Letters to the editor

Editor,

A journey to any cemetery on Memorial Day is at once a proud and emotional reminder of the sacrifices so many good Americans have made for the country we love. The small American flags placed on many of the gravesites tell countless heartfelt and inspiring stories of patriotism, trust, hardship, suffering and valor among those who have served and the families who loved them. May we forever keep in our thoughts and our prayers the heroic and self-effacing men and women who have worn the uniform of our country and who bravely serve today in trouble spots throughout the world.

Michael Traynor

Burlingame

Redwood City’s new ninth ward?

Editor,

Arizona developer DMB is forging ahead with its audacious mini-city on 1,400 acres of former baylands in Redwood City ("Bay homes in works” in the May 13 edition of the Daily Journal). This is "raw land” that lies below sea level — exactly the wrong place to put 30,000 new residents. Bay shoreline areas are at risk as the oceans rise due to melting of glaciers and ice sheets in the Arctic, Antarctica and Greenland.

New maps by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) show $24 billion of infrastructure and 100,000 residents already "at risk” in San Mateo County, including Redwood Shores, Seaport Center, Pacific Shores, Foster City, San Francisco International Airport and Highway 101. Placing more people in harm’s way is pure folly.

The sobering lessons from flooding in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward and other low-lying areas around the world should be heeded. We should direct our scarce public dollars to support development in the right places, such as Redwood City’s downtown, and to protect our existing developed at-risk areas.

Lennie Roberts

Portola Valley

The letter writer is the legislative advocate for the Committee for Green Foothills.