Readers are outraged that San Antonio Water System CEO Robert Puente will receive a six-figure bonus in the midst of talks about raising rates for the utility.
Monte Bach
Bonus a bad look
Re: “SAWS to pay CEO a $132K bonus,” Front Page, Wednesday:
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Please, someone, tell me what a person making more than $500,000 per year does to deserve a humongous bonus? All this while talking about increasing utility rates.
There are people in San Antonio who can’t pay their bills, and SAWS President and CEO Robert Puente deserves a bonus?
It doesn’t add up
It’s absurd to pay someone so much to run a public utility and then pay them an appalling bonus for doing their job.
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San Antonio Water System President and CEO Robert Puente’s bonus alone is almost three times what the average San Antonian makes. We should all be disgusted.
I think Puente has done a decent job, but he works for a taxpayer-owned entity.
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He would return that bonus if he has a shred of decency.
Beautiful Easter message
Re: “Easter drowns out noise,” Your Turn, April 5:
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Thank you to letter writer John Di Genio.
His letter on Easter was beautifully written and true.
It’s what we all should heed.
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Troubling Easter message
John Di Genio wrote a beautiful, moving letter on the meaning of Easter, saying, “The core of Easter’s melody is love. Deep, selfless, unshakable love.”
On the same day, President Donald Trump threatened in a profanity-laced post on social media to destroy even more Iranian civilian infrastructure.
I ask my fellow Christians who support Trump, does he reflect Christian values?
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Texas Republican leaders have moved away from supporting small government the political party used to proclaim, a reader says.
Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer
Hardly small government
Re: “Abbott signals support for Trump’s national voter list,” Metro, Thursday:
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Gov. Greg Abbott is so desperate for President Donald Trump’s endorsement that he continues to disgrace himself.
When asked for comment on Trump’s order to impose stricter rules on mail-in voting, Abbott’s spokesman said the governor “would work with the Legislature and the federal government to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat.”
That’s really rich, considering Texas’ history of voter suppression and intimidation. Texas continues to rank at the bottom in voter turnout and voter discrimination.
For decades, the Republican Party was known for its small government stance, yet today’s Texas GOP leaders surrendered our voter information to the Department of Justice — the Constitution and rule of law be damned. They offered no pushback and no lawsuits. Nothing.
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Sam Houston and Davy Crockett must be rolling in their graves.
The Constitution clearly states: “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof.”
The attempts to change voting laws by the federal government and others are not only unlawful but unconstitutional.
We all need to stand up against these unconstitutional acts from our leaders. Speak up and vote!
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Retired U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Jose Caballero
Funding, not screens
Re: “Classroom iPads teaching kids the wrong skills,” Opinion, April 5:
Bloomberg columnist Abby McCloskey’s commentary on classroom iPads raises a legitimate concern about excessive screen use, but it overlooks a major driver: chronic underfunding of public schools.
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When districts lack resources for smaller class sizes, reading specialists and updated print materials, screens become the cheapest substitute.
This is particularly relevant in Texas.
The Legislature last increased the basic allotment in 2025, which included a $55 increase, bringing it to $6,215 for the 2026-27 biennium.
That base amount is far below overall per-student funding levels nationally, which average more than $16,000 from all sources, and Texas ranks near the bottom in school funding.
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Many San Antonio-area districts face deficits and staffing shortages as inflation erodes buying power.
If policymakers want fewer screens, they must first ensure schools have the resources to provide alternatives.
Dems awash in hypocrisy
Back in 1979, recent legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Bad Company released a song titled “Gone, Gone, Gone.”
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Well, that is a perfect description of what the status of this country will be if Democrats regain power.
Apparently, four long years of high inflation, weak foreign policy, open borders, attacks on traditional Catholics and opponents of abortion, and labeling parents at school board meetings as “domestic terrorists” wasn’t painful enough, so we are going to repeat that cycle and vote for them again.
I keep hearing a fear of authoritarianism at these absurd No Kings rallies.
I am a 70-year-old man, and never in my life did I experience the level of authoritarianism I did during COVID-19 pandemic under the Biden administration.
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Of course, blue state elites were given passes while the peons trying to keep their small businesses afloat were arrested.
I see the double standard and the hypocrisy of the Democrats and the left. We’re supposed to want more of that?
Larry Kovalchik, Boerne
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