Letters for December 25, 2014

Midtown change is great

Re “Welcome to Midtown” by Nick Miller (SN&R Feature Story, December 18):

Really? Another anxious article about Midtown's changing character? The opposite of gentrification is slumification. Creating appealing residential opportunities for higher-income people is smart and desirable. Better to have affluent folks as neighbors in the central city than have them driving in and bringing their suburban road rage. Rather than anxiety, we should be impatient to transform Sacramento's excessive surface parking and vacant lots into homes, parks, schools and community gardens. Real urbanism is inclusive, even for those who might earn more than we do.

Paul Dorn

Sacramento

Better than Bay Area

Re “Welcome to Midtown” by Nick Miller (SN&R Feature Story, December 18):

One thing you can be sure of in life is change. Midtown will change, and so it’s a question of whether it will be for the better, and often this is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I am among those who would like to see more density to create a vibrant city and to better utilize our resources, i.e. not pave over the rest of California. Midtown will likely get more expensive to live in because it will be seen as more and more desirable. To my mind, this is preferable to being cheap because of undesirability. Still, as compared to the Bay Area, it will probably always be a relative bargain.

Frank Bruno

Sacramento

Torture never ‘works’

Re “Torture is never patriotic” (SN&R Editorial, December 18):

I am becoming increasingly frustrated by editorials that hedge their condemnation of torture with the claim that it is ineffective, and your editorial seems to put you in this category. We need to be clear that torture is morally indefensible whether it “works” or not. The United States of America I believe in does not torture people.

Tim Foley

Sacramento

Boo, teachers union

Re “Teachers’ Association should reconsider unfair labor practices claim” by Jeff vonKaenel (SN&R Greenlight, December 18):

Great editorial. The Sacramento City Teacher’s Association continues to choose confrontation over collaboration. Savings on benefits would increase money on the table for salaries. I am a community member that values the profession of teaching and believes that they are underpaid, but lawsuits and conformation undermine our mutual goals. This union reflects poorly on the profession. If the union was not a closed shop, I wonder if teachers would choose to be represented by them.

Beverly E. Lamb

Sacramento