Re “LAUSD seeks a lifeline in parcel tax” (May 19):
Is a parcel tax the best way to help pay for the new Los Angeles Unified School District teachers’ contract? It is not.
First, it’s not fair. Property owners are not the only people whose children attend school. The only fair way to fund this is to assess every resident of Los Angeles. This would reduce the per-person tax required instead of having only a small group (property owners) pay.
How do we do this? The two main ways to ensure every L.A. resident participates in this new funding are to raise the sales tax, or impose a city income tax.
Don’t get me wrong — I am not in favor of a city income tax. But if LAUSD has the nerve to approve a teachers’ contract with no funding sources in place, they should have the guts to try and put a tax on everyone.
LAUSD agreed to the demands of the teachers union knowing the cupboard was bare. Now they want property owners to rescue them. We’ve seen this before. It’s not right. We must vote no on ballot Measure EE.
— Russ Kidd, West Hills
Republican anti-vaxxers
God-fearing religious Republicans and their new anti-vaxxer crusade put our children at risk. Measles outbreaks are on the rise. You do not protect your children by needlessly exposing them to serious and sometimes deadly (but preventable) diseases.
We owe it to each other and to children being born every day to get them vaccinated against measles and stop letting Republican fear-mongering win the day.
— Ron Lowe, Santa Monica
Golf is a gentleman’s game
I’ve played public golf for over 50 years and during that time enjoyed watching televised golf. The huge galleries we see at televised PGA tournaments represent how public golf has exploded.
Sadly, those blue-collar galleries have not brought with them the respect for the gentleman’s game. The taunting of Brooks Koepka at Bethpage as he struggled to close out the win was very disturbing for this old golfer.
However, I marvel at the ability of these modern day players to tune out the ridiculous screaming rabble. Credit to those pros that they don’t join in on the insanity.
— Jim Jernigan, Walnut
![Re “Should abortion be left to the states?” (April 21): Although Rafael Perez makes a compelling argument for abortion rights being a federal issue, he overlooks a crucial distinction. If it is nationally mandated, one way or the other, it is the federal government taking sides. And that would unnecessarily alienate roughly half of the population. If left to the states, the opportunity for all philosophies is maintained. If a state bans abortions after 15 weeks, for example, a woman in that circumstance has the option to travel to a state allowing such abortions. But that also allows those who […]](https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2018_1008_generic_mailbox_letters_to_the_editor3-14.jpg?w=513 "Re “Should abortion be left to the states?” (April 21): Although Rafael Perez makes a compelling argument for abortion rights being a federal issue, he overlooks a crucial distinction. If it is nationally mandated, one way or the other, it is the federal government taking sides. And that would unnecessarily alienate roughly half of the population. If left to the states, the opportunity for all philosophies is maintained. If a state bans abortions after 15 weeks, for example, a woman in that circumstance has the option to travel to a state allowing such abortions. But that also allows those who […]")
![Once again with “Impeachment of Mayorkas rightly dismissed” (April 19), the newspaper editors show their priorities in failing to even mention the present and growing multi-faceted danger of our open borders. No doubt most all Americans want our immigration policies reformed, but what we overwhelmingly expect and must demand first and foremost is a secure border. With this administration, we have no border security and effectively no border. For Americans now so in peril throughout the country, we must do all we can to demand a secure border like we enjoyed prior to Biden and Mayorkas. If Mayorkas’ impeachment could […]](https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2018_1008_generic_mailbox_letters_to_the_editor3-13.jpg?w=513 "Once again with “Impeachment of Mayorkas rightly dismissed” (April 19), the newspaper editors show their priorities in failing to even mention the present and growing multi-faceted danger of our open borders. No doubt most all Americans want our immigration policies reformed, but what we overwhelmingly expect and must demand first and foremost is a secure border. With this administration, we have no border security and effectively no border. For Americans now so in peril throughout the country, we must do all we can to demand a secure border like we enjoyed prior to Biden and Mayorkas. If Mayorkas’ impeachment could […]")
![There will be no peace unless some beliefs change in the Mideast The call for Jewish genocide and the destruction of the state of Israel began the instant Israel was declared a nation by the UN 75 years ago. The indiscriminate attacks against the people of Israel have been continuous and brutal. Tens of thousands of missiles have been fired at Israeli citizens and residents. Suicide bombers and ground attacks have become a part of everyday reality. Israel’s response has historically been measured and on military targets, yet they are the ones constantly being charged with genocide. The Palestinian charter […]](https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2018_1008_generic_mailbox_letters_to_the_editor3-2.jpg?w=513 "There will be no peace unless some beliefs change in the Mideast The call for Jewish genocide and the destruction of the state of Israel began the instant Israel was declared a nation by the UN 75 years ago. The indiscriminate attacks against the people of Israel have been continuous and brutal. Tens of thousands of missiles have been fired at Israeli citizens and residents. Suicide bombers and ground attacks have become a part of everyday reality. Israel’s response has historically been measured and on military targets, yet they are the ones constantly being charged with genocide. The Palestinian charter […]")
![The April 18 letter by John Waters is a perfect example of how misinformation can be spread, especially in regard to Donald Trump. He states that “the Supreme Court, unanimously 9-0, decided that the criteria for insurrection were not met.” That’s factually incorrect. The court decided that only Congress — and not the states — can enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, so Colorado could not remove Trump from the ballot. They did not rule on whether the criteria for insurrection were met. Unfortunately, now many people will believe differently because of that letter. — Bob Horvath, Long Beach […]](https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2018_1008_generic_mailbox_letters_to_the_editor3-12.jpg?w=513 "The April 18 letter by John Waters is a perfect example of how misinformation can be spread, especially in regard to Donald Trump. He states that “the Supreme Court, unanimously 9-0, decided that the criteria for insurrection were not met.” That’s factually incorrect. The court decided that only Congress — and not the states — can enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, so Colorado could not remove Trump from the ballot. They did not rule on whether the criteria for insurrection were met. Unfortunately, now many people will believe differently because of that letter. — Bob Horvath, Long Beach […]")