Letters to the Editor |

RIP Willie: Letters

Re “‘Say Hey Kid’ dies’” (June 19):

I was 10 when the Giants moved from New York to San Francisco.  From the very first day I watched Willie Mays play ball at Seals Stadium, I was hooked. No one played baseball like Willie. His love of the game was infectious. Willie wasn’t just a terrific fielder, he had blazing speed and a cannon for an arm. My guess is if he hadn’t been forced to stand in center all those cold, windy nights at Candlestick, Willie easily would have hit more than 700 home runs. Today’s stars, like Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout and Aaron Judge, truly are talented players, but they don’t play baseball like Willie did. A 24-year All Star and two-time MVP, the “Say Hey Kid” was my idol. I wish my sons, who are 44 and 32, could have seen him play. If they had, they would know why I tell everyone Willie was “poetry on the diamond.” For this 75-year-old baseball wanna-be, there will never be another Willie Mays, the greatest player of his, and my, generation.

— Denny Freidenrich, Laguna Beach

L.A. Pershing Square

Re “Councilman wants to rename Pershing Square” (June 20):

This proposal to change a park’s time-honored name to promote Black history is odd, considering that the park is already named in honor of a famous champion of Black advancement. “Black Jack” Pershing was a civil rights pioneer, consistently working to elevate and respect the rights of Black troops under his command. Long before it was trendy, General Pershing went against the mainstream in support of African-Americans. This name change looks like an effort to aggrandize a City Council member, not a historical figure.

— David Gee, Palmdale

National debt approaches $35 trillion

Re “National debt continues to explode” (June 20):

The madcap rush for Congress and the president to spend money we don’t have is accelerating. Not only does the government refuse to stop spending, but the interest rate is accelerating as well and will soon pass $1 trillion per year. That’s right folks, the Fed spends more than it takes in especially during election years.

Let’s hope that the next Congress and president develop some strict fiscal responsibility at a national level. In California that ceased long ago and will only be changed by voting out the super-majority of tax-and-spend “representatives.”

— Hayden Lening,  Claremont

Affordable housing and homeless tax

Re “Half-cent sales tax to tackle homeless” (June 20):

Tell me if you’ve heard this one: A proposed measure to establish a permanent half-cent sales tax in L.A. County to fund affordable housing and homeless services has qualified for the November ballot. This “forever tax” would repeal and replace a quarter-cent sales tax (Measure H) passed in 2017, scheduled to expire in 2027. Proponents assert the black hole of funding for past homeless solutions would be remedied with performance goals, accountability and audits, which, I submit, were lacking in previous “affordable housing solutions.” Nonetheless, until we abandon the idea of “tiny houses” and think of a more realistic approach, i.e. tent cities with food services, sanitation and security, L.A. County residents will continue to flock to nearby counties to elude these sales tax increases.

— George Downer, Long Beach

Public Policy Institute of California survey

Re “PPIC survey shows Californians displeased” (June 19):

After reading the PPIC survey results I find your conclusion very frustrating. You say it “highlights the continued failure of the GOP to get its act together and put forward serious candidates.”

Funny how all the “dissatisfaction” noted in the survey was and is based on the policies of the super-majority the left has enjoyed for years now and how their policies have run the state into the ground. It’s not the “seriousness” of the candidate, it’s about the practicality, logic and effectiveness of their policies.

The left’s practice of continuing to take more and more freedom and money from the doers to give to the non-doers will fail as it showed in the latest PPIC.

— Chas Hamann, Yorba Linda