Letters: John Beam's real gift was teaching accountability

"Coach John Beam changed my life when I was a 14-year-old kid on the Skyline High football field. I still remember getting flattened in a varsity drill and looking up to see Beam standing over me, demanding more because he saw more. That was his gift. He coached football, but he taught manhood: accountability, discipline, belief in yourself long before you earned it. Beam fought for me in the classroom, pushed me on the field and helped me get to college when the odds weren't in my favor."

"Sydney Stull defends wind turbines despite the avian casualties. He is correct in pointing out that one statistic doesn't tell the whole story, but suggests many more birds are killed by buildings. Might this have to do with the fact that there are more than 100 million buildings in the United States and fewer than 100,000 wind turbines? The real issue with wind turbines is not the number of birds killed - it's the type of bird. Wind turbines tend to kill large and rare species, raptors in particular."

John Beam demanded more from young athletes and taught accountability, discipline, and belief in oneself, advocating in the classroom and helping students reach college. Beam shaped generations of young men in Oakland through a mix of toughness and caring leadership. Wind turbines cause avian casualties and disproportionately kill large, rare raptors, raising concerns for species like the California Golden Eagle and warranting context-sensitive comparisons with building-related bird deaths. Krusi Park regularly hosts unsanctioned off-leash gatherings that violate posted leash ordinances, and enforcement is needed regardless of individual dogs' behavior.

Read at The Mercury News