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Yee is the best choice to lead the state
Re: “Sparks fly over the first debate” (Page A1, February 5).
California doesn’t need a governor who “wins” a two-hour TV show. We need a leader who can set the budget, stabilize our economy and actually make government work.
I was at the debate. Six men thought the job description included mansplaining because they weren’t the best-prepared stewards of a $300 billion budget. The men on stage were eager to interrupt, lecture and score points.Meanwhile, only one candidate has managed all the state books, exposed waste and abuse, and protected the pensions of millions of Californians: former Comptroller Betty Yee. She didn’t rob for the cameras. She did what female leaders so often do: show up prepared, focus on solutions, and let the work speak for itself.
If we’re serious about solving California’s day one problems, it’s time to look past the male theatrics and elect the adult in the room: Betty Yee.
Then Cohen
Oakland
Teaching and curriculum can help turn the scores around
Re: “California schools’ low scores reflect much more than just teaching” (page A6, February 5).
Jill Stegman clearly highlights the real challenges facing California’s public school population. But by emphasizing that test scores will not increase until society’s problems are solved, she is doing students a disservice.
Some schools beat the odds of the population they serve. Some districts are narrowing achievement gaps. The data is there. Curriculum and education matter. In the case of literacy, adopting evidence-based approaches can lead to gains, even for students facing multiple challenges in the Central Valley. In mathematics, focusing practice around examining student data, research-based teaching, and early intervention has improved achievement in districts with high poverty and multilingual students.
The systemic problem is that these victories are dispersed. California continues to struggle to deploy evidence-based instruction and intervention at scale. Until that is the case, simply blaming society and implying that schools can do little about the clear steps districts can take now ignores this.
Katie Chin
Fremont
Emotional intelligence can help curb violence
California is in the crosshairs of Donald Trump’s politics. While America is in political and political turmoil, California must stand up.
Initiate Justice has established an innovative program at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga. The Initiate Justice Bill Clinic teaches policy to incarcerated residents. The clinic is writing three bills. The bills focus on criminal justice, rehabilitation models and the implementation of social-emotional learning in California schools.
The social-emotional learning bill is tentatively called the Shaw-Scott Act. The legislation is dedicated in part to Otis Scott III of Oakland, who was killed by a friend in 1995 at the age of 19. One of the bill’s authors was convicted of the crime and wants to demonstrate the importance of emotional intelligence in our schools. Social-emotional learning in our schools will help reduce violence.
John Crosthwaite
Pleasant Valley Prison
Coalinga
Oversight is crucial for a strong democracy
Regarding: “Resignation shocks supervisory panel” (Page B1, February 4).
Today, supervision is more important than ever. Without transparency and accountability, constitutional human freedom is engulfed in tyranny. Such tyranny is at the top of our daily news, documenting excessive violence by masked, unidentified swarms smashing doors and smashing car windows, arresting, tear gassing, shooting and even killing residents.
All too often fatally, those who fire pellets or “less lethal” bullets – steel balls, wooden blocks, pepper balls, or blinding/deafening flash sounds in multi-munition grenades – act with impunity.
Police supervision limits impunity. Decades ago, Berkeley created the first Police Review Commission, which 2020 voters strengthened into a Police Accountability Board, for civilian review of police misconduct and standards for transparency and accountability.
The article provides a necessary wake-up call. In-depth research and reporting are essential to expose the erosion of transparency. Call on the Berkeley City Council to recommit to the responsibility necessary to maintain the 250-year-old balance that Americans call democracy.
Wendy Alfsen
Berkley
Stop the bleeding Trump is inflicting
Re: “Danger Lurking: Trump’s Coming Outburst” (Page A9, January 25).
Thank you, David Brooks, for telling us why We the People should push for the removal of Donald Trump from the presidency. Beyond Brook’s analysis, the facts are compelling.
Trump is a convicted felon and the leader of an effort to overthrow our government, making him a traitor. He is an unrestrained liar and promises retaliation against his perceived enemies. He is destroying our longstanding relationship with our allies, including our closest ally, Canada, and crippling our health care system. He urges the Supreme Court and the Republican Congress to support unconstitutional and law-breaking acts. He threatens blue cities and states with the equivalent of a Gestapo-like atmosphere for immigrants, citizens or not. He has threatened Greenland and overthrown the leadership in Venezuela. He has attacked our higher education system.
I believe Trump gets up every morning and thinks, “Who can I hurt today?” You’ve hurt us enough. Out.
Joan Field
Danville
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