Fresno State athletics: Letters to the editor, Aug. 19, 2020

Fresno State has too many sports

Fresno State’s Athletics Dept. is troubled by the virus and the loss of revenue. I can’t understand why Fresno State has 21 sports and Boise State has 15. They have a larger sports budget and financial support then Fresno State has. Do the math. We have too many sports.

Such a nice surprise to receive now

After several days of self-isolating due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my wife Wanda and I decided to venture out to dine at a fine restaurant on July 12. We selected Sal’s Mexican Restaurant on Fresno and Alluvial Avenues because we knew they had patio dining and hoped they would have room for us. Sure enough, we were seated after only a short wait. The food and the service were great, as it always is, but there was something else that made the experience extra special.

We were seated next to a table of three: two ladies and one gentleman, complete strangers to us. While dining, my back was toward them, so I really don’t remember much about their appearance. They finished ahead of us and I didn’t even see them leave. After they had departed, our waiter came to our table and told us that one of the ladies had paid for our meal. What a pleasant surprise!

I didn’t even get a chance to thank her. Obviously, that’s the way she wanted it, so here, kind lady, is my public thank you. You made our day. Be assured, we will pass along this random act of kindness to some unsuspecting persons as a way to pay your kindness forward. If you are not a real angel, you certainly acted like one. A thousand blessings to you.

Libertarian group’s rhetoric deceiving

I’m astonished at Neal and McCluskey’s recent op-ed, written on behalf of the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom. The authors contend that “We are in danger of losing something precious ... something markedly different from government-controlled K-12 schooling.” They argue that “Any federal relief should not discriminate against private schools.”

Excuse me? You want to be free from “government-controlled” schools, but you also want the government (read: my tax dollars) to pay for your private schools? If you want private services, pay for them privately. Libertarian institutions like Cato keep telling on themselves, they claim to want freedom from public government, but have no problem asking for or accepting government money.

What they really want is to privatize all public institutions and then sell the services at a profit. Don’t be fooled by their rhetoric!

Loves idea of Palm Avenue bike lane

Kudos to Councilwoman Esmeralda Soria for standing up for a safer healthier Fresno. A Palm Avenue bike lane is a great idea.

I’ve lived within a quarter mile of Palm Avenue for most of my 68 years and bicycled quite a bit. Putting Palm Avenue on a “road diet” would slow down traffic while enhancing safety for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

I drive Palm Avenue almost daily and since Palm does not service any freeway on-ramps, one lane in each direction would be totally adequate.

Wake up and wear the face mask

We’ve gone from an average of 30 or 40 new cases of COVID in May, which was way too many, to 300 and now 400 new cases a day in Fresno County. What does it take to get some of our community to wake up and be more careful?

Now that President Trump has endorsed wearing a face covering and social distancing, will the knuckleheads who wouldn't do anything to protect themselves and others finally wake up and start being responsible?

This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Fresno State athletics: Letters to the editor, Aug. 19, 2020."