Letters for August 25, 2016

Real talk

Re “Bad bet” by Scott Thomas Anderson (SN&R News, August 18):

I’m surprised SN&R wrote a story about gambling—sorry, “gaming”—in Sacramento. Most people don’t care about the fact that Americans spent more on gambling than all other forms of entertainment combined. Or that it has ruined peoples’ lives at the benefit of the government and tribes. Or that it gets away with things the tobacco and alcohol industry never could. The fact that most people in a gambling environment are exactly the people who shouldn’t be in it. The fact that gambling establishments basically self-regulate (like the oil industry). The fact that poor people spend indispensable and disproportionate amounts of money on gambling. The fact that the gambling industry has our government in its pocket as made evident by Jerry Brown fighting for gambling interests every chance he gets (so he can alleviate his budget). The fact that the gambling industry gets about half of its money from people ruining their lives using their product (depending on which study and gambling product you’re reading about). Anyways, good story. Go Steve Hansen. But really, how many tens of millions are spent at Thunder Valley every weekend and no one cares? Where else does that happen?

Tucker Hoog

West Sacramento

Audit them all!

Re “Judge not lest ye be audited” by Raheem F. Hosseini (SN&R Beats, August 18):

The California Commission on Judicial Performance is long overdue for an audit. If the relevant documents aren’t shredded first, the audit will show that the CJP is more concerned with protecting bad judges than with protecting the public from bad judges. The retaliation-by-incarceration of CJP whistleblower Joe Sweeney should concern every California taxpayer and citizen. The agency needs to be reformed from top to bottom, beginning with the removal of Director/Dictator-for-Life Victoria B. Henley.

Cathy Cohen

Sacramento

Derelict perspective

Re “Stunted growth” by Alastair Bland (SN&R News, August 11):

This “derelict” wasteland and “toxic pile of dirt” was a relic Central Valley grassland that supported large vernal pools with thousands of Pacific chorus frogs and vernal pool species such as clam shrimp. The biological consultants for the environmental impact report surveyed unethically at the end of June 2005 which is way too late to detect most Central Valley species and after vernal pools have dried because the summer is a dormancy period. Now there are no frogs. I live just south of this project and witnessed the decimation of these precious habitats. It breaks my heart. Derelict is a matter of perspective.

Molly Ferrell

Sacramento