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New line at the dairy
I want to express my concern over the way the City of Pleasanton has handled enforcement of the new line for the Meadowlark Dairy. The line itself is likely necessary and the kids who work at the dairy are efficient in helping all the cars. My concern is that the enforcement of the line has been left to the dairy employees, who are mostly kids and young adults.
When someone invariably cuts the line, the kids are exposed to rude, aggressive behavior from adults who don’t want to follow the new rules. Already they have been called names, been ignored and even called racists for trying to enforce the line rules. If the city wants to impose this line on the dairy, where are they to install support for them to make this line work during their busiest time of the year?
To make matters worse, there is now a “street preacher” parking himself across the street from the dairy spouting hate speech several times a week. He is adding chaos and aggression among the people in the area and making it even harder for the kids to work. Where is the Pleasanton PD?
The Meadowlark Dairy has been a beloved Pleasanton institution for over 100 years. The Takens family have been generous in their support of local businesses and schools, in addition to bringing business to downtown with their popularity and charm. Pretty much everyone who works at the dairy is a Pleasanton resident. Where is the city and PPD to support and help our own?
I close with a plea to dairy patrons — Be kind! Be calm! It’s ice cream!
— Laura Harris
Stop the scare tactics
I was dismayed to read in the May 31 edition of the Weekly that Pleasanton finance director Susan Hsieh effectively threatened residents with the closure of a local fire station if the proposed sales tax increase is not approved by voters.
No one is minimizing the need to address the city’s budget shortfall. That said, it is insulting that the city is resorting to “scare tactics” to win support for a deeply unpopular measure.
Perhaps it would be more persuasive if the mayor and City Council offered to take voluntary pay cuts instead of trying to intimidate Pleasanton voters.
— Harry Edwards
Read, read and read again
An important election on our horizon means we the voters must sit up and pay attention.
Who wants to read the fine print on all the bills, propositions and candidates in the voter guide? The crickets have it. But, if one can persevere through the fine print, one can sometimes find the most interesting little add-ons that have nothing to do with the title or the origin of the ballot item. And many times, those little add-ons affect we the people in very large ways.
Take Prop 47, for instance. Over a million people guaranteed this item to be on the ballot via the petition system. But, one person, Gavin Newsom, who thinks he should override the million plus, is suing us in California Supreme Court to keep it off the ballot, because in his own words, “There’s no need to have it on the ballot.”
His state legislative body has put together a clump of bills designed as tough on crime, but has a little add-on saying this clump will be automatically repealed if voters pass Prop 47. Surely our governor and our State Legislature wouldn’t coerce or threaten us voters. Read, read, read!
— Phyllis Couper
Mexican charreadas, the law and animal welfare
California boasts the nation’s most comprehensive rodeo law, Penal Code 596.7, the result of 1999 legislation carried by then-Sen. Don Perata (D-Oakland), and sponsored by Oakland-based Action for Animals. The law was amended in 2007 to include the Mexican charreadas common throughout California (AB 1614, by Assemblymember Audra Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks).
Current law requires either an on-site or on-call veterinarian at every rodeo and/or charreada, and bans the use of electric prods in the holding chutes. The law further requires that animal injury reports be submitted to the State Veterinary Medical Board. These reports are public record; email enforcement.vmb@dca.ca.gov.
The law needs amending to require on-site veterinarians at all these events. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, racetracks, horse shows and endurance rides all require on-site veterinarians — so should all rodeos and charreadas.
Incredibly, no charreada injury reports have been submitted to the vet board since 2007. Three of the charreadas’ nine scored events involve roping the legs of running horses. In the “steer tailing” event, tails are routinely stripped to the bone (“degloved”), broken, even torn off.
It appears that the charro community is unaware of state law. Please spread the word to help remedy this unacceptable situation.
— Eric Mills, coordinator, Action for Animals
Making your energy system safer and more affordable
At PG&E, we recognize that like many goods and services, energy prices are increasing.
Those increases are essential investments to help build a safe, reliable and clean energy system for everyone and support the growing need for new service connections and infrastructure upgrades in our communities.
For example, in the Bay Area region, we’ve connected nearly 500 new services so far this year for both residential and local businesses across San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
Investments like this are necessary, but we are also working every day to ease rising energy costs.
We’re reducing our own operating costs in dozens of ways and working to lower the costs of state policies and programs that affect your bill.
Through these actions, we’re working hard to reduce your bill in 2025 and 2026.
— Jake Zigelman, PG&E vice president, Bay Area Region
80th anniversary of D-Day
Last week we paid honor to those brave servicemen who fought during D-Day June 6, 1944, known as “the longest day”.
This battle was a very important strategic victory against the Nazis that ultimately led to the end of the war in Europe. Thousands of U.S. and Allied servicemen gave the ultimate sacrifice during this battle 80 years ago. We must always remember the sacrifice that these brave soldiers did for the free world to help keep it free. Freedom is not free and we should always remember.
If you get a chance you should visit the cemetery in Normandy, France to understand the details of this historic mission (6,939 Allied naval vessels, 156,000 troops, 11,590 aircraft, 23,400 airborne paratroopers and a very large, sad number of casualties). Thank you to those that served during World War II and to all who serve today. God bless America.
— David Ott
The scare tactics to get the residents to vote in a 1/2 cent city sales tax continued at the Council Meeting 6/18. Only Council member Jack Balch suggest we take a pause and really dig deep looking for unnecessary spends. He suggested taking a look at travel budgets, which has not yet been reviewed. Great idea Jack. Another idea, why build a brand new bandstand and move it way across the park, how about just moving the existing one in 5 feet in from where it is now? That way families at Delucci Park can still hear the music. There are so many common sense things that can be done, but 4 of the 5 council members want the easy way out and that is a 1/2 cent tax. And remember this same 4 council members that voted to spend 11 million on a skatepark refurbishment and century house refurbishment. Also remember that 11 million was only paused by this group of 4 not eliminated. Will they simply put those things back into play if and when the sales tax is voted in? Voting has consquences.
The scare tactics to get the residents to vote in a 1/2 cent city sales tax continued at the Council Meeting 6/18. Only Council member Jack Balch suggest we take a pause and really dig deep looking for unnecessary spends. He suggested taking a look at travel budgets, which has not yet been reviewed. Great idea Jack. Another idea, why build a brand new bandstand and move it way across the park, how about just moving the existing one in 5 feet in from where it is now? That way families at Delucci Park can still hear the music. There are so many common sense things that can be done, but 4 of the 5 council members want the easy way out and that is a 1/2 cent tax. And remember this same 4 council members that voted to spend 11 million on a skatepark refurbishment and century house refurbishment. Also remember that 11 million was only paused by this group of 4 not eliminated. Will they simply put those things back into play if and when the sales tax is voted in?