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Trump’s Alcatraz plan
just another pipe dream

Re: “Reopening Alcatraz no easy task” (Page A1, May 6).

Donald Trump has no plan for reopening Alcatraz as a modern prison, so why worry about how much it will cost?

Remember his wonderful, extraordinary new nuclear treaty with Iran? Still in the works. Peace in Ukraine? Trump has a track record of overblown ideas that go nowhere. The next administration will throw this impulsive idea in the trash where it belongs.

In the meantime, if Alcatraz is closed to visitors and the staff laid off, thousands of tourists and locals will miss out on visiting this lovely spot and exploring the old prison.

Laura Mello
Milpitas

Senior voters must
lead the way for others

Nearly everyone has a mobile phone today — my children, grandchildren and I. When I have a question, they help with it. Even the 11-year-olds use apps. With young people leading the way, eight states have used mobile phone voting in local elections — not yet in national elections, but I believe it is coming. More voices will be heard as people vote with their phones.

Until then, senior citizens like me are the leading group of voters. We seniors should demonstrate that voting is essential to getting the government we want — maintaining roads, libraries and parks, licensing medical professionals so we are not served by quacks, licensing drivers, establishing building codes, assisting needy seniors getting meals and prescriptions. The government does these things we couldn’t do as individuals, and the people we elect see that the government does it.

So, seniors, show the young what to do — vote.

Jean Ricket
Saratoga

Don’t backslide
on animal welfare

The EATS Act was recently reintroduced in the U.S. Senate under the new name “Food Security and Farm Protection Act” (S. 1326). This legislation would undo a series of laws that protect animals all across our nation.

This legislation will have a significant effect on California, reversing Proposition 12. Proposition 12, passed by a majority of California voters in 2018, prohibits the extreme confinement of pigs, egg-laying hens, and cows raised for veal in our state. Eliminating those common-sense protections for animals would walk back decades of progress.

Our federal lawmakers should oppose the EATS Act and stop this detrimental overreach of federal authority. Our farm animals deserve our protection, and our votes should count.

Judith Hurley
San Jose

Better diagnoses drive
autism’s prevalence

Re: “It’s not a mystery why there are fewer adults today with autism” (Page A12, May 4).

As the father of a loving 48-year-old autistic son, I applaud Kelley Jensen and Julianna Scott’s narrative on the flawed, cruel and dangerous thinking of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Our son was misdiagnosed with childhood schizophrenia in 1980 due to the state of the DSM criteria for autism, just as mentioned in the article. It took us 35 years and the help of his original school psychologist to get the diagnosis corrected and the help he needed.

We are among the fortunate parents.

Uday Kapoor
Saratoga

Intact families influence
health outcomes

Re: “Report highlights health disparities” (Page A1, May 6).

As a Latino woman, I have seen the problems of juvenile court cases, obesity, alcoholism and domestic violence in my community. Poverty and a lack of education are at the root of these problems. I also think that having more than one child makes living in an expensive California apartment much more stressful and crowded.

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If there is nobody home to monitor the activities, friends and homework while the parents are at work, teenagers find trouble. A healthy marriage is important for the financial and mental well-being of a family. Infidelity ruptures this family well-being and often causes financial and mental stress, and the children often repeat this cycle.

Asian and White children are more likely to be in a two-parent household. These two groups also tend to put much more value on marriage, education and material things. This alone keeps the poverty away.

Patricia Marquez Rutt
Redwood City