Sleep in the fentanyl-dealing bed you made

Re: “Money, Snapchat and implied malice: Why a fentanyl dealer was charged with murder as Placer’s deaths soared by 450%” by Scott Thomas Anderson (Crime beat, Feb. 28)

Good on Placer County law enforcement for taking a creative approach to hang a murder rap around Schewe’s neck. Takes guts, but implied malice just might work in this case because Schewe’s attitude towards his victims was so despicable.

-Tim Wallace

Why are we so bad at this?

Re: “New cost estimate for high-speed rail puts California bullet train $100 billion in the red” by Ralph Vartabedian (News, March 8)

Yep, U.S. infrastructure generally sucks. The U.S. infrastructure earned a ‘D+’ from its engineers because maintenance has been neglected (collapsing bridges), and, despite those maintenance savings, a recent study declares the U.S. is one of the most expensive places to build. Why? Not so much regulations, or lazy people – heck the Italians build cheaper rail. It’s that the agenda in the U.S. remains privatizing everything, because deregulating, de-supervising and privatizing is better than the incompetent, blankety-blank public sector.

Sure, electricity from publicly-owned SMUD costs 35% less than those electrons from privately-owned PG&E, and SMUD’s management isn’t facing charges of negligent homicide for exploding pipelines (San Bruno) or forest fires (Paradise) because they skimped on maintenance … as is PG&E … but private is always better!

One of the conclusions of the study comparing U.S. infrastructure costs internationally – the people behind the project have to care, or costs get out of control. Here, they don’t. Because private is always better, dang it!

-Adam Eran

Dig it

Re: “A big stop at Sacramento Mardi Gras, Louisiana Heaven keeps mouths watering year-round at south city restaurant” by Scott Thomas Anderson (Arts & Culture, Feb. 15)

The food is fire. Customer service is amazing. The owner is awesome! Well deserved. Give this woman a bigger restaurant Sacramento.

-Joshua Christophe-Lawson

Nice spotlight

Re: “A big stop at Sacramento Mardi Gras, Louisiana Heaven keeps mouths watering year-round at south city restaurant” by Scott Thomas Anderson (Arts & Culture, Feb. 15)

I eat here all the time and I’m never disappointed. It is one of the greatest spots here in Sacramento. They take their time to cook their food, they season it correctly, and it’s delicious. She has music playing and the people that work there have the greatest attitude.

-Regina Blackwell

Look deeper

Re: “Member of alleged drug-trafficking ring that owned a gas station and two trucking businesses in Sacramento will cooperate with prosecutors” by Scott Thomas Anderson (Crime beat, Jan. 15)

Demand creates a supply. There seem to be many people in pain, and the war on drugs is not helping. Addiction should be addressed by health professionals not by the criminal legal system with its culture of scapegoating addicts as criminals. And why are so many people in this allegedly wonderful nation so unhappy? We must be doing something wrong, but what?

-Muriel Strand

City shouldn’t densify

Re: “Missing middle trees?” by Maggie Coulter and Zoe Harrison (Voices, Dec. 26)

Our Elmhurst neighborhood has been fighting against encroachment on all sides for four decades – specifically from U.C. Davis hospital on Stockton Boulevard, and now, from densification on our very busy thoroughfare streets. Our traffic can be intense, daily. It’s increasingly difficult to pull out of our driveways; pedestrian traffic is high … We are under low flying helicopters, daily, not to mention emergency sirens. Those of us who moved here with young children, and who chose this neighborhood for its single-family homes, the wonderful Coloma school, the treasured Julia Morgan home, have become “sitting ducks” to all that has increasingly been already been dumped onto our established family home/neighborhood … The   encroaching encampment of unhoused people has eliminated one of our major walkable underpasses, (not to mention possible danger to pedestrians, and quality of life issues!)

Our neighborhood is truly slipping, and after living here for over 40 years, it is truly disappointing-densification will only worsen our plight. Please give attention to this. We pay our taxes, and do not deserve to be forgotten.

-J. Zuver

Front Street Shelter needs a new direction

Re: “Response to animal abuse case raises questions about Sacramento’s Front Street Shelter” by Scott Thomas Anderson (Crime beat, Dec. 29)

Front Street Shelter is supposed to be for the care of animals who need shelter when lost, or for whatever their needs are at that time, and we the people want to know why this shelter isn’t doing its job. The lack of care that Director Zimmerman shows is really concerning, and we want answers, especially on calls made that are urgent … To many animals are suffering and we want answers. We are their voice.

-Annette Guzman

Front Street? More like ‘Fail Street’

Re: “Response to animal abuse case raises questions about Sacramento’s Front Street Shelter” by Scott Thomas Anderson (Crime beat, Dec. 29)

Yeah, he city’s response to animal abuse issues is abominable. Some guy on [a certain street] has been killing his pets for years and all the City ever does is send him letters telling him to stop. Dogs just yelp and bark 24/7 while the guy is home or away on week long trips. I’ve seen the dog out in 110 degrees, 28 degrees and pouring rain.

-Mike Nugget