{"id":483415,"date":"2026-10-03T02:28:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T02:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/483415\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T02:28:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T02:28:07","slug":"letters-an-oakland-pause-on-data-centers-allows-responsible-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/483415\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters: An Oakland pause on data centers allows responsible planning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Submit your letter to the editor via this form<\/a>. Read more Letters to the Editor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pausing data centers is responsible planning<\/p>\n

Re: \u201cCouncil member looks to hit pause on data centers<\/a>\u201d (Page A1, Sept. 22).<\/p>\n

Oakland should pause before approving data centers. The East Bay Times recently reported that Oakland may consider a 45-day moratorium on new AI data centers. The pause deserves support.<\/p>\n

Data centers can consume enormous amounts of electricity and water, require polluting backup generators and drive costly grid upgrades. Before Oakland accepts more proposals, residents deserve clear information about energy demand, water use, air-quality impacts, utility agreements and whether ordinary ratepayers will be left carrying infrastructure costs.<\/p>\n

A short pause is not anti-technology. It is responsible planning. California has begun strengthening data-center oversight; Oakland should use this time to establish local safeguards, meaningful public review and environmental-justice protections.<\/p>\n

Congress should establish a national transparency standard as well. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff should co-sponsor S. 5054<\/a>, the Data Center Tax Accountability and Disclosure Act, so communities are not asked to host AI infrastructure without knowing its true costs.<\/p>\n

Laurie Manning
San Leandro<\/p>\n

BART cuts should come before new taxes<\/p>\n

Re: \u201cCommutes to rise if measure fails<\/a>\u201d (Page A1, Sept. 24).<\/p>\n

I believe that BART and the other transit agencies already have a means to avoid a financial cliff, and that is by belt-tightening. For too long they have been bloated, top-heavy, and generous with salaries.<\/p>\n

Stop and realize it\u2019s time to make cuts.<\/p>\n

Sharon Dixon
San Leandro<\/p>\n

Measure RTM will save public transit\u2019s future<\/p>\n

Re: \u201cCut excesses before raising region\u2019s taxes<\/a>\u201d (Page A6, Sept. 25).<\/p>\n

I strongly urge you to approve the Regional Tax Measure<\/a>\u00a0on your Nov. 3 ballot despite Steve Glazer\u2019s opposition.<\/p>\n

He believes that \u201cright-sizing\u201d is needed before giving BART any more funds. When I served on the board of directors, BART carried 440,000 people<\/a>\u00a0daily. Seventy percent of BART\u2019s revenue for operations was from riders\u2019 fares, not taxpayers. The pandemic severely reduced ridership, but now riders are slowly coming back. Shrinking BART for today\u2019s commuters will result in a minimal system unable to attract essential new ridership. Lowering costs won\u2019t save the $350-$400 million needed annually to prevent station closures and terminating service at 9 p.m.<\/p>\n

Glazer\u2019s anger would doom not only BART but AC Transit, Muni and the measure\u2019s other bus, rail and ferry systems to ongoing fiscal deficits. Your yes vote on the transit tax is needed to preserve the backbone of our transit system now and for future generations.<\/p>\n

Gail Murray
Walnut Creek<\/p>\n

Voters aren\u2019t fools; pass Prop. 43<\/p>\n

Re: \u201cProp. 43 obliterates citizens\u2019 solutions to local challenges<\/a>\u201d (Page A6, Sept. 29).<\/p>\n

President Roberts of the California Professional Firefighters apparently has no confidence that the citizens of California cities can recognize what their city needs. He proposes that half the voters can negate the other half.<\/p>\n

In Alameda, we take public safety seriously and have voted in favor of excellent fire and police protection. Other priorities such as schools, streets and parks have to be balanced to have fiscal responsibility. Alameda and many other cities know how to do this.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry that the voters will be fooled. Vote yes on Proposition 43<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Roger Ecker
Alameda<\/p>\n

Market, not Trump, will set fuel economy rules<\/p>\n

Re: \u201cFeds lower fuel economy rules<\/a>\u201d (Page A1, Sept. 29).<\/p>\n

Enough of the \u201cblame game.\u201d Car manufacturers don\u2019t want a $30,000 paperweight sitting on the showroom floor indefinitely. They manufacture what people want. We vote with our wallets and everyone\u2019s vote counts. If we don\u2019t want vehicles that pollute more, don\u2019t buy them. They won\u2019t be made or shipped to California.<\/p>\n

Half our Bay Area trips are four miles<\/a> (or less) taken by able-bodied adults under sunny skies with little cargo. We don\u2019t even need cars for such trips, yet we choose this option \u2014 resulting in substantial harm to ourselves and the environment. Do we actually care?<\/p>\n

Motorists will make this choice, not Donald Trump or the EPA. Our words say we are concerned, but our actions say otherwise. Guess which one speaks loudest? We will get exactly the outcome we ask for. Stop blaming others and look in the (rear-view) mirror.<\/p>\n

Stacy Spink
Castro Valley<\/p>\n

Vote for Amos White for Alameda City Council<\/p>\n

Amos White is the Alameda City Council candidate who knows that the sense of community defines our city\u2019s character.<\/p>\n

I have worked with Amos at the crossroads of community needs. He knows Alameda cannot face climate change, housing costs or infrastructure problems alone. He understands how global events shape daily life and is preparing our community for what\u2019s coming while ensuring the next generation can afford to remain in the community they love.<\/p>\n

Amos brings state and national resources to Alameda and is able to secure funding to repair infrastructure that benefits everyone. He is a proven team builder and innovator who listens and ensures those most affected help shape solutions.<\/p>\n

Amos White unites strong policy with community values. He is ready to safeguard Alameda\u2019s future. A vote for Amos is a vote for Alameda.<\/p>\n

Larry A. Gosselin
Livermore<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor. Pausing data centers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1400,5445,389,127495,2080,184,7,5307,2954,390,392,19628,536,332,643,181,2953,1564,17030,143,145,144,975,1530,1694,3766,398,1695,6392,1689],"class_list":["post-483415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-2026-elections","tag-alameda","tag-alameda-county","tag-alameda-county-elections","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-california-ballot-measures","tag-castro-valley","tag-central-contra-costa","tag-contra-costa-county","tag-data-centers","tag-donald-trump","tag-east-bay","tag-environment","tag-latest-headlines","tag-letters","tag-letters-to-the-editor","tag-livermore","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-opinion","tag-san-leandro","tag-taxes","tag-transit","tag-tri-valley","tag-trump-administration","tag-voters","tag-walnut-creek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}