Letters for August 2, 2018

Re: “Is Uber evil?” by Eric Johnson (Feature, July 26):

These motorized bikes look fun and I plan to try one, but they should be in the street with all the other motorized vehicles. I think the City Council should ban all bikes on sidewalks. We’re investing a lot of money in bike lanes by closing some lanes and moving parking into traffic. Now that the city has moved parking to the middle of the street, offering motorists the opportunity to get hit by a car getting out of their car on one side, and hit by a Jump bike on the bike path side, it’s time to think about pedestrians. On the sidewalk are aged people, pregnant moms, moms with little kids, shoppers, skaters, homeless people, dogs on leashes, etc. If the point of all this fiddling with traffic is to accommodate bikes so as to lower carbon footprints, how about first considering the safety of people doing the most for low carbon, those who actually leave footprints?

Derek Link

Sacramento

via sactoletters@newsreview.com

Obvious evils and other problems

Re: “Is Uber evil?” by Eric Johnson (Feature, July 26):

Setting aside the obvious evil of a company that dumps virtually all costs of doing business onto employees illegally misclassified as independent contractors, thus robbing them of the right to organize for better working conditions, the Jump bike situation presents a valuable case study in how not to run a city.

In exchange for about $15,000 per year (from a company worth $50-$70 billion), Sacramento gave Uber free rein over our public infrastructure. No public input was solicited, no alternatives were offered and I’ve yet to find an individual or business that knew anything about the giant metal bike racks now blocking sidewalks and parking spaces all over town.

Would we allow Walmart to install 900 vending machines on public sidewalks without so much as a heads up? Apparently so.

Mitch Steiger

Sacramento

via sactoletters@newsreview.com

Near, dear and endangered

Re: “A dark development” by Scott Thomas Anderson (Feature, July 19):

I liked your article on the Folsom Ranch project. This open space area off Scott Road has been near and dear to my heart. As a local who grew up here and a photographer, it has been one of my favorite locations, enjoying the bucolic nature of the oak savannas found here. It will be sad to see this area get plowed under for more sprawl and congestion.

Stephen Fischer

Gold River

Thumbs down

Re: “Review: Sicario: Day of the Soldado” by Jim Lane (Film, July 5):

Your movie critic … thinks he can write. Tries to impress with an uncommon vocabulary. Lame. Just write normally. This isn’t Honors English at UC Berkeley. I just saw Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Great movie with twists, turns, action and deception. Your critic thumbs downed it. What an idiot.

John Davis

via Facebook

Correction

In last week’s joint-Stage review for Lake Tahoe Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Beehive (“From songs to sonnets” by Jeff Hudson, July 26), an editor incorrectly scored both plays as “Good” (three out of five Willies). The critic actually scored them as follows: five for Macbeth (“Sublime”) and three for Beehive (“Good”). SN&R regrets the error.