Letters: Where is Newsom as refinery closures threaten state economy?

Submit your letter to the editor via this form Read more Letters to the Editor Where is Newsom as refineries teeter Re Oil refinery delivers intent to idle notice Page A April The Bay Area News Group just now ran an article that discussed the workable closing of Valero s Benicia refinery In fact three California refineries are now slated to close by the end of Phillips Wilmington refinery Valero s Wilmington refinery and Valero s Benicia refinery This is a loss of barrels per day of crude oil production or nearly of California s current refinery quota Fundamental economics tells us that the impact will be a dramatic increase in gasoline prices In a current paper professor Michael Miche of USC predicted that the impact could be gasoline prices of over a gallon This was before Valero established the closing of its Benicia refinery by the end of The economic impact will be devastating and Gov Newsom has been AWOL R P Girouard Atherton In current context we all could use civics discipline In reading the paper on Wednesday I m struck by how far-reaching and drastic the cuts are that are being made by the current administration and DOGE It occurs to me that it s time for a new federal law that makes it mandatory for everyone over the age of years old to take a review class in basic civics along with a test to make sure they all got it One of the first questions would be What are the essential functions of a central cabinet in a modern-day state One function is to provide for the common good and to protect its majority vulnerable citizens and those living within our borders Another is to promote that which makes life worth living the arts music These are as essential as protecting our national borders and international relations Basic civics everybody Basic civics Rosalie Arntzen Sunnyvale Bike lanes must allow for cars turning right Caltrans has reconfigured majority of of El Camino Real in Palo Alto and Mountain View to provide wide bicycle lanes in both directions So far so good And they are planning to install plastic lane separators to provide more safety to bicycles I hope they will follow the truck code turn right from as close to the curb as practicable and allow vehicles to merge into bike lanes a sufficient distance before making a right turn into a cross street or a private driveway I have seen roads where a motorist is prevented from getting close to the curb by such separators creating a dangerous situation It is not easy for a motorist to look out for pedestrians in the front and bicycles coming from behind at the same time Dinesh Desai Los Altos Citizen pressure could alter U S initiative on Israel Re U S must change program with Israel Page A May I am thankful for David Spero s powerful questions in his letter I continue to ask the vital questions Who will take action to stop the deaths of so various innocent children in Gaza Who will drive the truckloads of food across the boundary to feed the starving people How can we sit by and watch this atrocity happen day after day If each of us calls our administration day after day after day it could make a difference It is the least we can do Elizabeth Martinson Santa Clara Israel right to seek total mastery over Hamas The war in Gaza is an immense tragedy on any level and almost impossible to justify However perhaps we can understand it just a bit by looking at historic parallels On Sept Germany attacked Poland and started World War II On Dec Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and brought America into the war The U S reaction to both was the same war until absolute and complete surrender On Oct Hamas a universally recognized terrorist organization attacked Israel whose demand was the same that we championed for ourselves and our allies a limited decades ago complete and absolute surrender What is the difference The media now bring the horrors of the war at once into our sight without any sense of perspective I doubt anyone believes America and the allies should have failed to end World War II other than on its originally declared terms Is this not Israel s stance in the current era Tomas N Watson Scotts Valley More population trash cans mean cleaner streets Having a clean street or anything clean is something bulk people naturally desire Several people have messy rooms but let s be real They clean up when they know someone s coming over Why Because deep down we all want things to be clean Related Articles Letters Walters deserves readers thanks for his perspective Letters San Jose s animals are underserved by beleaguered shelter Letters East Bay should prepare now for refinery closure Letters Parents must not abdicate responsibility to social media Letters San Ramon has a chance to set its context syllabus Another point When you walk around your city or neighborhood doesn t it feel nice when the streets aren t littered with plastic bags or random bits of trash Just a clean road with cars and houses that s the kind of surroundings people appreciate and even value That s exactly why we need more citizens trash cans in our communities preferably designed in a way that hides them but still makes them easily accessible Not only would this help keep our streets cleaner but it would also take a few of the pressure off sanitation workers Ray Domondon San Jose