<\/p>\n
An artist\u2019s rendering of what the proposed Major League Baseball\u00a0stadium in West Sacramento would look like.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of the Sacramento Pitch<\/p>\n
Regarding \u201cSacramento bid for MLB expansion team looks beyond A\u2019s multi-year stay\u201d<\/a> (Athletics, SFChronicle.com, May 28): The A\u2019s belong in Oakland, where they had played since 1968.\u00a0<\/p>\n Instead, Major League Baseball enabled a failed ownership situation and allowed a historic franchise to be temporarily uprooted to Sacramento before its move to Las Vegas despite viable stadium options in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n Now we are left with the absurdity of the A\u2019s playing in a Sacramento minor league ballpark.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n And Sacramento should not pretend this is some great opportunity. It is a strong minor league baseball town, and there is nothing wrong with that. The Sacramento River Cats built a loyal fan base and one of the best minor league environments in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n But since the A\u2019s arrived, local baseball has been overshadowed and pushed aside by a temporary MLB experiment nobody truly wanted.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The truth is simple: Major League Baseball does not belong in Sacramento. The brutal summer heat, the smaller market and the lack of a true major league atmosphere make that obvious.<\/p>\n This situation is a farce driven by greed and forced onto a city that never needed Major League Baseball in the first place.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Don\u2019t restrict condo fees<\/p>\n Roughly 14 million California residents who own or live in condominiums or homes pay dues to a homeowners association or a management company.\u00a0<\/p>\n For years, associations and management companies could not increase dues by more than 20% in any calendar year without approval from residents. Fee increases enable management to cover rising expenses for services. At the same time, resident discontent compels managers to keep fees as low as possible.<\/p>\n Now the California Legislature is considering Senate Bill 1007<\/a>, which would, among other things, limit dues increases to the rate of inflation. Service providers, meanwhile, will be free to increase their charges without regard to the inflation rate.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n If passed, SB1007 will create significant fiscal problems for associations and management companies. They will have to get resident approval to impose assessments to stay solvent, and independent management companies facing deficits will be more likely to drop their association clients.<\/p>\n California legislators need to reject SB1007.<\/p>\n Expand Supreme Court<\/p>\n Regarding \u201cKhanna says Democrats should run against Supreme Court after voting rights ruling\u201d<\/a> (Politics, SFChronicle.com, May 24): I support Rep. Ro Khanna\u2019s call to reform the Supreme Court.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n When the Judiciary Act of 1869<\/a> set the number of justices at nine, the population of the United States was only around 38.5 million<\/a>. Today it\u2019s about 342.5 million<\/a>, nearly nine times higher.\u00a0<\/p>\n At a minimum, it makes sense to set the number of justices at 13 to match the number of appellate circuits. With 13 justices, it\u2019s unlikely that the bad decisions of a few partisans and ideologues would be catastrophic.<\/p>\n Establishing term limits is more problematic because it might increase political and other pressures on justices who intend to pursue jobs after their terms.<\/p>\n A better solution would be to impose a minimum and maximum age for the justices.<\/p>\n Stan Barnett, San Francisco<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Make Cuba truly free<\/p>\n Progressives blame the U.S. embargo for all of Cuba\u2019s ills. Yes, the Trump administration\u2019s blockade of Cuba and recent threats of military action<\/a> deepen the suffering. But Cuba\u2019s incompetent economy and dictatorship predate this.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since the 1990s, the Cuban regime has bet on tourism, building luxury hotels while a military-run conglomerate tied to the ruling Castro family controls the economy. Profits rarely repair roads, power plants or hospitals; ordinary wages can\u2019t cover basics.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tourism is now completely gutted. The economy is failing. The country is facing a humanitarian emergency.<\/p>\n For 67 years, communism has also denied Cubans free speech, free press and free elections; there are thousands of political prisoners.<\/p>\n Guest opinions in Open Forum and Insight are produced by writers with expertise, personal experience or original insights on a subject of interest to our readers. Their views do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Chronicle editorial board, which is committed to providing a diversity of ideas to our readership.<\/p>\n