Letters: Conservancy Says No to Measure II | Callback DA Pamela Price | Bright future for Livermore | Bringing back the art of conversation

Conservancy says no to Measure II

Amid all the national and state election decisions this year, there is an important local issue for Dublin voters. Measure II would give the city council permission to break Dublin's urban boundary line and allow commercial development in the now open area between Dublin and Livermore. This development threatens to bring warehouses, truck traffic and associated air pollution into critical wildlife habitats.

Tri-Valley Conservancy has worked for 12 years to protect the lands in question, including Doolan Canyon, a fragile ecosystem that serves as a well-used wildlife corridor and habitat for golden eagles, California tiger salamanders, badgers and other rare animals. Measure II would fragment this green belt and open the door to urban sprawl.

Dublin voters said “no” to urban sprawl a decade ago when they overwhelmingly rejected a similar ballot measure. The fundamentals remain the same and Dublin voters should vote no again.

Tri-Valley Conservancy is ready and eager to engage in a conversation and help negotiate a deal to build the road while ensuring the wildlife corridor and open space are protected, preferably through conservation easements.

Measure II would alter Dublin's General Plan, destroy a valuable green belt and violate the region's principle of open space. And it would undo the hard work of the people of Dublin in setting the urban boundary line to prevent exactly the kind of controversy that Measure II is generating.

Tri-Valley Conservancy urges Dublin residents to vote “no” on Measure II.

– Rebecca Spector, Executive Director, Tri-Valley Conservancy

Remember DA Pamela Price

On November 5, voters in Alameda County should vote “yes” and remove Pam Price as district attorney.

When Price was elected to office, her position was for a six-year term. Now, just two years into this term, the Alameda district attorney has become a public defender who protects criminals, not victims.

Due to rampant crime in our county, Governor Newsom offered Price state funding. But Price refused his help. Our U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell called for Price's recall because she “gives bad guys the green light to hurt people.”

SF District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said Price's policies have only led to an increase in crime. Price's own MPs voted overwhelmingly to recall her. And all 14 police unions in our county have called for her removal.

She issued a directive to all of her lawyers prohibiting them from increasing standard criminal enhancements that resulted in prison sentences without her express permission.

It gave a quadruple murderer 15 years in state prison. This will allow Shawn Killian, the Alameda man charged with executing his family of five, to be eligible for parole after his conviction in 20 years. Sheriff's Deputy Devin Williams Jr. has his sentence reduced for murdering his girlfriend and her husband in front of their family.

Vote yes and recall Pam Price on November 5th.

—Simon Li

A bright future for Livermore

From the windmills that crown our hills, our tradition of green energy can strengthen our other tradition of agriculture. As temperatures warm, solar panels installed over fields can help keep crops cool. Green growth, in turn, lowers local temperatures and thus increases the efficiency of photovoltaic cells. This partnership is called agrovoltaics.

Green tourism can flourish thanks to the construction of artistic solar statues, sun-protected walkways and the lab's reputation as the world's first successful fusion ignition. Visitors can stay in a new downtown hotel and travel by The Valley Link or other trains, continuing our proud heritage as a railroad town. Increased use of public transportation will reduce congestion on the 580 and reduce pollution.

Within the city, better safety routes combined with more e-bikes and other transportation options, from buses to golf carts, will ease downtown parking problems and reduce car accidents. Although we need to build more housing, creating walkable communities near public and active transportation hubs will enable Livermore to grow responsibly and healthily.

Achieving this bright future requires the participation of citizens, elected officials and volunteer commissioners, all working together to improve their community.

—Alan Marling

Bringing back the art of conversation

The word “listening” has become part of the local election debate – which candidate listens to whom and to what effect? But what this debate hides is that listening is just the beginning of a conversation and that communities grow stronger through conversation, collaboration and compromise.

While the debate over what listening means is part of a local campaign, there is a much larger point at stake. It applies to individuals and minorities who are included or ignored, to national affairs and globally. It is – broadly – ​​polarization, the destroyer of community.

One of the effects of polarization – and for those who foment it, this is a feature, not a bug – is to stoke a sense of resentment and outrage.

Sometimes this outrage is justified. Sometimes it's made up out of thin air. The heroes are then the ones who listen and presumably respond to what they hear to heal the outrage and heal the hurting. They are, by definition, larger than life.

But the politics of polarization are not healthy for any community, be it a family (and yes, families are the basic model of a community), a city or a nation.

There are no heroes who can heal indignation and grief, whether objectively real or imagined. Rather, healing comes through building better communities, and this is the responsibility of each individual.

This healing begins with conversations that acknowledge each person's shared humanity, but without necessarily agreeing with that person's views or behavior. This also includes understanding that beliefs do not necessarily correspond to reality – productive conversations must begin with questioning your own assumptions.

And it comes from understanding that there are no heroes – and that building thriving communities begins when we hear each other's voices.

—Trish Munro