Oct. 24-- Oct. 24--What we're saying in editorials
Star witness: William Taylor, the top American diplomat in Ukraine, contradicted the White House denials, point by point. He left no doubt that there was quid pro quo in President Trump's withholding of military assistance while pressuring Ukraine's new president to get dirt on Trump's rivals. Republicans are left to criticize the process.
Election meddling -- it's on: Facebook took down interference campaigns from Russia and Iran this week. But American elections remain highly vulnerable to 2020 shenanigans from foreign countries.
Cost of inaction: New study explores the economic impact of climate change. It is staggering.
Credibility outage: As PG subjects thousands of customers to yet another precautionary shutdown, Californians are again right to ask: Should we trust its judgment?
Civility check
He went there: The Trump White House is sure making it difficult for Republicans of decency to keep supporting him. He referred to the impeachment as "a lynching." Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham called Tuesday's news more evidence of "a coordinated smear campaign from far-left lawmakers and radical unelected bureaucrats waging war on the Constitution." Just a reminder: William Taylor was coaxed out of retirement to serve the Trump administration in Ukraine by ...Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Human scum? Really? Consider this tweet from the president of the United States ...
Guest opinions
Seeing red over pink: Karuna Jaggar of Breast Cancer Action is none too impressed with the way corporations have seized on and commercialized a month dedicated to breast cancer awareness.
Plugged in: The mayors of Berkeley and Alameda argue for the banning of natural gas in new construction, writing that all-electrical buildings are better for safety and the environment.
Coming in Sunday Insight
Katherine Ellison: An award-winning writer decided she could not longer sit on the sidelines during the refugee crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. She explains why she went there and what she found.
My column: Xavier Becerra's title and summary for an initiative to modify Proposition 13 is merely the latest in a long line of California attorneys general skewing the ballot language to help or hurt its chances. I look at the question of whether that duty should be taken away from the state attorney general.
Editorial: Our editorial board assesses a federal government's "biological opinion" that could result in more water being diverted from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Central Valley farmers and Southern California cities.
Letter of the Week
Acronyms matter: Cory David of South San Francisco offered this third-way name for the all-or-nothing battles over development ...
I find it curious that one is either considered a NIMBY or a YIMBY but nothing in between. As a resident of South San Francisco I, and a core of other concerned residents, have invested our time in resisting over-development in our city. Compared to other municipalities on the Peninsula, our city has already responded by doing more than its fair share to confront the housing problem. As South San Francisco's city government turns a deaf ear to the concerns of existing residents, they eagerly give priority to outside entities.
It's greedy -- profit-driven developers not being told "No," just asked to scale back ill-fitting projects, and advocates who have no problem exploiting this city with self-serving dreams of low-income housing or childcare when they will be competing with hundreds, if not thousands, for a handful of units and spots.
To those non-residents anxious to volunteer other cities as a solution to the housing crisis while their cities do little, keep your opinions within your city limits and going forward kindly refer to resisters of irresponsible development as RIMBYs. Responsible In My Back Yard.
And please check out our other letters of the day responding to this and other matters. You can send us a letter via this form.
Where to follow us
We have a Twitter channel, Opinion Central (@sfc_opinions). Please add it to your stream. You'll catch our editorials and opinion pieces, as well as our drive-by comments on assorted subjects in the news. Follow me on Twitter: @JohnDiazChron
Just a reminder
The Chronicle's editorials represent the collective judgment of our Editorial Board, which includes the publisher as well as the writers and editors from the opinion team. Our editors and reporters on the news side are not involved in those decisions (including election endorsements). They are charged with reporting fairly and objectively without regard to our editorial positions. It is one of the core values here at Fifth and Mission streets.
Opinion Central is a thrice-weekly newsletter from John Diaz, The Chronicle's editorial page editor, and the rest of the Editorial Board. Follow along on Twitter: @sfc_opinions
