Problem is the trolley only goes in two directions. What if you need to go a different direction?

Second, the need to wean people from cars, usually stated by a person who uses a car to go everywhere. I dare the person who makes that claim to go without a car for a month.

Third, we can build more affordable housing if we don’t add parking. However, removing parking discriminates against lower income people who have to get to jobs, schools and more.

Granted, parking spaces cost developers money. However, roofs that don’t leak or walls that insulate also cost money but are necessities of a decent home.

William Richter
Chula Vista

We need to make homes affordable in San Diego

I read with great interest the article about San Diego’s high housing costs (“Study says regulations can add 40 percent to housing prices,” April 30). I’m glad that Point Loma Nazarene University has studied this issue because it’s a problem that affects everyone.

As a mortgage loan originator, I am constantly having to give people the bad news that they cannot afford the homes they need. It’s not just first-time buyers. People who already own and need a larger home for a growing family often can’t move up.

I truly hope that our elected officials look hard at the causes of this problem.

Jeremy Shackle
Otay Mesa

This report should be a wake-up call to our leaders. As a parent of a son who lived and worked here in San Diego County as a firefighter, and left the area partly due to the high cost of housing, I am especially aware of the price our high housing costs have on our families and communities.

As a real estate professional, I am aware of the gap in housing being built (both for sale and for rent) that will adequately meet the needs of the average citizen.

I have also witnessed the positive changes homeownership makes in a family and community. We have an opportunity to make real changes in San Diego and this needs to go beyond mere discussion into action.

Pat Setter
El Cajon

Identifying roots of the poverty problem

The informative article “Poverty glibness” (May 4) by David Brooks reports that the poverty problem in the U.S. has remained intractable in spite of massive government expenditures.

Brooks concludes progress is not a matter of money, but of social psychology, and the social environment in poor neighborhoods is part of the problem.

Perhaps so. But the major reason for poverty is the inability to get a well-paying job. A major requirement of most well-paying jobs is intelligence, and many employers use tests to assess it.

Intelligence is a major determiner of educational achievement, which is also a requirement for most well-paying jobs. How could Brooks have missed such an important factor in an otherwise excellent analysis of poverty?

Bob Nichols
Jamul

Citizens should act to end the costly bullet train

How bad is the drought?

It’s bad enough that the people ought to, by direct action if necessary and if possible, bring an end to Jerry Brown’s Moonbeam Express and redirect any funds toward the expedited construction of desalination plants along our coast, in partnership with private companies.

We need new laws that define the environmental requirements as no more stringent than the Poseidon plant and fast-tracking of any lawsuits that would delay such projects.

That won’t help with this current drought, but this isn’t the last one we’ll have.

Gordon A. Hofer
Santee

Gas price increase claims should be investigated

Regarding “No excuse for gas prices rocketing up” (May 5): I agree with reader. The price of gas in California has much more to do with profit than maintenance.

The price of gas in Arizona is much lower than in California, and people are quick to point out the difference in taxes and California blend of gas. But that is not explained away when prices jump like they do here.

Arizona has no refineries and much of the gas there is imported from the tank farms in Mission Valley.

How about the U-T having one of your crack investigative reporters do an in-depth report on the real causes?

Dave Weigel
El Cajon