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Phonics alone won’t
get kids reading

Re: “Far too many California children can’t read” (Page A7, June 17).

Denise Amos says that California districts encourage students to memorize words, and believes they should instead be using phonics. As a former reading specialist, I know that both phonics and memorization, “sight words,” are needed.

If there were one system that worked, we’d all be using it. One system alone doesn’t work. It’s like losing weight — you need both exercise and diet. Try to use phonics for words like through and threw, blue and blew, there and their, for and four — and how would phonics help with words like to, for, why?

There are many lists of “sight” words to memorize; one is the Dolch List of 220 words, with the words I’ve listed. But with both sight words and beginning phonics, students can begin reading on their own.

Jean Ricket
Saratoga

U.S. should plan for
jobs of 2030, not 1930

The global trade war that President Donald Trump is using to bring manufacturing back to the United States seems like a big, beautiful idea until you realize that there are a number of roadblocks to this goal.

First, there are not enough young working-age Americans to work these labor-intensive jobs. Do they even want these jobs? Second, the cost of doing business is very expensive in this country because of high labor, materials, rent, energy and tax costs. A pair of socks would cost $15. Third, the immigrants who are willing to work these labor-intensive and back-breaking jobs are mostly being deported.

As more and more baby boomers retire and fewer and fewer American babies are born, who or what will replace them and provide needed labor and manufacturing? Robots? AI?

The U.S. should focus on manufacturing new ideas and technology for 2030, not 1930.

Patricia Marquez Rutt
Redwood City

‘No Kings’ rallies forgot
one message: Vote

Re: “Large crowds attend area ‘No Kings’ rallies” (Page B1, June 17).

The crowd numbers across the United States were impressive during the “No Kings” marches. Thank you, Mercury News, for covering them.

Flags flying, clever signs, people chanting and of course, politicians (and wanna-be politicians) speaking to the cameras. What I did not hear or see were any signs or speeches that encouraged people to vote. That’s a miss that no flags, nor chanting, nor signs can make up for. Vote, people.

Tina Morrill
San Jose

Glorifying consumption
in a time of scarcity

Re: “Chestnut says he’ll be back in hot dog contest” (Page B1, June 17).

Why, oh why, is it newsworthy that Joey Chestnut will return to the hot-dog-eating contest on July 4?

For that matter, why does the paper even feature that contest, given the hunger and food insufficiency problems in the country and the world? I just don’t get it.

Joyce Gross
Saratoga

Immigrants who stay
consigned to privation

In 2024, there were about 12 million people without legal status in the United States. During the last four years, the border was open and people poured across by the millions.

Now we have thousands of people protesting their removal. Rethink your humanity. By allowing these millions to remain here, you are guaranteeing them stays as a permanent underclass, relegated to low pay, poverty and little chance of inclusion in our American dream. You are doing nothing more than creating a new class of slavery in perpetuity.

If you are truly Americans, stop this now. Let’s start doing our own dirty jobs or pay people what they are worth to us in civilized society.

Jay Morrett
San Jose

Safeguard bees; limit
neonic pesticides

Beyond butterflies, bees are taking a huge hit.

I’ve lived in the South Bay my whole life, and I care about protecting our pollinators because they are crucial for so many things. From the orchards just outside San Jose to the backyard gardens of folks across the entire Silicon Valley, bees in particular keep our flowers blooming and our fruit growing.

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But, a quarter of our native bumblebee species are at risk of going extinct, and a huge reason for this is a class of unnecessarily toxic pesticides called “neonics.”

Companies pre-treat seeds by coating them with these deadly pesticides, meaning they grow throughout the plant and contaminate the soil. Just one neonic seed can kill 80,000 bees.

The solution is simple: Stop doing that. Gov. Newsom and the California EPA should take the step to protect our best pollinators by supporting reasonable regulations on seeds coated in neonics.

Leila Salam
Sunnyvale