Thanks to school teachers, staff, parents for great year
It’s hard to believe the school year has come to an end!
As we reflect on the 2017-18 school year, educators across the Piedmont district are feeling great pride in the academic and social-emotional growth of students. Together, let us celebrate students’ hard work and engagement in their learning process.
The district’s ultimate goal is to provide an extraordinary education for all students. Each initiative furthered this goal in one of the following ways: updating and refining our curriculum and instruction; promoting deeper levels of student engagement, critical thinking and inquiry; providing a safe, appropriate and inclusive learning environment for all students; or adapting our administrative practices and structures to better meet the needs of students and better support educators.
I would like to thank our teachers, staff and administrators for their incredible dedication and for all they do on behalf of our students. They are making a remarkable team of professionals who continually strive to improve teaching and learning. I would also like to thank the many organizations, families, and volunteers who partner with the district to enhance and expand opportunities for our students. I am grateful for this breadth and depth of community support for public education and proud of what we have accomplished together this year.
Have a wonderful summer!
— Randall Booker, superintendent, Piedmont Unified School District
There’s no hypocrisy in reaction to Roseanne Barr tweet
A recent letter-writer complained of hypocrisy in the media’s reaction to Roseanne Barr’s comment comparing former Obama official Valerie Jarrette to an ape (June 4, 2018, bayareane.ws/2M2bNex, “Cartoons depicting George W. Bush as a monkey OK?”).
He pointed out that nobody complained when President George W. Bush was portrayed as a chimp in political cartoons. First, yes, the media complained. Second, there’s an obvious difference between the time-dishonored practice of comparing black people to apes and depicting a white president as a chimp in a political cartoon.
— Sampson Van Zandt, Walnut Creek
Borders like doors: Knock first, wait to be invited in
As I listen to the immigration/borders debate, it seems like it comes down to either saying “immigration is good, and (all) immigrants are wonderful” or “immigration is terrible, and (all) immigrants are out to get us.”
That’s not realistic — like all people, most immigrants are good, but some are bad. Most of the (recent) immigrants that I’ve met have been good, honest hard-working people, and I support immigration.
But I do feel we’ve lost control of our borders, of who comes in and who doesn’t. It feels as if I’m living in a house where the doors are always unlocked and I don’t know who’s coming in.
I’d like a system in which someone has to knock at our door first and we have a chance to see who they are before we invite them in. I hope I’m not the only one who feels this way.
— Tom Shastid, Walnut Creek
What was BART thinking with parking arrangement?
BART was short-sighted again. During the first week of operation, I visited the Antioch BART parking lot each day at about 8:15 a.m., and every day there wasn’t a single unreserved parking spot available.
BART spent $525 million on the extension and skimped on the parking, thus, the ridership from East Contra Costa will be limited. How short-sighted is that?
Instead of a parking garage with parking to accommodate double the ridership, BART chose a flat lot with solar panels that would need to be torn down to expand parking to multiple levels.
You would think they would learn from the Pittsburg station parking that’s full every day. I would gladly use BART if I could only find a parking spot.
— Mike Stewart, Oakley
Plans will give marina back to residents to enjoy again
One of the reasons I moved to Alameda is for its bikeability, but there’s nothing worse than living on an island and feeling cut off from the water.
Alameda’s shoreline trails for walking and cycling are disjointed, and even getting paddle boats and kayaks into the estuary can be a struggle if you don’t have easy access to launching points.
The new plans for Alameda Marina call for opening up the property and providing access to a shoreline that has been walled off for generations. After listening to resident feedback, the developers have agreed to stretch the Bay Trail along the shoreline and have added contiguous walking and bike paths and lots of open space.
There will be access points for paddle boats and other small craft, and the literal wall of buildings separating the marina from Clement Avenue will be cleared, giving full views of the estuary.
Island living should feel like island living, and any new development that comes along should enhance that feeling.
Alameda Marina is an important part of the island’s history and deserves to be given back for residents to enjoy.
— Casey Sparks, Alameda
Submit your letters to the editor at www.eastbaytimes.com/letters-to-the-editor.