Font ResizeStill working to get Bonta recall petitions
Earlier this year, the city of Alameda shortened the deadline to file arguments against Measure C, the flawed sales tax measure backed by Councilmember Rob Bonta, and successfully kept opposition ballot arguments out of the voter guide.
Now, city officials, presumably including City Attorney Janet Kern and City Manager John Russo, both of whom Rob Bonta was instrumental in hiring, are selectively interpreting the law to delay the circulation of the formal petition to recall Bonta from City Council.
Each time city officials reject the sample petition forms on some bureaucratic technicality, they succeed in delaying the start of signature collection by at least 10 days.
However, their antics can only hold out so long, and I assure those voters disgusted with the machinations of Bonta -- who announced a state assembly seat campaign a mere six months into his City Council term and who recently voted in favor of adding 2,400 more housing units to Alameda, separately from Alameda Point -- will have their chance to sign their names to the recall petition and educate their fellow voters.
In the meantime, residents can get updates on the recall website and schedule signing parties at www.RecallBonta.com.
David Howard
Meet, greet and defeat Measure D opponents
We have much to celebrate: We stopped the swap and saved 12 acres of park land from becoming a housing development. Our dedicated volunteers collected more than 10,000 signatures and put an initiative on the November ballot as Measure D.
Now we must gear up to get Measure D passed so that no Alameda park land can be disposed of without approval of a majority of the voters.
We invite all park lovers to join our campaign to pass Measure D. We also ask you to support our efforts by donating to cover campaign expenses. Please send donations to POAP, 875-A Island Drive, Box 201, Alameda, CA 94502. Every contribution is needed and much appreciated.
Come to the party Sept. 19. Enjoy good company, fun raffles, an auction, one free glass of great wine and hors d'oeuvres. Donation is $20.
The new Dragon Rouge is near the Park Street bridge. Vote "yes" on Measure D.
Mary Theresa Anderson
President Protect Our Alameda Parks
Don't skimp on funds for Alameda Hospital
On Aug. 2 with no pain -- just shortness of breath -- I left work at 8 a.m. and drove myself to the Alameda Hospital emergency room. I thought it was my asthma. I was in increasing distress.
The emergency staff immediately took me in, did an EKG, chest X-rays, started IVs and determined I was having a heart attack. This was a shock. I have no history in my family and never experienced chest pains.
The emergency room staff, with extraordinary professionalism, summoned Alameda Fire Department paramedics, who transported me with red lights and siren to Summit Cardiac Center Cath Lab for an emergency angioplasty and stent -- all this before noon. Having my own HMO with its facilities in Oakland, I was one who hesitated to support the bond measure that would fund Alameda Hospital. I didn't think I would be able to use it.
In my shortsightedness, I failed to grasp the fact that each citizen on Alameda island could have a life-threatening event at any moment, and the Alameda Hospital emergency room and fire department paramedics are all we have between life and, yes, death itself.
I am again, so grateful to live on Alameda.
Alan Pryor
Parents want healthy lunches
With the new school year upon us, parents' attention is turning to school clothes, supplies and lunches. Yes, school lunches.
Traditionally, USDA had used the National School Lunch Program as a dumping ground for surplus meat and dairy commodities. Not surprisingly, its own surveys indicate that children consume excessive amounts of animal fat and sugary drinks, to the point where one-third have become overweight or obese. Their early dietary flaws become lifelong addictions, raising their risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Gradually the tide is turning. The new USDA school lunch guidelines, mandated by President Barack Obama's Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, require doubling the servings of fruits and vegetables, more whole grains, less sodium and fat and no meat for breakfast. Still, food lobbyists have prevailed on Congress to count pizza and french fries as vegetables, and fatty mystery meats and sugary dairy drinks abound.
Parents and students should consider healthy school lunch as a work in progress and insist on healthful plant-based school meals, snacks and vending machine items. Guidance is available at www.fns.usda.gov/cnd, www.healthyschoollunches.org, and www.vrg.org/family.
Milton Conley
Oakland
UC Berkeley's high cost is outrageous
The public's UC Berkeley majors in harvesting money and taxes. UC Berkeley is now the nationally ranked No. 1 public university for total academic cost (resident) as a result of Provost George Breslauer and Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's goal to charge Californians higher tuition.
UC Berkeley tuition is rising faster than costs at other public universities. Cal faculty ranked No. 2 in earning potential. Believe it: Harvard is less costly.
The California dream: Keep it alive and well at Cal. Honorably retire Breslauer. Birgeneau has resigned.
Milan Moravec
Walnut Creek
