Readers’ comments: June 7, 2024

New bus stop seating/shade is ‘a joke’
Dear editor:
I should have been following the process for the new bus stop “Alice in Wonderland” looking waiting stations. The story about the emperor’s new clothes comes to mind. Everyone along the way was afraid to say how impractical and non-Claremont these things are. No good seating or shade is a joke. Maybe they are trying to encourage people not to take a bus?
Please don’t tell me how much they cost.
Sonja Stump
Claremont

Make your displeasure known about GSW rate increases
Dear editor:
I was stunned to receive a notice in the mail recently stating that our water supplier, Golden State Water Company, is applying for a 25.33% rate hike in 2025, followed by another 8% increase in 2026 and 2027. This comes after a 26.5% increase for 2023-2024. All told, this is a 60% increase in just four years.
The more we conserve water, the less money the company makes, and so the more it increases its rates. This is an outrageous way to manage an essential public resource. These rate hike requests must be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission before going into effect. You can protest these increases by sending a comment online to the commission at apps.cpuc.ca.gov/c/A2308010 or by attending the 6 p.m. June 26 public forum webcast at adminmonitor.com/ca/cpuc. The passcode is 6032788# and you dial *1 if you wish to make a comment. The phone number is (800) 857-1917.
Nancy Mintie
Claremont

Critic’s ire is misguided
Dear editor:
Allow me to quibble with an issue on page 6 of the May 31 Courier. Letter writer Brian Ofstedahl criticizes Editor Mick Rhodes [“Small retail shops are ‘fascinating’ too,” May 31] for highlighting two businesses not located in Claremont in his “All these years later, Claremont continues to fascinate” piece in the May 24 Claremont Living supplement. One of those establishments is Ophelia’s Jump, located across the parking lot from Last Name Brewing, in northwest Upland.
Granted, Ophelia’s Jump Music Lounge is in Upland, but the theater is much more than an “Upland based business.” OJP has grown up in Claremont over the last decade. It has put on shows in Claremont venues, and its founding artistic director and several of its actors, playwrights, and board members live in Claremont.
Meanwhile, Ophelia’s Jump Productions is currently in rehearsal for its annual Shakespeare Festival, generously hosted by Pomona College at its Sontag Greek Theatre in July. Local students are in the OJP Shakespeare summer camp, local musicians perform at the green show, and, if you check out the Ophelia’s Jump website, you’ll see that Claremont restaurants offer special meals before the performances. The festival draws outside audiences to its shows under the stars as it provides quality entertainment to the community during the off season.
Furthermore, partially funded by the City of Claremont and LA County, OJP’s Theatre for Good program stages free performances to raise funds for AgingNext, Claremont Heritage, and Children’s Foundation of America. OJP has received numerous awards over the years and recently received a prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Challenge Grant to stage the world premiere this winter of a play in Spanish, English, and ASL.
And, finally, the theater is hosting a gala dinner and auction plus performance of Linda Ronstadt music June 15 at Lincoln University on First Street in Claremont.
Jean Collinsworth
Claremont

Trump is a threat to fundamental American freedoms
Dear editor:
By now, we’ve all heard the news that Donald Trump was found guilty of all 34 felony counts of falsifying his company’s business records to keep information from voters that he knew would harm his 2016 presidential campaign.
This isn’t just about “hush money” payments; it’s about breaking the law to hide the truth from the American people 11 days before a presidential election.
Trump has a clear pattern of lying to the American people and trying to undermine our elections in order to cling to power. He still faces three additional indictments and 54 criminal charges, including federal charges for inciting an insurrection to overturn the 2020 election. In spite of all of this, he’s still running for president.
Donald Trump is a convicted fraudster and criminal who still poses a massive threat to our fundamental freedoms. We can’t let him hold the highest office in our land in 2025. It’s up to all of us to hold him accountable and defeat him at the ballot box in November.
Gilbert Campos
Pomona