Shakespeare a
nd Lyme
I would like to take a moment to thank you for having the courage to print this article and the actress’ interview and struggle with this most horrific illness (“Art of Survival,” July 19). Sadly, due to in-fighting between different paradigms—one old-school, one cutting-edge—we, the critically ill, are the ones left to suffer, go broke and die. What other illness has a suicide rate of 58 percent? As a former investigative journalist, I found the author to be factual, compassionate and genuinely interested in the subject matter. On behalf of the Lyme and co-infection community, I thank you.
Burlington, Maine
PG&E and You
On March 1, PG&E changed our electric tiered-rate plans to make customers’ bills easier to understand, make sure the price customers pay for energy is more closely aligned with the actual cost of providing that energy and encourage extremely high-energy users to conserve energy. The changes were developed jointly among California utilities, the California Public Utilities Commission and consumer-interest groups.
A tiered-rate plan has pricing levels, known as “tiers,” which are based on how much energy you use. Since the energy crisis in 2001, rate increases were placed on the higher tiers while prices for lower tiers remained stable. For years, high-energy users were paying more than the cost to provide them with electric service.
The March 1 tier-balancing reduced the number of tiers and implemented a high-usage surcharge to encourage energy conservation for high users. These changes mean that low energy users began to see rates increase on their March bills, while customers in hotter climates may see lower rates.
For more information, contact PG&E at 1.800.743.5000.
Senior Manager,
PG&E North Bay and Sonoma Divisions
Lying 101
President Donald Trump, White House officials and assorted sold-out Republican representatives (Lindsey Graham and John McCain excluded) and conservative pundits subscribe to the same stale strategy when it comes to meetings with Russians:
Lie—meetings never took place; admit a meeting took place, but it was insignificant; admit the meeting was significant, but it didn’t amount to collusion; admit it was collusion, but that collusion is normal and commonplace in political campaigns; blame Hillary; blame the Secret Service; call it all fake news.
The White House is all about putting up a smokescreen of lies and utter nonsensical tangents, so critics are put on the defensive. We are distracted from the brazen violation of ethics and law.
This presidency is an outrage, and as tedious as it may be, we shouldn’t stop the steady drumbeat of anger and criticism directed at this malevolent and his loyal flunkies. At the same time, the Democrats should articulate a strong vision for the future, including the needs of the working class.
Kentfield
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