How to Save the Owls

Regarding the group in South Park, the Protect 28th Street Canyon Coalition — I suggest they go to the Nature Conservatory. They buy a lot of property that has wildlife on it. If not, go to kickstarter.com and see if you can raise money there.

• Chris Moore
• Downey

Land of the Haves and Have-Nots

Re: City Lights, December 24, “San Diego Won’t Be Any More Affordable Next Year”

San Diego might look better on paper, but the streets tell something different. Homelessness increased by nearly 25% and included even more veterans when the federal, state and regional goal was to eliminate homelessness for veterans. We’ve seen few housing starts, but many increases in rents. And it was not so much about improved housing stock as much as a lack of housing, especially affordable housing.

We might have gotten 40,000 more jobs, but what portion of those pay a livable income? I typed “livable wage,” but then thought about it... Who cares if you have a livable wage, yet only get minimal hours and have to work two or three jobs to get the income needed to survive in San Diego. And if you have more than one job it probably means you aren’t getting good benefits (healthcare, vacation, retirement) at either of them. By the time we do vote to increase the city minimum wage to $11.50, when it is implemented (2017) the “livable wage” for San Diego will be way over $14 an hour. But it is very likely that the, “I got mine, why should I pay you yours” lobby will get advertising, and the initiative won’t pass.

We need to make the “softer year” work better for the whole of the city. Why not make incentives for older housing stock to be turned into affordable housing cooperatives? Housing that is for getting people housed rather than investment real estate. Cooperative housing brings vestment in neighborhoods rather than fear of highly increased rents. Members of co-ops know their monthly housing payment (similar to a mortgage), and therefore can afford to spend more in their community and invest time to help neighbors.

The city could ask the county and state to make tax incentives for rental property owners who sell rental complexes at or below market rates to co-ops for a reduction in their taxes (income and other real estate) for a set amount of time, like five years. Win, win, win. City gets more affordable housing, real estate investors get a tax break, and low income workers get a chance at lower known home payments. Even more communities become neighborhoods because people can justify investing more into the area they live in.

Minimum wage jobs should be for minimum work/skills/experience. Having jobs that require a certificate, licensing, or degree at minimum wage is totally unjustified. And to require the employee to have special equipment to work that minimum wage job also is unfair. That also goes for entry level jobs, requiring three-seven years of experience on multiple computer programs/machines/languages/etc. is not right. We need to have restriction on what jobs can require for minimum wage. And there probably should be a tier level: minimum certificate or licensing $1 more per hour, higher cert./lic. more. Use of personal equipment for work (ie: personal cell phone, laptop/home computer, tools, GPS, vehicle, etc) an additional dollar or two per hour — where can you rent anything for less than $2 an hour?

Businesses have to be taught to be responsible. Going to work has expenses too! Housing of employee costs, transportation to work costs, meals (out) costs, clothes-cleaning costs, child/elder care costs, etc.

If your wage doesn’t even pay the cost of housing then the wage is humanly unfair. And it means that someone else is subsidizing that employer: parents who house working-age children at below market rate or government affordable housing programs. Same for would-be employees educational costs/student loans, equipment purchase, and vehicle expenses/or public transportation costs. This is the reason the rich keep getting richer and poor keep getting poor. The rich and powerful pay for less of their burden, while we pay for their increased benefits.

Wage stagnation and inflation cause the low wage worker to be at a loss while going into financial debt and ruin. During “slow years” we need to increase affordable housing (cost less to start), increase small business startups (less regulation and affordable housing helps), and strengthen no/low cost education (providing a better prepared workforce). When one of the “top 20 richest cities in the U.S.” has housing costs going up much faster than incomes and inflation we are no longer Americas Finest City, but more like “land of the haves and have-nots.”

• Daniel Beeman
• Clairemont

Human embryo, 8–9 weeks

Understand the Science and the Law

The article, “Who Owns the Embryos,” was, unfortunately, accompanied by a photo which would likely mislead the reader as to what

frozen embryos are, and what they look like. Embryos are frozen when they are at the five-day, blastocyst stage, when they are a perfectly round cluster of cells. No shape, no differentiation into limb-buds, head (let alone brain or neurons), eyes, or anything else. Here is a link to decent photo of an actual blastocyst.

I would hope you will run a photograph of an embryo that is in the IVF stage of development to help your readers better understand both the science and the law.

• Name withheld
• La Jolla

Still Together

Just a thank you for your publication. My husband and I met when I placed a free Cupid ad on February 22, 1990. We’ve been married 25 years.

You did an article on us when we celebrated our ten-year anniversary. We’re still married, still in California, and still reading the Reader.

• Elizabeth Walker
• (formally Trotzuk)
• National City