Guest View

I am responding to your guest view by Sen. Bill Monning, Jan. 22. The discussion of homelessness and mental illness has been a perennial discussion. There have been calls for affordable housing, an end to homelessness, and support for mental illness for as long as I can remember. Monning’s guest view is no different.Today we put way too much credit in the opinions, suggestions and programs pushed by politicians. Based on the continuing nature of the problem, the suggestions and work of the politicians and the government has been ineffective. I recall an essay by Bertrand Russell, “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish.”It is an essay that should be mandatory reading by anyone that is concerned with the operation of government.“As soon as we abandon our reason, and are content to rely on authority, there is no good end to our troubles. Whose authority?” Russell writes.He was referring to people’s practice of relying on scripture. I choose to believe that he would also consider the reliance on the words of a politician, as if they were scripture, as almost the same thing. Mr. Monning is pushing the same old, but repackaged, ideas as solving a problem that has yet to be solved. His conclusions are optimistic at best and unfounded at their worst.  They are based on anecdotal evidence and wishful thinking. He ignores criticisms of his ideas. There is not unanimity in the arena of affordable housing, homelessness or mental illness that promotes a one-size-fits-all solution.One-size-fits-all solutions come part and parcel with politicians like Mr. Monning. It gives them access to lots of money handed out by the federal government. It also allows them to pretend that they lead solutions, which supports their reelection.“Politics is largely governed by sententious platitudes which are devoid of truth.” Those words by Russell still ring true today:“The power of governments over men’s beliefs has been very great ever since the rise of large states….But the power of governments over belief in the present day is vastly greater than at any earlier time. A belief, however untrue, is important when it dominates the action of masses of men.”Russell was referring to war, but it could easily reference any effort by government and politicians to influence belief.  He laments:“No one can deny, in the face of evidence, that it is easy, given military power to produce a population of fanatical lunatics. It would be equally easy to produce a population of sane and reasonable people, but many governments do not wish to do so, since such people would fail to admire the politicians who are at the head of these governments.“I am persuaded that there is absolutely no limit to the absurdities that can, by government action, come to be generally believed. Give me an adequate army, with power to provide it with more pay and better food than falls to the lot of the average man, and I will undertake within 30 years to make the majority of the population believe that two and two are three, that water freezes when it gets hot and boils when it gets cold, or any other nonsense that might seem to serve the interest of the state.”It should be understood that the essay was written six decades ago. He continues with some additional important observations that you can read for yourself.It is worthy to think of ways to help the homeless and the mentally ill. I choose to reject the ideas that come from politicians or government. Clearly these solutions have proved ineffectual by the persistence of most of the problems. Claims of success are either wishful thinking or out and out lies.The involvement of government has been counter-productive. Government programs do not solve problems because problems are generally complex and defy central planning. Flexible and innovative approaches tried by a host of problem solvers will always outperform top-down government and political solutions.So by all means address the plight of mentally ill and homeless. Just don’t count on government or politicians to do it. So maybe government and politicians should step back and not lead.  Rather they should listen to quiet voices that speak and advocate for real solutions.Mike Brusa is a retired Morgan Hill resident and an avid reader of history, politics and economics.

2017 will be a memorable year for Santa Clara County, especially for water resources management.It was the year that broke our state’s longest dry streak with record-setting precipitation. A year of transition between extremes—from drought to floods. A year for big decisions on the future of our water supply. And it was a year to redouble our commitment to preparing for wet and dry years to ensure safe, clean water for a healthy life, environment and economy for the Silicon Valley.As Board Chair of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, I am proud to reflect on some of the year’s highlights.  A historic flood along Coyote Creek was a vivid reminder that flood risks persist in our county, and our hearts go out to those affected. Despite our investments of close to $1 billion in flood protection projects over several decades protecting nearly 100,000 parcels, our work is far from complete. The Coyote Creek flood has ignited a new urgency in our fight to reduce flood risks and help keep communities safe.This year, we completed the Lower Silver Creek Flood Protection Project in east San Jose. The project extends approximately 4.4 miles from its connection at Coyote Creek to Cunningham Avenue. When the Lake Cunningham detention basin is complete, it will protect approximately 3,800 homes and businesses.  After the Coyote Creek flood in February, my colleagues and I led advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., to seek federal funding and support changes to the regulatory process, which has delayed many important flood protection projects. At home, we took immediate action to build short-term flood barriers at the Rock Springs neighborhood, remove invasive vegetation along Coyote Creek and remove downed trees and potential creek blockages. The board also approved new operating parameters at Anderson and Coyote reservoirs to create more storage space, further reducing the chance of flooding.In one of the most critical decisions of the year, the water district board voted to participate in the California WaterFix project to improve the infrastructure that carries water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Our board developed a list of seven guiding principles to examine a less costly, scaled-down and staged project that would serve Silicon Valley’s needs, as well as those of our partner agencies.To further improve reliability of our imported water supply sources, we applied for $484.5 million in state funding for the potential expansion of the Pacheco Reservoir. Located about 13 miles southwest of San Luis Reservoir, this project offers emergency and drought-year supply, fish habitat enhancement, flood protection and other benefits.  Another way we are preparing for the future is through expanding the use of recycled water.No doubt about it, 2017 was a forward-moving year. I wouldn’t expect anything less for the Silicon Valley, and I am humbled to have led the efforts this year. Follow more of what we accomplished throughout the year in our 2017 annual report, available at valleywater.org.John Varela represents District 1—which includes Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy and hills east of San Jose and Milpitas—on the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors. He can be reached at [email protected].

Regulations issued by President Donald Trump to Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices are chilling.All undocumented people working and living in the U.S. are now legally deportable. This includes not only “the bad guys” with criminal records but millions of hard-working, taxpaying undocumented immigrants who have contributed greatly to the economy of this country.All people in this country have constitutional rights. Trump’s goal is to take away the right to a hearing in preparation for mass deportations. He has increased the budget for Homeland Security to $3 billion from our taxes. He has expanded the number of ICE agents to 25,000 on the border. Thirty percent of these are veterans of the war in Iraq who were trained to kill, not to arrest and deport.“Expedited removal” is the law allowing ICE to pick up and deport without giving access to a hearing or a lawyer. Under former President Barack Obama, expedited removals were limited to those caught within two miles of the Mexican border. Now, there are no limits. All can be deported wherever they are found, and if they cannot prove they have been here for eight years (on the spot), they can be deported with no legal hearing.  Two-thirds of those detained are not able to access lawyers. Those who can afford a lawyer or have access to legal aid have seven times the opportunity to be released from detention.The movement by city police chiefs to disassociate from any cooperation with ICE is admirable. In a raid several weeks ago in Santa Cruz, ICE agents lied to local police when they promised they had warrants. During the raid, they emptied an entire apartment building and detained law abiding, innocent people who were there. The mayor and police chief apologized to the community and said it would not happen again.ICE has also misrepresented themselves as “police officers,” and thus gained access to homes where they could not enter without a warrant. They question people who do not know their rights and get them to sign them away.The state of California is asking for regular reports on their raids and the daily publication of people detained, which ICE has refused to do. These refusals by ICE are illegal.What can we do to help the terrified undocumented in our area? Having the police pledge not to cooperate with ICE is one step. Educating the people who are frightened about their rights is a priority. We can arrange for public Know Your Rights workshops through Siren and the Asian Law Center. We can educate ourselves to educate all the undocumented we know or meet.   Can we organize to form groups that will intercept these ICE raids? Nothing works better than bad publicity from newspapers and radio stations.Which churches and homes in our areas will be willing to be sanctuary places for a family? Have we educated our teachers and principals about ICE coming to schools?If we work together in true community we can bring back constitutional rights to all.Natasha Wist is a former school psychologist and family therapist with 31 years experience. Since retiring, she has volunteered teaching immigrant women in Morgan Hill. For many years, she has been active in peace and justice movements in Morgan Hill and San Jose.

Charitably, officials in five wealthy Bay Area counties erroneously—but in good faith—miscalculated how local property taxes were divvied up among local governments and schools. A more jaundiced view is that five county auditors disregarded state law and state Department of Finance guidelines and grabbed hundreds of millions of dollars in “excess ERAF” funds that were supposed to go to schools.