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Animal shelter still turns
deaf ear to community

San Jose continues to fail to improve animal shelter services to the community.

A scathing city audit of one year ago has failed to deliver measurable results. The city still fails to provide low-cost public spay and neuter, nor is outreach to rescue groups or trap-neuter-return a priority. The San Jose animal welfare community continues to be ignored.

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Letters: ‘No Kings’ offers us a chance to forge the America we want

In response to a number of ethics complaints that I filed regarding staff who have mismanaged SJACC, I was told by a deputy city manager that the “city is experiencing increased communication and complaints from you that is distracting staff from important work.”

This “Ivory Tower” attitude of entitlement, lack of ownership and accountability by city leaders funded by taxpayer money is clearly troubling — especially given that the budget for SJACS has increased to $17.5 million while performance and services have declined.

Can the city be any more tone-deaf?

Mike Wagner
Morgan Hill

‘No Kings’ reclaims Pepe
from right-wing misuse

Re: “How inflatable costumes ballooned at anti-Trump rallies due to a Portland protester’s frog outfit” (Oct. 23).

On this last No Kings Day, we stood along El Camino Real, a few yards from an inflated brown bear holding a “Resist” sign. During our time at the curb, at least half a dozen protesters in frog costumes passed behind us.

That evening, we joined a march through downtown Palo Alto led by a penguin, under the benevolent eye of an inflated frog who bounced at the edge of each crosswalk as we passed.

Later, I realized: On the first No Kings Day in June, the left reclaimed the American flag as a symbol of our commitment to democracy. Last Saturday, we reclaimed the frog as a symbol of life and joy, a counter to the alt-right’s misappropriation of Pepe as a racist meme.

Susan Luttner
Palo Alto

Students shouldn’t
worry about ICE raids

It is heartbreaking to see the pain and suffering so many families are experiencing. People are forced to live in constant fear that they won’t make it home to their families after a long day of underpaid work.

Despite having worked their whole lives and being positive members of our community, they are labeled as illegal aliens and criminals. So many Latino students are faced with even more anxiety and stress as they are forced to prepare in case their parents are deported. Children who have parents who have been deported are also at risk of developing depression and not doing well academically.

Students should be able to focus on school without having to worry about themselves or their family members being deported. Immigrants pay taxes even though they are not eligible to receive any benefits. Immigrants are an essential part of our society.

Wendy Martinez
San Jose

Colleges must increase
mental health services

College can be one of the most exciting yet most challenging times in a young person’s life. Between academic pressure, financial stress and the transition to adulthood, many students quietly struggle with anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges. Unfortunately, on many campuses, the demand for counseling services far exceeds the number of available counselors.

Adding more counselors, peer-support programs and wellness activities such as mindfulness workshops, stress-relief events or support groups can make a real difference. These don’t just help students in crisis; they also promote emotional resilience and well-being.

No students should have to wait weeks for an appointment when they’re struggling. By expanding counseling staff and providing accessible mental health programs, colleges can show that they truly care about their students’ success — both academically and personally.

Mireya Ramirez
San Jose

Speak up to stop
Trump’s wrecking ball

The wrecking ball is in full swing.

Aid to starving countries from USAID is gone; convicted criminals serving their full sentence is gone; civil discourse is gone; the dignified Oval Office is gone, replaced with ostentatious gold everywhere; the East Wing of the White House is gone. The list goes on and on. Will the freedom we all cherish be next?

It’s not about America first. It’s about Donald Trump first; always has been and always will be. These are sad times for America. Only we can stop the wrecking ball. Make your voice heard and vote.

Pat Toby
San Jose

Trump’s future plans
bode ill for Democrats

The Trump administration, having already commenced the process of desensitizing Americans to military presence in major cities, possibly in preparation for declaring martial law in the event that other measures fail to keep them in power, is perhaps now doing the same, foreshadowing the domestic use of lethality against opponents.

They strategically selected a most unsympathetic group, “foreign drug traffickers,” labeling them as “terrorists” justifying “armed conflict” to creatively legitimize lethal attack and commence the desensitization process for making it acceptable to kill anyone they desire to label as a “terrorist” with no proffered legitimate evidence, oversight or accountability. Thus far, the president’s domestic critics have only been subject to punitive attacks by government agencies, including the Department of Justice, funding elimination and civil suits. But it is noteworthy that Stephen Miller, one of the administration’s top white supremacist henchmen, has ominously described the Democratic Party as fomenting left-wing domestic “terrorism.”

Steve Baron
Cupertino