iRead. iOpine.

Specifically, Mr. Swire was referring to a story which ran in the Daily Journal about a cyclist from Half Moon Bay who was killed by an intoxicated driver going over 80 mph. The reason he took issue with the use of the word “accident” when the paper referred to what happened is because, as he pointed out, accidents are “unexpected” and “without apparent cause.”

In the case of the cyclist’s death, there most definitely was a cause. And if anything was not expected, it was only in the mind of the man killed. However, if we were watching the events unfold as if viewing a movie, we could have easily expected something tragic to happen upon witnessing the actions of the driver.

If there is one good thing to come out of this tragedy so far, it is this: The district attorney is seeking a second-degree murder conviction against the driver. Too often, cyclists are killed by drivers for one reason or another and either no charges are filed or, at best, the driver is given a slap on the wrist. I hope in this case the DA’s charges stick.

***

Changing subjects, you may have read my previous column where I posed a number of questions. People who put memes on social media often come up with some pretty good questions too. For example, I read one recently which asked: “If you got three rabies shots for your dog in a year but your dog still got rabies, wouldn’t you be asking some tough questions of your vet?”

I sure would. First, I would be asking why three shots were necessary and one was not sufficient? Secondly, I might expect my dog to have some serious side effects from three shots of the same vaccine — or dead. If either happened, the vet would be facing some serious questioning. Thirdly, to the author’s point, if the dog still contracted a case of rabies, I would be questioning the vaccine’s efficacy.

***

Another post that caught my eye on social media was the story about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi planning to visit Taiwan. People had all kinds of comments on the story, mostly in reference to the threat by the Chinese. I too added a comment but it had nothing to do with the PRC or their warnings.

If one reads through the U.S. Constitution, it’s pretty clear which elected officer is supposed to represent our country in foreign affairs, either directly or through their appointed officers, such as the Secretary of State. It certainly is not the job of the speaker of the House, therefore, it begs the question: Why is she traveling to any country at taxpayer expense and worse still, causing a raucous by doing it? I have no respect for the communist government of China but in this case, I also have no respect for Nancy Pelosi meddling in affairs in which she has no business to be meddling.

***

The final subject I wish to comment on, which I have been reading about for months, is district elections. In terms of the county, they make sense. When I ran for county supervisor against Don Horsley, what did not make sense was the need to be from a certain district but then having to cover the whole county with a campaign.

In the case of cities, however, splitting them up into fairly small districts is not sensible and actually carries with it a series of downsides. One relates to something I have written about before and it has to do with what happens after a councilmember is seated.

To wit, after being seated, a councilmember is then appointed to various boards. For example, the councilmember may end up on the Cities/County Association of Governments. The C/CAG board makes some weighty, regional decisions which can result in millions of taxpayer dollars being spent. I think the whole system is flawed but to make matters worse is to have a councilmember elected to office from a small district and then put in position to vote on matters affecting millions. For those of you who say we’re a democracy, that doesn’t come close to the definition.

A former member of the San Carlos City Council and mayor, Matt Grocott has been involved in political policy on the Peninsula for 17 years. He can be reached by email at mattgrocott@comcast.net.