Letters for August 9, 2018

Re: “Vice mayor blues” by Scott Thomas Anderson (Beats, August 2):

Sorry SN&R—the only people violating anyone’s rights at City Council meetings are the very people who cry their Brown Act rights are being violated. They demand “respect,” but they don’t give it. They demand “accountability” but not for their own behavior. They swear and insult the council and citizens, make threatening gestures and talk about killing police. They are easily triggered and scream nonsense, interrupting other citizens using their two minutes. The lack of self-control is a joke. It’s very sad because the vitriol is so toxic any message that has value is not heard. Watch the City Council meetings online and see for yourself.

K.L. Rogers

Sacramento

Nestlé’s K.J. connection

Re: “Nestlé's secret water deal” by Steph Rodriguez (News, August 2):

It’s a shame SN&R didn’t include the history of Nestlé getting a permit in Sacramento. [Michelle Smira], a former “volunteer” in [former Mayor Kevin Johnson’s] office got hired by Nestlé less than two days after leaving her post.

Larry Glover-Meade

via Facebook

The cost of corruption

Re: “A dark development” by Scott Thomas Anderson (Feature, July 19):

Thanks for your article about development in Folsom. Land use planning is the nexus of local corruption, with corrupt local officials selling their public experience to the highest bidder. The public is completely oblivious to this, but the stakes couldn’t be higher.

It’s worth remembering that the land speculators bought North Natomas land—20 feet under water floodplain surrounded by weak levees—for roughly $2,000 an acre, and sold it to builders, once they got the entitlements to develop, for $200,000 an acre.

In any case, the Germans have the right solution: have developers sell the land to local government at the agricultural land price, then buy it back at the up-zoned price. Germans have single-payer health care, good jobs, free tuition at their colleges even for foreigners, and the arts budget for the City of Berlin exceeds the National Endowment for the Arts for the U.S. of A.

Land speculators will continue to do this until the public wakes up to the cost of this corruption.

Mark Dempsey

Orangevale via sactoletters@newsreview.com

If you build it …

Re: “A dark development” by Scott Thomas Anderson (Feature, July 19):

The issue of Folsom Ranch is not about the greed of the developers (obvious) or the agent they hire to promote the venture. Such a project would only be assumed if the investors were confident that the result would be a successful sale of the homes to buyers willing to pay the price of the lifestyle offered.

The ultimate responsibility for the impact (positive/negative, on the infrastructure, environment or tax benefits to the community) is with those who purchase the end product.

The reality is [that] the movie line applies,” If you build it they will come.”

Bob Losik

Fair Oaks via sactoletters@newsreview.com