Fresno’s rising rent costs: Letters to the editor, Sept. 26, 2021

Fresno needs more rent control

Life is about the future, it’s how we face it. We could do it screaming and shouting, leaving only shards of who we were in our wake or, we could rise together and face the future with the content of our creator.

Fresno is faced with a homeless crisis that is not only made up of drug addicts and the mentally ill but, it is made up with woman and children. They are being forced out of their homes or apartments by the ever-escalating cost of rent. Rent in Fresno is up 46.38% since 2019.

In order to rent a house or an apartment, a perspective tenant must have an income of three times the rent. So, the elderly, the disabled, the minimum wage worker, can be excluded from renting.

What can be done about it is stronger rent control law that was passed in 2019. Rent should never go up higher than the cost of living.

Election looms for FUSD next year

School board members bring different agendas to meetings, but ultimately they must decide what is best for the students of the district. That is their primary agenda first and foremost.

Petty squabbling amongst themselves just distracts from their elected duties. It appears that a mediation expert is a waste of time, taken the major differences that have surfaced.

A recall election is extremely costly to the taxpayers and takes away from any positive business the board needs to concentrate on. I witnessed one in Fresno Unified years ago and it was ugly.

As a former school administrator, and having served on two different school boards after my retirement, I feel that I have a good amount of experience to speak on this.

Let's see what the 2022 school board election decides.

Texas abortion bill a power play

I am beside myself and speechless after hearing about the bill that was passed in Texas, where civil rights are being stripped away from innocent pregnant women. And private citizens are allowed to bring civil lawsuits against any person who assists them in seeking out or planning an abortion. Wait a minute, what?

Did we all forgot about the old saying that “It takes two to tango?”

To be clear, the irony of all of the abortion bills is the complete lack of male inclusion. Women do not magically become pregnant. There’s a man attached to every single abortion. Why are men not being included in the jail time for abortion? Because this isn’t about abortion; it’s about men controlling women. If it were actually about abortion, then we would be discussing early and continuing sex education, free birth control, health care for all, making child care financially feasible, mandatory parental leave, increasing WIC, hard sentencing for rape, fixing our foster care system, and making adoption more accessible.

This is not about abortion. It’s about control. Don’t fool yourself.

Texas law and the male irony

I heard on the news that we in the U.S. are worried about the rights of the women of Afghanistan now that the US ground troops have left.

Then the next day I heard that a new law in Texas virtually bans women from getting an abortion, but, as in every U.S. state, there are absolutely no repercussions to the men who get them pregnant. Seems ironic.

Even fixed up, it is still prison

In regards to the letter, “Too Much Peace, Love For Prison” by Mike Reynolds, I would have to disagree. The governor is not making prison “attractive” by keeping up with the community. If an area is nice, it does not mean that prisoners are getting treated like their crimes mean any less than if the prison was not as well kept up.

Prisoners are still serving time, the same punishment as anyone else in the system, and having a well-kept up area is not diminishing the fact that prison is a place that you do not want to end up in.

Good for cows, good for you

Perhaps the folks opting for invermectin (used for de-worming cattle), have come to believe that “herd immunity” means that they will be given the same protection as cows.

Go beyond the hype of climate change

Another climate expert (President Biden) declaired that Hurricane Ida is proof positive that our climate is changing. He also predicted that when his climate change program is implemented, such hurricanes in the future will do no dammage to our coastal towns and cities.

I do agree with him, as every climate scientist does, that our climate is indeed changing, but he is unfortunately mistaken on his second point. Dr. Steven E. Koonin is the former undersecetary for science, U.S. Department of Energy in the Obama administration. He has noted in his recent book, “Unsettled? What Climate Science Tells Us, What it doesn't, and Why it Matters” (2021), the IPCC's Fifth Assessment report (AR5), "that there is low confidence in any long-term increase in hurricane activity." In other words, hurricanes are not getting worse.

He goes on to say, concerning hurricanes, tornadoes etc., that no attributable human influence has been verified. That is to say, that the so-called "human footprint" has not yet been found.

Another voice of reason on this subject is Michael Shellenberger, a well-known environment activitist, whose recent book, “APOCALYPSE NEVER: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All” (2020), says it all. Both of these books are recommended for everyone seriously interested in the facts, not the hype, of climate change.

Needs more info on redistricting

Where is the Fresno County redistricting outreach? It comes only every decade. As someone born and raised in Fresno for more than 25 years, it has only been the second time redistricting is conducted in my life. I live between Fresno, Clovis, and Sanger, where housing is slowly expanding east. There are serious concerns that my neighbors don’t know what is happening or how it will impact them — for example, which school district their kids will attend in the next decade.

Many of my friends and family don’t know what redistricting is and how to participate. It has been hard for me to find when the county is conducting redistricting workshops or public hearings. When I hear about these events, it’s already too late to attend. Fresno County does not inform our community enough about the process, what redistricting is, and why it’s essential to hear from the people.

There is a need to bring more awareness about redistricting, not only for me, but for the people living here. The districts drawn this year will shape our lives and communities for the next 10 years.

This story was originally published September 26, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Fresno’s rising rent costs: Letters to the editor, Sept. 26, 2021."