COVID-19, masks and salons: Letters to the editor, Aug. 16 2020
We are in a war with COVID-19; mask up
I’m amazed at people who refuse to mask up because somehow that’s taking away their precious freedom, that telling us that we have to do something in the best interests of all of us is somehow threatening to them.
As a kid growing up in Southern California during the Second World War, my parents sacrificed for over four years, giving up meat once or twice a week; sugar and butter were only available with coupons. Travel was restricted in many places, air raid drills were a common item in most communities. Blackout curtains were required in many areas, car headlights were painted black, so they couldn’t be seen by air, and the list could go on.
My point to the anti-maskers is this: If we are in a war with this virus, don’t you think by wearing a mask for a short period of time when we can beat back this virus is worth the little bit of sacrifice on your part?
Jack Tracy, Fresno
Haircut, COVID and no warning
On June 5 I had a haircut at a licensed salon in Fresno. My longtime hairdresser, and others at the salon, were following COVID-19 guidelines. Six weeks later, I called for another haircut and was told three days after my haircut in June, there was an employee outbreak of COVID in the salon.
I was never notified. I am not faulting the employees who became ill, but I am suggesting the practice of allowing an outbreak to go unreported is insane.
Blaming contact tracing for being slow is not acceptable. Require all hair and nail salon owners or employees to notify immediately anyone exposed to the virus when an outbreak is discovered. Let's stop putting all the blame on non-mask wearers for spread. What about the business owners in nail and hair salons, and their employees who take no responsibility for notifying victims of an outbreak. I was a victim! They have all contact the information.
It's part of the new COVID procedure: fill out your name, appt. date, and phone number. This one salon probably spread 100s of infections over the many days of non-notification. How many other salons did this?
Jackie Newman, Fresno
State leaders impoverish us
Responding to the recent Dan Walters’ column of July 20, it is not high housing cost alone, but California government itself that is impoverishing us.
As a blind person who uses Lyft and Uber for my transportation needs, I am paying and will continue to pay a penalty for California’s demands on those companies. Just last night, I paid $20 to go less than two miles. Thank you, rich Democrats!
Our income will not increase with the new demands of a $15 minimum wage or the subsequent inflation that will no doubt follow. We are taxpayers, but I guess that's not enough, even though my annual tax bill is also my largest yearly expense! I won't lie, this really angers me.
David McElroy, Visalia
Newsom, fracking a bad combination
At any moment 256 fracking permits could be issued in our earthquake-prone state. No more!
As we left work heading into the Fourth of July weekend, the Newsom administration issued 12 new fracking permits to Chevron. This is the third set of permits issued after the governor’s nine-month moratorium effectively ended when 24 permits were given to Aera Energy during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last April. In June 12 more permits went to Aera.
Newsom pledged California would be reliant on renewable energy by 2045. But 6,000 permits for oil/gas wells have been issued.Why is he enabling a failing industry? Fracking has much higher variable costs than traditional oil, and the well production is very front loaded, meaning producers need to drill new wells all the time to maintain production.
Fracking pollutes the air, land and water. Communities disproportionately affected by the devastating combination of climate change and the pandemic are the same suffering from these poisonous toxins. During COVID-19 Newsom says he’s putting our health first. To truly follow through he needs to issue an executive action to halt all fracking. He has the power — I ask if he has the political will?
Felipe Perez, councilmember, Firebaugh
This story was originally published August 16, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "COVID-19, masks and salons: Letters to the editor, Aug. 16 2020."