Letters for January 12, 2012

Camp a month in their tents

Re “Tragedy on the river” by Nick Miller (SN&R Frontlines, January 5):

The people of Sacramento should be ashamed of themselves. There are God knows how many acres of land where the homeless could be left alone to live their meager and often sad lives in peace.

I was—and may again be someday soon—one of them, and I know what it’s like to be harassed and rousted at 3 a.m. and told, “Go wherever you like, but you can’t stay here.”

You should all spend a month living on the river in the middle of winter before you go to church again.

Jeff Springer
Sacramento

Subisidizing organized crime

Re “Still profitable, but not taxed” (SN&R Editorial, January 5):

So the federal government’s crackdown on medical-marijuana dispensaries is boosting profits for illicit growers and depriving local governments of much-needed revenue. Is this really a good use of federal resources during an economic downturn? Is subsidizing organized crime a good thing?

Marijuana-law reform is no longer a third-rail issue. In the 2008 elections, more Massachusetts residents voted in favor of a ballot initiative decriminalizing marijuana than voted for candidate Barack Obama. A record 50 percent of Americans now favor full marijuana legalization and medical marijuana has overwhelming majority support.

Obama knows this. With good reason, he supported states’ rights during his campaign. Obama’s betrayal suggests that he is either beholden to corporate prison-industrial complex interests or on the payroll of Mexican drug cartels.

Robert Sharpe policy analyst
Common Sense for Drug Policy

No rude gestures—she’s a lady!

Re “Half pictures” by Nick Miller (SN&R Music, January 5):

Are you kidding me? This is what passes for news? Some unknown, obviously self-absorbed nobody giving Sacramento residents the finger?

Does SN&R have nothing better or no other more worthy person or story to write about or photo? Call me. I’ll give you several papers’ worth of stories. I guarantee, if you keep this kind of crap up you be labeled a trash paper—nothing more than to wrap one’s dishes in when moving.

Lady C.
Sacramento

Campers’ Catch-22

Re “On Tent City 2” (SN&R Editorial, December 29):

The problem of the homeless campers is almost a Catch-22. The homeless get pushed out of camps with nowhere to go but to another camp, which mostly likely is also illegal and from which they will eventually be evicted.

The police forcing the campers to move are just doing their jobs. When they finish forcing the campers to face another unknown future, they get to go home and get to participate in the mainstream of life that most people are lucky enough to get.

The laws against the campers are made by people who, for the most part, would have trouble relating to the life of the campers.

James Sakauye
Sacramento

Citizens can make a difference

Re “Climate choice” by Cosmo Garvin (SN&R Frontlines, December 22):

This story bemoans that nothing may come of the plan by the Sacramento City Council. Your skepticism may be is well-founded; still, let me urge you to appeal to the citizens of Sacramento and neighboring communities on a weekly basis as to how citizens can—on their own and not waiting for the city council—take steps to do everything in their power to stop rising levels of greenhouse gases. We must become educated about how to reduce the pollutants that are leading to the looming disaster of climate change if we fail to do something.

Brahama D. Sharma
Chico

Worse than ‘awful’?

Re “What if he’s right?” by Auntie Ruth (SN&R An Inconvenient Ruth, December 22):

Ruth, you’ve given us one side of a conversation. Tell us what you think.

Is “awful” as bad as it can get? Is there a time frame for reference, a timeline describing the foretold “awful”? Will it end with a bang or a whimper? Can I stop looking for employment? Stop recycling? Let my sink faucet drip and focus on being an observer rather than a participant?

What do you think, Ruth?

Linda Hoganson
Sacramento

Big props for Granite Skate Park

Re “Skate for life” by Lovelle Harris (SN&R 15 Minutes, December 15):

I dig that these two are giving back to the community. Still, I would appreciate it if when asked where their fave skate spot is, that they could respond positively about where it indeed is, and not include their negatives about where the best skate spot is not.

They like the streets for skating. I like the skate park, of which Sacramento has one of the best, and I am all for promoting it and thanking the city of Sacramento for it. It’s a bummer if, when people read this article, they come away from it with a negative view of the park as well.

Granite Skate Park is the best thing going for Sacramento’s skate scene. I am an older skater as well, and I love the fact that I can skate with all the young folks there at Granite, whether those kids come from messed up places in life or not. As with anything in life, skating is an opportunity to give to others by being with people I wouldn’t necessarily choose to be in my crew. I get to present hope to kids at the park by loving them, sweeping up their pools, providing them food and uplifting convo.

Like anyone else, those kids are looking for someone who cares enough to notice them, look them in the eyes and listen to their story. I get to do that at Granite. Thanks, once again, Sacramento, for a great skate park.

Nathaniel Williams
Auburn

Correction

“What’s your workout?” by James Raia (SN&R Feature, January 5) misstated how long Joey Garcia, a Hatha Yoga teacher, has practiced yoga. She has practiced yoga since the age of 9. We apologize for the error.