A great story is only the beginning\u2014the followup happens in our inbox. Check out what your fellow readers are saying about recent articles and local events.<\/p>\n
Letters to the editor, April, May 2026<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a small business owner in Old Sacramento, we are in our 14th year of business in CA, 5th year in Old Sac. Every year we pay $800.00 to the state for the privilege of doing business in CA. We pay this regardless of profit or loss. It\u2019s a flat fee imposed on small businesses with under $250,000 in income. I get angry every year when I send in my payment knowing that large multi-million dollar companies and their owners are able to hide their income, and due to loopholes in the tax laws, avoid paying their fair share.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t mind paying reasonable taxes as I see it as a responsibility of living in a community that provides roads, law enforcement and all the other requirements of being able to live and work in a stable society. I do object to small business being treated like Atlas, supporting the entire weight of business, including the multi nationals, and the million, billion and trillion dollar companies here in CA. We know from Reagan\u2019s era that \u201ctrickle down economics\u201d never worked and won\u2019t work. If anyone gets tax breaks, it should be those of us struggling to create businesses that create employment, and pay local taxes that support our local infrastructure. This is one reason I support Tom Steyer. Prosperity is built from the bottom up, not from the top down.
Max Soucia
Citrus Heights<\/p>\n
California has a long history of reckoning with the Asian American community, and Oroville is no exception. Tule Lake Segregation Center to the north and Arboga Assembly Center Memorial site, less than an hour south, serve as a reminder of how racism, fear, and suspicion have shaped California\u2019s relationship with Asian immigrants.<\/p>\n
The Hmong community has worked tirelessly, despite overcoming immense odds as refugees and the residual oppression that still thrives in American immigration policies. Many communities also continue to challenge stereotypes and public perception of immigrants through their dedicated nonprofit work, like the Hmong Cultural Center.<\/p>\n
Despite what many immigrants and refugees have achieved, they are still targeted as outsiders and live in fear of harassment or removal. As American immigration policies continue, it is important to learn from our past mistakes, like the Chinese Immigration Exclusion Act and Executive Order 9066, which forcibly incarcerated 120,000 Japanese Americans. We must ask ourselves if the cycle of violence is worth the reward of being an American.<\/p>\n
While many refugees have experienced unimaginable hardship, American immigration policies continue to add to the distress. We were once known for the saying, \u201cGive me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,\u201d yet we have not always extended that promise equally. It is time for the \u201cnation of immigrants\u201d to stand up for those who are yearning to breathe free.
Amber Salazar
Fresno<\/p>\n
Every day, American horses are transported abroad, killed, and consumed by humans. The practice of slaughter alone is hard to stomach, but the conditions horses experience while awaiting this gruesome fate are disturbing and merciless. During overcrowded transport, they suffer from untreated injuries, disease, and dehydration.<\/p>\n
The U.S. has eliminated funding for horse slaughter facilities in recent years, but this defunding needs to be upheld every year to remain effective. Even with U.S. horse slaughter operations halted, tens of thousands of American horses are still shipped to foreign countries to be killed and placed on a plate every year.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time to end horse slaughter once and for all, and the Save America\u2019s Forgotten Equine\u2019s (SAFE) Act (H.R. 1661) is our best chance. The SAFE Act would permanently end horse slaughter in the U.S. and ban the transport of horses abroad for slaughter. I urge Representative Kevin Kiley to protect American horses and humans by supporting the SAFE Act.
Suzanne Eibeck
Fair Oaks<\/p>\n
At the beginning of this primary season, I certainly did not envision voting for the billionaire candidate. In fact, I dismissed Tom Steyer out of hand precisely because of his immense wealth. However, as this primary season has unfolded, I have concluded that the candidate best positioned and motivated to fight back against the undue influence of the wealthy elite just happens to be one of their own.<\/p>\n
This is not unprecedented. President Franklin Roosevelt embraced the label of \u201cclass traitor\u201d as he lifted more Americans out of poverty that any other president in our nation\u2019s history. More recently, Governor Pritzker has stood firm for the working people of Illinois against a hostile and vindictive Trump administration.<\/p>\n
I am not suggesting we make a habit of electing the ultra-wealthy to high office and I am certainly not suggesting that the wealthy possess some sort of virtue that the rest of us lack. I am simply suggesting that wealth itself should not be an automatic disqualifier if the candidate is the right person for the moment.<\/p>\n
As for Mr. Steyer\u2019s closest rival, if the DNC were to create the quintessential do-nothing corporate Democrat in a laboratory, it would look and sound a lot like Xavier Becerra. The only thing more underwhelming than Becerra\u2019s personality is his platform. We need someone bolder. We need someone who not only believes that healthcare and education are basic human rights, but who also has a plan to turn that belief into reality in the Golden State.<\/p>\n
Tom Steyer wants this fight. I think we should give him a shot.
Kieran Tintle
Sacramento<\/p>\n
As a Family Physician serving a \u201cneed\u201d area for 36 years, I am writing to correct some biases in the article by Christine Mai-Duc of May 8, 2026 about single payer healthcare.<\/p>\n
The recently \u201ckilled in committee\u201d CalCare, AB 1900, is worth a look. Passing a policy bill would allow us to pursue Federal money for a future funding bill. Insurance would become obsolete. Free at the point of service, the comprehensive plan allows choice of provider without network restrictions. Individuals could choose to pay out of pocket to receive services from providers without participation agreements.
Approximately 30% of our healthcare dollars currently go toward insurance. Efficient single payer healthcare systems are already here, such as Medicare (with a 2% administrative cost), the VA, and the Indian Health Service. Employers and workers are already paying insurance costs through our paychecks, and this would also go toward CalCare. We have substandard National health measures compared to other countries.<\/p>\n
Several recent studies show how California could save BILLIONS, rather quickly. An April 2022 report by the Healthy California for All Commission concluded: \u201cUnder almost all scenarios analyzed, in the first year of implementation unified financing is expected to result in lower total health care expenditures than under the status quo; savings over time would be achieved under all scenarios examined, even when long-term care services and supports are included as covered services.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visit the CalCare, California Nurses Assoc., National Nurses United, or Medicare4All websites.
Sharon Paltin, M.D.,
Laytonville, CA<\/p>\n
Comments from our readers, April, May 2026<\/p>\n
Sam Kieth, Sacramento-Born Comic Innovator Behind The Maxx, Dies at 63<\/a> \u2018MJ The Musical\u2019 brings to life the King of Pop<\/a> I wish the entertainment industry would stop glorifying him. Think, people. What\u2019s in a name? Exploring the history of old cannabis slang words and where they came from<\/a> Websites break California privacy law at \u2018industrial scale,\u2019 survey finds<\/a> Real Estate Investors Profit From Long-Term Care While Residents Languish<\/a> The marriage guru<\/a> My life turned around and the weekend training was just what I needed back in 1997. Thanks Justin! Will California ever build the Delta tunnel? Major battles ahead as Newsom era nears end<\/a> In California Governor Race, Single-Payer Is a Litmus Test. There\u2019s Still No Way To Pay for It.<\/a> Oh yes, and ya gotta love the Republican candidate blaming those \u201cillegal aliens\u201d (Martians with parking tickets?) who obviously do nothing and don\u2019t have contagious diseases. Apparently he\u2019s unfamiliar with the term \u201cenlightened self-interest\u201d
Thanks for the great write up Tim.. I had no idea that dude was from the Sac Area.
Lob<\/p>\n
Sickening
Do not promote that person
Let him disappear
Samuel Fulford<\/p>\n
Laurie J Loving<\/p>\n
I might be considered conservative by many, but I\u2019m definitely liberal when it comes to sex, drugs, and alcohol!
John B<\/p>\n
Interesting to see how widespread this issue is. What do you think the impact will be on wedding vendors and their use of websites?
Sazkakasino Max<\/p>\n
Good grief, this sound like the outline for a graphic novel.
Thanks for reporting.
Julia<\/p>\n
So\u2026Learning a lot about women. I discovered how they are complex compared to men. I learned about myself that being myself was fine, but drop the sensitive bs that our feminized culture puts on men. Most guys like being men, and being not so clever as women and hanging out with men doing manly things like cigars and cars, is fine. Camping trips and sharing after the weekend was highly fraternal and brotherly friendships develop. Weekly 3 hour meetings is a commitment. All good but nothing bad, no prioritizing the men over your family. Anyone who took the weekend seriously got a lot out of it. Many of the 40 or so that did my weekend still are in touch and try to follow at least some principles learned from Justin. All men are jerks but most bow down and are run around by their mamas or wife and they lose sight. Justin gave us confidence in our jerkhood and that we are the protectors and leaders. Most women say they don\u2019t like that but they love having powerful men around. I have a magnificent marriage relationship with everything about loving respect and honor rather than fighting. You soar in life with standard sex roles and Sterling trained men how to be at their best.<\/p>\n
GlennForslin<\/p>\n
The 2\/3rds of the population is So Cal. They need to desalinate from the ocean not to the DCP.
Lou<\/p>\n
\u201chow [any candidate] would cover the estimated $731.4 billion cost\u201d Gosh, it\u2019s only half as expensive as the US system in the rest of the world\u2026How can we afford something cheaper than we\u2019re paying now? It is a puzzler!<\/p>\n
Adam Eran<\/p>\n