Letters for Oct. 3, 2019

Re: “For which people?” by Scott Morris (Feature, Sept. 12):

OK, so people have issues with Sen. Kamala Harris as a politician. Who doesn’t have such issues? However, she far surpasses in intelligence and capability the fraud in the White House now.

Elizabeth Halloway

Sacramento / via email

A less expensive fix

Re: “A capital idea” by Foon Rhee (Editor’s note, Sept. 19):

I’ve always considered Capitol Mall to be Sacramento’s “welcome mat” therefore I read the article with great interest. The current state of Capitol Mall is an embarrassment to the city and the state, but there is no need to spend $16 million to $17 million for a major makeover that would certainly go over-budget.

Why not just start watering the grass again (after all, Gov. Jerry Brown declared the drought over in April 2017), fix the fountain and plant some flowers such as camellias and shrubs?

Mike Rodruigez

Sacramento / via email

Playing with fire

Re: “Nuclear power works” by Michael Stinson (Letters, Sept. 12):

In his letter supporting nuclear power, Michael Stinson correctly observes that the reactor at Diablo Canyon “has never caused one problem.”

But with nuclear reactors, you can’t wait for “one problem” before taking action, because it can be catastrophic. The nuclear plant at Chernobyl “never caused one problem”—until the day in 1986 that it exploded, releasing far more radiation than the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; contaminating a huge area including pockets as far as Greece; necessitating the permanent evacuation of 350,000 residents; and inflicting acute radiation sickness upon hundreds, with a death toll expected to rise (with resultant cancer) into the thousands. The cleanup is costing tens of billions, and will not be completed until 2065.

At best, relying on nuclear power is playing with fire. Siting a reactor on a geological fault line, as with Diablo Canyon, is asking for trouble. Closing it was the only sensible option.

David Urman

Sacramento / via email

Microwave illness is real

Re: “5G for fighting” by Scott Thomas Anderson (News, Sept. 12):

I am glad to see this story being covered as I am also involved in the efforts to bring the truth out about the dangers of radio frequency microwave pollution. I also spoke at the City Council meeting on Sept. 3. I suffer from what is known as “microwave illness” or “electro-hypersensitivity.”

It is estimated that 3% to 10% of the population experience a wide range of these symptoms, including headaches, heart palpitations, ringing in the ears, dizziness, chronic fatigue, nausea, eczema, cramps, nose bleeds, asthma and worsening of chronic illnesses including diabetes, multiple sclerosis, neurological conditions and cancer.

I believe the prevalence is likely much higher and that the causal connection between these symptoms and RF has yet to be appropriately investigated. For those who choose to deny that microwave illness is real, recently it was reported that U.S. officials in China and Cuba were targeted using radio frequency devices.

Julie Ostoich

Sacramento / via email