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Posted by Letters To The Editor

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/05/letters-opeds-intent-dissuade-voters-prop-50/

https://www.mercurynews.com/?p=12185577

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Is op-ed’s intent
to dissuade voters?

Re: “Passing redistricting plan will be uphill battle for governor” (Page A16, Aug. 31).

I’m not sure what the point was of Larry Gerston’s Sunday opinion piece telling us that passing the redistricting ballot measure will be an uphill battle. The voters know that because Gov. Newsom himself has been telling us that every day.

So, was Gerston instead trying to discourage us from even trying to pass the redistricting plan? Was that his real goal?

Gail Murray
Walnut Creek

Now is not the time
to let up on oil industry

As a resident of Contra Costa County, I am deeply concerned about Gov. Newsom’s “Drill Baby Drill” plan now gaining traction with legislators. Fossil fuel companies are bullying California with a manufactured crisis. Everyone knows we must transition off oil and gas to avoid catastrophic climate change. While hard-working Californians are indeed facing serious affordability issues, giving handouts to the oil industry won’t address those. What it will do is allow a dying industry to do immeasurable damage on its way out the door, threatening our health, water, wildlife and climate.

Instead of proposing to fast-track more oil drilling or roll back protections from oil industry pollution, our governor and legislators must find other ways to minimize short-term impacts to residents, workers and communities from our transition to renewable energy. Voters must do their part by not blaming politicians for bumps on the road to long-term sustainability.

Susan Harris
Walnut Creek

Decorum, decency seem
to have left White House

I have had issues with many of our presidents, from Harry Truman to Joe Biden, during my lifetime. But two important virtues that they all shared were decorum and decency.

Decorum “behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety” and decency, “polite, moral and honest behavior and attitudes that show respect for other people”: rarely did these presidents use name-calling, denigration of women, brow-beating of world leaders, engage in petty spats with celebrities, stereotype minorities, bullying, firing without due process, asking for titles and prizes, nor respect the history of America and world cultures, and they were not deeply afraid of constructive criticism.

If leaders are to be emulated, can you imagine if all Americans started using these behaviors as normal? The president is rarely called out for his behavior. Is this what has become of the presidency?

Ed Trujillo
Martinez

Wildlife conservation key
to a healthy ecosystem

We should focus on wildlife conservation. It’s essential because habitat loss and poaching are driving species to extinction.

The problem is that biodiversity is decreasing, and we need collective action to protect habitats and combat poaching. Every species plays a vital role, and their loss can have negative effects. According to the World Wildlife Fund, wildlife populations have decreased by 73% since 1970.

This decline affects us all, as healthy ecosystems provide clean air and water. I believe we must protect Earth’s diverse species. Deforestation is a direct cause, while human population growth is an indirect factor.

We need more protected areas for wildlife to thrive. Governments should enforce anti-poaching laws, and individuals can support conservation organizations. You can contribute by donating to conservation efforts, reducing your carbon footprint and advocating for stronger environmental policies.

Let’s act to protect our planet’s incredible species.

Miguel Salazar
San Leandro

US must break silence
on the Gaza tragedy

Re: “US, Israel shrug at famine report” (Page A1, Aug. 24).

Food security experts and the United Nations have confirmed famine in Gaza. Europe and many other countries express outrage regarding this man-made catastrophe, but theTrump administration continues to support Israel’s actions. In fact, Mike Huckabee, U.S. ambassador to Israel, echoed Benjamin Netanyahu’s lies — “Tons of food has gone into Gaza, but Hamas savages stole it.” All credible sources dispute these claims. Now Israel plans a full-scale land invasion that will further the starvation, killing and destruction.

And in the West Bank, the Israeli government approved a large settlement project that would effectively eliminate the possibility of a Palestinian state, which is the one hope that can eventually create a lasting peace. And the U.S. is silent. Please write and call your politicians to stop this outrage.

Arlene Reed
Diablo

Washington worships
at alter of hypocrisy

I have always thought that major religions preached peace, tolerance, love, inclusion and kindness to all.

What I’m seeing are people flaunting religious “talismans” on necklaces, earrings, pins and clothing, and they don’t seem to practice a single belief their religion preaches.

We definitely have a lot of hypocrites in government these days, don’t we?

Betsy Sargent
Alamo

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/05/letters-opeds-intent-dissuade-voters-prop-50/

https://www.mercurynews.com/?p=12185577

Posted by Ryan Macasero

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/05/san-mateo-sheriff-corpus-spending-records-release/

https://www.mercurynews.com/?p=12189807

A San Mateo County judge ordered the county to release some expense records from retired Judge LaDoris Cordell’s corruption and misconduct investigation into Sheriff Christina Corpus while keeping certain witness details confidential. As of press time Friday, those records have not yet been released.

In April, Corpus’ lawyers filed a lawsuit to compel the release of supporting documents, including financial records, tied to the Cordell investigation. That probe prompted calls for Corpus to step down and led to a special election in March that granted the board the power to remove a sheriff with cause until Corpus’ term ends in 2028.

The lawsuit against the county stemmed from a public records request by the sheriff’s legal team in March, which the county had denied, citing attorney-client privilege.

A ruling was issued Aug. 29 by Judge Jeffrey Finigan, just as Corpus’ legal team was concluding arguments in a two-week removal hearing process.

“It is hard to imagine what different/additional information could exist in her retainer agreement that would qualify as covered by the attorney/client privilege and outweigh the purpose of the CPRA (public records act) request and the public’s right to know what their government is doing,” Finigan said in his ruling.

The judge ordered the county to release the contract with Cordell and any documents submitted for her compensation, including timesheets and invoices.

However, Finigan denied the release of two other categories of documents: records of payments made to Cordell, because the county said it did not possess them; and requests for public funds or budget authorization for the contract, because they were not part of the original public records request.

In his ruling, Finigan determined the county had waived its right to claim attorney-client or work-product privilege over the documents by publicly releasing Cordell’s report, which included her findings and impressions of witnesses. He also stipulated that any witness identities redacted in the Cordell report remain confidential and may be redacted from the records produced.

Although the ruling only partially favored the sheriff, Corpus’ attorney Matthew Frauenfeld said he was grateful and called the county’s prior claims of attorney-client privilege an overreach.

“We are pleased the court ordered disclosure of these records,” Frauenfeld said. “The county has taken an overly broad view of privilege, invoking attorney-client privilege and work product to block access to basic documents like contracts, invoices, and timesheets. That looks less like a legitimate claim than an effort to avoid transparency.”

Frauenfeld also called the ruling a “meaningful step for transparency.”

“Privilege cannot be used as both a sword and a shield,” he said. “The county cannot rely on the report to persuade voters to pass Measure A and justify removal proceedings, while at the same time shielding the underlying contract, invoices, and timesheets from public view.”

Meanwhile, the county, through spokesperson Effie Milionis Verducci, told this news organization that it is “still evaluating a response and whether it will appeal.” Verducci added that, “as with all public records matters, the County evaluates each request individually and will continue to do so in accordance with applicable law.”

While the county had announced in January it spent almost $200,000 on the investigation by Cordell at a rate of $750 an hour, it didn’t include receipts or invoices.

For months, multiple media outlets, including this organization, have sought an estimate of the total cost of the removal efforts to taxpayers, including legal fees, investigative costs, and other related expenses. The county has denied these requests, citing attorney-client privilege and arguing that receipts and other payment records are privileged work product. This news organization has continued to seek the release of expenses.

David Loy of the First Amendment Coalition said he supports releasing expense records in the name of transparency, while acknowledging complications when litigation or legal action are ongoing.

“Attorney-client privilege never expires,” Loy said. “While a matter is ongoing, the entire amount of fees is still covered by the privilege, but once a matter is closed, the privilege no longer attaches entirely just to the billing records.”

Given the focus on the Cordell investigation, Loy said the impact is likely limited to that report.

“Her work for the county is concluded and finished, and for that reason, attorney-client privilege does not necessarily bar the release of billing records once a matter is closed,” he said.

Corpus has sought relief from multiple county and federal courts to try to stop county-initiated removal efforts, which her lawyers say violate her due process rights as an elected official and a law enforcement officer. All judges so far have declined to intervene in the process.

The sheriff and her legal team have repeatedly assailed Cordell’s report, commissioning their own review by former Riverside County Superior Court Judge Burke Strunsky, who criticized Cordell’s reliance on anonymous sources and unrecorded interviews.

Retired Judge James Emerson presided over the county’s removal hearings, which wrapped up last week, and has 45 days to issue a written advisory opinion. The board then has 30 days to review, with a four-fifths majority vote needed to dismiss her. If removed, Corpus would be the first sheriff in the state to be ousted by a board of supervisors.

If Corpus is removed, the board would have 30 days to appoint a replacement or call a special election. If no such action is taken, the county elections office must schedule one.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/05/san-mateo-sheriff-corpus-spending-records-release/

https://www.mercurynews.com/?p=12189807

Posted by Jakob Rodgers

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/05/technical-glitch-a-mystery-after-bungled-effort-to-hide-dozens-of-police-sheriffs-radio-channels/

https://www.mercurynews.com/?p=12189668

DUBLIN — The cause of a recent technical glitch that kept dozens of law enforcement agencies across the East Bay from hiding their radio communications from the public remains a mystery, authorities said Friday morning.

No timeline exists for when police departments and sheriff’s offices across Alameda and Contra Costa counties will end public access to their radio feeds, because they don’t know why the system didn’t work this week as planned, said David Swing, the head of the East Bay Regional Communications System Authority. The former Pleasanton police chief spoke during a board meeting Friday for the entity, adding that technicians planned to conduct tests in Martinez on a backup radio channel to try to root out the issue.

“Based on what I’m seeing, it’s difficult to explain, because it’s inconsistent,” Swing said of the technological issues.

The work comes two days after nearly ever law enforcement agency in the East Bay tried to fully encrypt their radio chatter, making it inaccessible to the broader public’s ears for the first time in decades.

The effort has garnered considerable pushback from police accountability advocates, First Amendment organizations, some local defense attorneys and even a Bay Area state senator. All of them have condemned the move as a blow to transparency and the public’s ability to understand crime as it happens in their community, along with how police act when they respond to it.

David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, said he hoped the delay would prompt law enforcement agencies to reconsider the switch. The radio feeds provide “really essential information” to the public in real time, while helping keep them up to speed during natural disasters and other public safety crises.

“It’s a real blow to transparency of government activity,” said Snyder, adding that open radio traffic can “help journalists tell the public the real story, not just the PR story” presented by police leaders.

The local change is part of a broader movement across California, with agencies in San Jose and San Francisco already having pulled public access to their radio channels. The California Highway Patrol also plans to fully encrypt their communications throughout the state, though a date has yet to be set, Lt. Matt Gutierrez, an agency spokesperson, said. The CHP has yet to purchase the required technology for that move, he said.

The East Bay switch garnered little attention until recent months, as the Oakland Police Department prepared to shield its radio feed. The agency is in the unique position of operating under the oversight of a federal judge and court-appointed monitor, following numerous scandals over the past 20-plus years.

On Friday, Walnut Creek City Councilwoman Cindy Silva questioned Swing about increased media attention on the issue, asking if he was “talking to the other chiefs to make sure we’re all singing from the same hymnal.”

Law enforcement officials claim the secrecy is needed to protect private information, while also keeping officers safe, in case criminals listen in. A 2020 directive by the California Department of Justice ordered law enforcement agencies to work harder at protecting that data, such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers. Still, it did not require wholesale encryption of police radio channels.

“That’s what this is all in response to,” said Jon King, Moraga’s police chief and the authority’s board chair, during an interview earlier this week. He said recordings of those communications could still be made public upon request, though their release may be delayed while investigations remain open. “We are accountable to the public, and will continue to be so,” he added.

At least one Bay Area agency — the Palo Alto Police Department — has unencrypted their radio traffic in recent years, citing the ability to use other means to protect that information. The city is squarely in the district of Democratic state Sen. Josh Becker, who has tried repeatedly in past years to pass legislation aimed at significantly limiting encryption technology among police and sheriff’s offices.

In the East Bay, only the Berkeley Police Department has said it would avoid fully removing public access to its live radio communications, once the technical snafu is solved.

The problem arose as the East Bay communications authority tried using the new encryption system on individual police agencies early Wednesday morning, beginning with the University of California Police Department, Swing said. The system appeared to work, and officers’ communications there could no longer be heard by the general public.

Yet “intermittent loss of radio communications” began about an hour or two after the authority tried encrypting the radio feeds of a second agency, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, Smith told the authority’s board. More “inconsistent and intermittent radio issues” popped up when the authority later tried encrypting the Oakland Police Department’s radio channels that morning, he added.

All of the radio feeds have since been unencrypted while the authority works to figure out what went wrong, Swing said.

The authority’s representatives have been working with Motorola to learn if the issue stemmed from that company. They also are examining whether it stemmed from an issue between two radio transmission sites.

Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/05/technical-glitch-a-mystery-after-bungled-effort-to-hide-dozens-of-police-sheriffs-radio-channels/

https://www.mercurynews.com/?p=12189668

Posted by Curtis Pashelka

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/05/san-jose-sharks-carey-price-montreal-canadiens/

https://www.mercurynews.com/?p=12189913

SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks acquired goalie Carey Price and a 2026 fifth-round pick from the Montreal Canadiens on Friday in exchange for defenseman Gannon Laroque in a win-win for both organizations.

Price, 38, has not played since April 2022, as a debilitating knee injury has ended his remarkable career, which could culminate in his election to the Hockey Hall of Fame as soon as next year.

Price is entering the final year of an eight-year, $84 million deal he signed in July 2017 and carries a $10.5 million cap hit. But he has been on long-term injured reserve each of the last three seasons.

Price received a $5.5 million signing bonus from the Canadiens on September 1 and is now owed just $2 million in salary, which insurance will cover for the most part.

The Sharks received a small sweetener in the form of a draft pick for assuming the remainder of Price’s contract, and the Canadiens created some much-needed salary cap space for the upcoming season.

The Sharks, per PuckPedia, now have a projected cap hit of roughly $86.3 million and $9.2 million in projected cap space for the upcoming season with 23 active players. The Canadiens now have $4.6 million in projected cap space with 23 active players.

Couture, 36, officially ended his NHL playing career in April, unable to completely get past his own debilitating injury that robbed him of a chance to leave the sport on his own terms.

Price’s cap hit should allow the Sharks to stay above this season’s salary cap floor of $70.6 million even if they trade any number of their pending unrestricted free agents.

Players who are slated to become UFAs next season — and who have substantial cap hits — include forwards Alexander Wennberg ($5 million) and Jeff Skinner ($3 million), defensemen Nick Leddy and John Klingberg ($4 million each), Mario Ferraro ($3.25 million) and Timothy Liljegren ($3 million) and goalie Alex Nedeljkovic ($2.5 million).

The Sharks now have eight picks in next year’s draft, including two in the first round and two in the second.

Price, taken fifth overall by the Canadiens in 2005, has been with Montreal for his entire 15-season NHL career. He has a 361-261-79 record in 712 regular-season games with a .917 save percentage, and a 43-25 record with a .919 save percentage in 92 playoff games. His 403 combined victories are 22nd all-time.

Price won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2021-22, and the Hart Memorial Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, Vezina Trophy, and William M. Jennings Trophy in 2014-15 when he had 44 wins, a .933 save percentage, and a 1.96 goals-against average.

Laroque, 22, was a fourth-round draft pick by the Sharks in 2021 but has seen his career slowed by injuries. He has played just 21 games as a professional and missed all of last season with an undisclosed injury. He is entering the final year of his entry-level contract, which he signed in June 2022.

The Sharks, per PuckPedia, have 49 contracts, one fewer than the maximum. They also have deals that are slide-eligible, such as the ones for defensemen Sam Dickinson and Leo Sahlin Wallenius.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/05/san-jose-sharks-carey-price-montreal-canadiens/

https://www.mercurynews.com/?p=12189913