My father, a Holocaust survivor, would be horrified by a recent UC Davis decision
'UC Davis dissolves law student group after it implemented boycott of Israel,' (sacbee.com, March 26)
My father, George S. Grossman, was the UC Davis Law School librarian from 1993 until 2006. He was a Holocaust survivor from Hungary and the past president of the American Civil Liberties Union chapter in Utah. He passed in 2018, but would have been alarmed and horrified at the dissolving of the Law Student Association for merely expressing an opinion.
This crackdown on free speech is making UC Davis Law School Dean Jessica Berg directly complicit in the dissolving of our constitutional democracy. It should be reversed immediately.
Zoltán Grossman
Olympia, Wash.
Opinion
'California Democrats were called 'soft' on sex trafficking. This could make it worse | Opinion,' (sacbee.com, March 25)
Every year, the California legislature and news media push anti-trafficking bills focused on policing and criminalization, approaches that have harmed survivors and failed to prevent exploitation. This recent column is a necessary reminder that real solutions require more than punitive laws. They require a public health approach.
For 25 years, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) has provided services to survivors in Los Angeles. Our data shows the impact of criminalization: Nearly half of the 250 survivors in our long-term services disclosed criminal records, often due to being forced into crimes by traffickers or misidentified as offenders, which creates significant and lasting barriers to jobs, housing and stability.
Survivors are not a monolith, but one principle is clear: We can't cause harm to end harm.
Instead of continued criminalization, lawmakers must invest in housing, healthcare and economic opportunities — real solutions that prevent human trafficking.
Kay Buck
CEO, CAST
'Rep. Kevin Kiley's staff defends recent tele-town hall,' (sacbee.com, March 30)
Rep. Kevin Kiley's communications director recently said in a Sacramento Bee letter to the editor that Kiley 'has never voted to cut Medicaid.' While the budget that Kiley voted for doesn't cite Medicaid by name, it does cut 10% of the funding from the department that operates Medicaid, which will have the same result as cutting the program directly.
Stating that Kiley didn't vote to cut Medicaid is deceitful, and his constituents deserve better.
Jonathan Halterman
El Dorado Hills
'Two career Democrats prove why they're terrible leaders for Sacramento | Opinion,' (sacbee.com, March 31)
Demonizing Sacramento County Supervisors Phil Serna and Patrick Kennedy is vindictive and ignores the gains the region has made.
I see changes in my Upper Land Park neighborhood's homeless population. There's a mental health center there now. The streets are cleaner. I can call 311.
There's a shelter on Broadway and homeless navigators. Serna got them off the Parkway. Kennedy has been involved in tiny homes. We cannot let perfection be the barrier to progress.
Theresa Lown
Sacramento
'Two career Democrats prove why they're terrible leaders for Sacramento | Opinion,' (sacbee.com, March 31)
Kudos to Sacramento County Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez and City Council Member Karina Talamantes for speaking truth to power and publicly pointing out that the homeless situation in our county is not solved (and likely to get worse).
The current plan is not working, and it's time for county supervisors to take serious action to remedy the problem. Children and families living in cars is a humanitarian crisis that demands action now. The county supervisors have failed to do their jobs.
It's a sad situation when Supervisors Patrick Kennedy and Phil Serna can't get their political egos under control and accept responsibility for their own inaction. The county has millions of dollars for homeless services. It's time for the county supervisors to listen, even when they don't like the message, and then do the work we elected them to do.
Deborah Franklin
Sacramento
'Channel 24 to use city lots to ease off-street parking concerns. Where are they?' (sacbee.com, March 28)
The city proposal to 'increase restrictions to help mitigate' the potential parking issues posed by Channel 24 will only burden the residents who live in the surrounding four block radius. Reducing non-permitted parking from two hours to one hour from 8 a.m. to midnight makes no sense: Channel 24 events begin at 7 p.m. or later and do not take place every evening.
Sylvia Navari
Sacramento
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