SAN JOSE, CA - FEBRUARY 5: Members of the latest San Jose Police Academy take their oath of office during their graduation ceremony in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
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S.J. police agencies
need volunteers’ help
It is time for the San Jose police chief and Santa Clara County Sheriff to organize support for sworn officers.
Other police organizations have nonsworn volunteers who are rigorously screened, provided with police radios and uniforms (while on duty), and training that includes CPR and fire suppression, for example, the Professional Services Responders (PSR) at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Duties include specialized support in individual PSR areas of expertise, transporting police vehicles, assisting accident and fire reporting, and being added backup eyes and ears to sworn officers at public gatherings.
William Jacobson
San Jose
Neighbors must be
informed of sex offenders
Re. “‘Jogger Rapist’ to be freed, and his new neighbors don’t have to be notified,” Oct. 11:
I was shocked after reading about the “jogger rapist” who is to be freed soon, and how his new neighbors don’t have to be informed.
Richard Gilmore was convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl in 1986 and confessed to several others in the ’70s and ’80s. At the time of trial he was considered a dangerous offender; later his sentence was reduced and classified as a Level 1 sex offender, which put him at low risk of reoffending. This is putting communities at risk. Residents need to be informed of any convicted rapists who will be moving into their neighborhood.
If there was a rapist in your neighborhood wouldn’t you want to know? The judicial system needs to change policy for citizens to be notified of any sex offender, regardless of level, moving into their area. This will ensure neighborhood safety and awareness of sex offenders.
Justin Scrempos
Milpitas
Biden must meet
challenge from China
Re. “Biden to travel to Cambodia, Egypt for summits,” Oct. 28:
President Biden’s November trip to Bali, Indonesia, for the G20 summit could put him in the same room as Vladimir Putin, and more importantly, Xi Jinping.
While Russia’s war in Ukraine captures headlines, the United States faces an existential threat; not from China or its citizens, but from the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]. The CCP could be planning to annex Taiwan ahead of the 2024 U.S. and Taiwan presidential electives. As Harvard professor Graham Allison observed, when a new power challenges an existing power, there is a strong likelihood of war (Thucydides Trap).
We must seek to undermine the CCP’s aggression against both its own people, as well as democracy by ensuring we don’t view the inevitable rise of China as a problem to be dealt with, rather a certainty to be addressed with diplomatic and economic awareness.
Akeem Mostamandy
San Jose
Plan now for future
charitable giving
Fidelity Charitable recently revealed that 59% of its donors are considering giving more money to charity this year. I wholeheartedly recommend that donors with Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) take steps now to make this aspiration a reality.
Fluctuations in the stock market may naturally lead us to hesitate about making more donations. But funds in DAFs have already been donated and do not require incremental contributions – they are available to be distributed now.
My wife and I make our donations through a DAF. Every November we decide how much to contribute to the fund for the following year, and then over the next 12 months, we distribute 100% of those dollars to charities. We are doing the same thing this year and hope other donors will follow suit.
Remember it takes time for gift administrators to fulfill giving requests, so please act now. Nonprofits need our support.
Scott Ellis
Cupertino
Democrats should mind
their own violent speech
Democrats rail over Republicans falsely claiming Democrats stole the 2020 election. But it was Democrats who first tried to de-legitimize Trump’s election with claims of Russia collusion. After spending millions on the Mueller investigation 16 of the best Democrat lawyers were unable to prove Russian collusion. And after many court hearings, Trump has been unable to prove voter fraud.
We need to increase the confidence among voters that only legitimate votes will be counted, with voter ID supplied free by state governments. Secondly, both candidates need to accept the legitimacy of an election once the votes are counted just as Nixon did.
Ed Kahl
Woodside