Letters from our Readers: F-line is a great asset for tourists and locals

Taking the historic F-line trolleys off Market Street would be a big mistake. Tourists love them, and the fact that one can take a straight (pardon the pun) shot from the Castro all the way down Market (with local stops that the underground does not provide, as well as connections to crosstown buses) to The Embarcadero is so good at moving tourists and locals alike that more cars should be added.

The buses and cars — get rid of them, they are a menace. Leave the taxis, they are a useful necessity. But set up taxi stands where folks can go and find a waiting line of cabs.

The bikes may turn out to be somewhat of a nuisance. Too many bike riders think they don’t need to pay attention to anything. But with a little careful enforcement of some rules by police riding themselves, it could change things for the good of everyone using Market Street.

Lee-John Sobering, San Francisco

Putting lives in peril

The Bay Bridge was originally built in the 1930s as a military project to facilitate military vehicles moving quickly across the Bay. Currently, the bridge handles approximately 260,000 vehicles per day, including 26,000 trucks. Each truck affects the steel at a molecular level, possibly leaving the steel weakened over time.

Earlier in the rebuilding project, steel components from China were delivered that contained cracks. The two bridge representatives sent to visit the manufacturer in China were not structural engineers.

Political appointees make decisions regarding bridge safety. It has come down to a question of public relations vs. public safety.

Richard King, Palo Alto

Tired of scathing words

While opposition to President Barack Obama or any president is perfectly valid, The Examiner falls into a loud minority in this country that seems to question the very legitimacy of his presidency, as if the election results were all some sinister trick.

Whether the cause of this is a massive case of sour grapes or worse, I wouldn’t dare hazard a guess. But it gives all your political opinion punditry a shrill, off-putting tone.

Peter Spalding, San Francisco

Time for Pelosi to act

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to “drain the swamp” of corruption on Capitol Hill when Democrats won control of the House of Representative from the ethically stained Republicans in 2006.

Now, 2½ years into Pelosi’s reign, more than 25 Democrats have been targeted for ethics reviews by the House Ethics Committee, while only seven Republicans are under scrutiny, according to a just-revealed committee document.

Pelosi refuses to take any action against her close allies, such as powerful committee chairmen Rep. Charles Rangel of New York and John Murtha of Pennsylvania, despite already disclosed evidence of serious wrongdoing.

It is long past due for Pelosi to require both Rangel and Murtha to step aside from their chairmanships until the ethics probes have concluded.

Jim Hartman, Berkeley