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Clean up downtown Menlo Park
I walked the city many times during the week and see our city councils lack of effort to clean up our downtown area of Santa Cruz Ave. and the historical train station. They need to take a walk once in a while around this portion of our city.
They spend money like the nearly $120,000 on each of the three Tesla police cars that the police don’t even want. Downtown Santa Cruz Avenue remains filthy with empty storefronts and dirty sidewalks. It’s no wonder that businesses are moving out of the area and less people frequenting the restaurants and businesses. One of the biggest neglects is the train station. It’s falling apart needs paint and repairs. It’s a disgrace to see many new buildings going up in our city, but not much happening on and around Santa Cruz. The City Council needs to take a walk around our downtown area.
James Collins
Sharon Park Drive, Menlo Park
Community renewable energy program
In the Almanac’s Feb. 23, 2024 interview with Shawn Marshall, CEO of PCE, there was no mention of the Community Renewable revolution recently launched by California’s AB 2316 to dramatically lower the cost of solar energy.
It’s a simple concept that takes advantage of economies of scale to produce less expensive power. Over 39 other states are already doing this. It would involve building many solar farms on sunny inexpensive marginal land throughout California and eventually other western states. It would supply a far greater amount of cheap solar energy from our sunny western states for placement into our western electrical grid. The distances of transmission don’t matter since electricity travels at the speed of light.
Solar can also become an “always on” source of energy today without impossibly expensive batteries. To do this electricity from solar farms could be sent to existing power plants to make hydrogen with electrolysis for future use to generate electricity without emissions.
California has one of the greatest potentials to produce low-cost solar electricity than any other state.
Ed Kahl
Whiskey Hill Road, Woodside
Open letter to state Sen. Josh Becker
Senator Becker,
Again, congratulations on the new appointment to the Senate Appropriations Committee!
Along with chairing the Budget Subcommittee on Resources, Environment and Energy, you are now on truly crucial committees in our state. I hope you can affect critical systems in your district, including:
• The belated funding of a Dumbarton light rail connection between Redwood City and Union City — a real connection to affordable housing for the Peninsula
• The investigation and prosecution of the Caltrans debacle — the San Mateo County 101 toll lane/repaving fiasco
• Rejection of the P&GE rate increase requests intended to bail out stockholders from the intentional, long term maintenance deferments and resulting fires
• The restructuring of the corrupt PUC (California Public Utilities Commission) (see PGE, above)
• The coexistence of natural gas with new (if unreliable) electrical power for all
Big challenges, real challenges — your constituents’ daily challenges.
Thank you for all you do.
Henry Riggs
Callie Lane, Menlo Park
Bring back Anne’s