Letters to the Editor: Remembering Jesse Marquez, Railroad Accountability, Tariffs, ICE and a Nation Demanding Change

The Passing of a Friend

This week, the Torrance Refinery Action Alliance marked the passing of the long-time Harbor Area environmental justice champion.

From Nov. 13, 2025

One year ago this month, Jesse Marquez, founder and executive director of the Coalition for a Safe Environment, died on Nov. 3 after being in a coma following a Jan 13th accident where he was hit by a car in a crosswalk.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/honoring-Jesse-Marquez 

Railroads’ Record of Environmental Deceit

From the Southern California International Gateway project to reneged emissions agreements with the South Coast Air Quality Management District, BNSF Railway and Union Pacific have consistently put profits ahead of community trust and public health. Their recent joint venture, the Alameda Belt Line (ABL)—created to take over the short-haul rail contract at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach—continues this deceptive track record. 

During recent Harbor Commission hearings, the public was given just 24 hours to review a 135-page agreement negotiated behind closed doors for over a year. Despite that rushed window, community members uncovered major loopholes in ABL’s pledge to transition to 100% battery-electric locomotives by 2040—a promise that staff and a hand-picked, industry-backed selection committee used to justify awarding the bid. Weak contract terms can easily be exploited, proving that the railroads’ commitment to protecting residents is tenuous at best. Meanwhile, industry representatives touted improved “efficiency” while ignoring community concerns and failing repeatedly to commit to real public health investments. 

California voters recently affirmed that a full California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review is essential whenever a project threatens public health and the environment. Yet port officials are ramming this contract through using a categorical CEQA exemption, claiming it will cause no significant impacts. That claim ignores reality: the contract’s core directive is to expand rail utilization and pull more cargo through the port complex and surrounding neighborhoods from Wilmington, West Long Beach, to Colton, Barstow, and beyond.

This entire process is rife with conflicts of interest, monopoly control, backroom deals, and a disregard for environmental safeguards. If it smells like a dirty diesel train and acts like a dirty diesel train, it will most certainly remain one. Let’s hope ABL proves us wrong. The lives of community members impacted by port pollution depend on it.

Dori Chandler

Policy Advocate with the Coalition for Clean Air

Tariffs on Russian Energy

Our President Donald Trump should be doing better and the majority of American people are expressing dissatisfaction with President Donadld Trump’s performance and policy delivery.

The Institute Survey found 58% of Americans view President Donald Trump as a potentially dangerous dictator who is trying to be more like Vladimir Putin, who he claims to be a great guy. And a good person.

Donald Trump signed an executive order waiving new sanctions on tariffs on Russian energy – for a 60 day review period, citing rising energy costs and supply disruptions in the Middle East.

The rising energy costs are because Donald Trump said there would be no more wars in the Middle East and yet he goes against his own policy and starts a war with Iran which is causing the high price of oil and gas.

It is not the job of the President’s Executive Branch to settle tariffs. Congressional leaders who hold the primary power to set and levy tariffs under article 1, section of the US Constitution.  Congressional leaders can recall members back to Washington D.C. quickly for urgent votes on war powers.

This Executive Order was not an urgent issue. Donals Trump is acting on bringing the price of diesel fuel down in order to get the votes for the Republican midterm general elections. The farmers who are complaining about the cost of diesel fuel could raise the cost of their produce to make up for the high cost of diesel fuel.

There needs to be more “checks and balances” from Congress. Donald Trump has thrown a wrench into the strategy of President Volodymyre Zelenskyy in taking out their oil refineries that finance their war with Ukraine. When Donald Trump interferes instead of supporting Zelenskyy, he is prolonging the war and more innocent people are being killed.

John Winkler

 San Pedro

Enough ICE

Random Lengths News blasted ICE agents for going after a US citizen. Law enforcement must be conducted lawfully.

However, the larger issue cannot be ignored: activists are frustrating lawful immigration enforcement, and ICE wouldn’t have to go into communities if California respected immigration laws, including ICE detainers.

Since when did progressives think it was acceptable to let illegal aliens enter the United States without any consequences?

Frank Delano Roosevelt secured our borders during his administration, and Barack Obama at least paid lip service to the idea that foreign nationals shouldn’t get a free pass to enter the United States without authorization. Let’s not forget that towards the end of his second term, Obama awarded former and current ICE director Thomas Homan the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service.

During a 2015 interview with Vox’s Ezra Klein, Bernie Sanders believed in borders and derided the notion of open borders as a “Koch Brothers proposal.”What has happened to the Left? They used to care about the working class.They used to believe in enforcing a nation’s laws.Now, progressives like the writers at Random Lengths News spend more time covering the hardships of illegals instead of reflecting and exposing the harms done to working Americans because of illegal immigration: lower wages, higher costs for food and housing, and death. Before reporting on other “injustices” against illegals, RLn should interview Angel Parents like former progressive Don Rosenberg, Agnes Gibboney, and Angie Morfin, all California parents whose children were killed by illegal aliens.

Arthur Schaper, 

Torrance, CA.

Dear Mr. Shaper,

So let me get this straight: Do you approve of ICE agents arresting American citizens who accidentally ran into their vehicle while they were driving the wrong way on a residential street? Breaking his arm and not providing medical assistance until the LBPD showed up. You are arguing that it is OK to break the law while attempting to enforce another– and no one I know of on the left side or the political spectrum wants to protect criminals either legal or illegal- but mass incarcerations without hearings or legal representation is a bigger crime.

James Preston Allen Publisher 

The Country Spoke

Now that the country has spoken, what does this mean?  Yes the Democrats have won big BUT, who is leading the Dems now that they have taken the Congress n Senate?

Is Senator Schumer still alive?

Have you heard Speaker Hakeem Jeffries? Being the 1st Blk Spkr ain’t gonna make people’s lives better! Good policy will!

Seems the slogan that Dems are embracing is “affordability”. It wasn’t mainstream Democrats like Schumer or Jeffries who introduced that term, IT was Mayor Mandani! A social democrat!

Dem Soc, doesn’t mean the DSA only, it means progressive politics and policies!!! Working family oriented policies!

We the people need to push the Dem Party to do this! 

Maybe the discussion about a Third Party or re-energizing the progressive wing of the Dem party is the next step!

Warren Furutani, Gardena

America is ready for CHANGE !!!!!

Everything came together in almost exactly the right way !  Every section of American society is hurting because of the fascist policies of the Trump Administration and the cruelty and hardship of the enactment of Project 2025.

First and foremost – affordability. 

In the battle between the belly and the brain –  the belly always wins !  Too many  Americans are literally facing the choice of gas in the tank or food in the refrigerator and it caused them to agree with Bernie Sanders that the economy is broken – the system is rigged – and the people will not be fooled with allegations of voter fraud,  criminal aliens, or “Haitians are eating your pets”.  Fraud and corruption is widespread and open. 

Farmers know the war in Iran is causing $9 diesel fuel and rising fertilizer costs.  Young marrieds know something needs to change or they will never be homeowners.  We all know that Trump  has created a massive private police force that (unchecked) will eventually round up protesters of every sort but in the meantime is hiding  our neighbors in for profit prisons under the guise of “solving the immigration issue”.  The  demand to abolish ICE was heard across the country.

The result — the American people voted in massive numbers.

So what exactly happened last night?  The bottom line is that Democrats now control the House and the Senate. But that is only the first line of the story.  The talking heads will have lots to chatter about as the results are analyzed every which way but it seems clear that every segment of American society said to Trump “You are deranged and your policies are causing us too much harm.”

Consider these unprecedented Democratic victories: 

In Texas, James Talarico won the US Senate race and Gina Hinojosa defeated Greg Abbott to become the first Latina governor in Taxes history !!  All the downballot races were also affected and Texas is now BLUE.  A state that is ground zero for data centers where Elon Musk spent a good part of the almost HALF BILLION $ that he spent trying to buy elections across America.   Both Talarico and Hinojosa campaigned with the slogan “TEXAS IS NOT FOR SALE”. 

In Maine, Troy Jackson defeated Trump favorite Susan Collins for the US Senate.

Jon Ossoff, cited as a potential presidential contender in 2028, has been re-elected to the Senate in Georgia.

Adam Hamilton, pastor of the largest Methodist church in Kansas became the first Democratic Senator in 94 YEARS !!!!

Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta mayor,  became the first black female governor of Georgia.

Deb Haaland, Interior Secretary under Joe Biden, was elected Governor of New Mexico – the first Native American woman to win a governorship.

Annie Andrews, a pediatrician won a Senate seat in South Carolina, defeating Trump’s personally  picked candidate Darline Graham ( sister of Lindsey Graham who famously stated when she announced her candidacy “I really don’t know anything about national security” !!!!!!)

Amy Acton elected governor of Ohio after a campaign in which her billionaire opponent ran a disgusting ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother who had not spoken to her daughter in 50 years after losing a custody battle in which the mother elected to stay with her pedophile husband who was found guilty of raping Acton.  Ohio voters found the ad disgusting while Trump and Vance applauded the ad.

Peggy Flanagan, Native American woman, elected as Senator froom Minnesota.

There were many  other victories (our own Xavier Becerra elected Governor of California, Amy Klobuchar elected governor of Minnesota,  Josh Turek, Roy Cooper, Sherrod Brown, and Chris Pappas all elected as US Senators) but I want to close by sharing information about Dr. Abdul El-Sayed who was elected to the US Senate and  made history by becoming the country’s first Muslim senator.

I spent the first 32 years of my life in Michigan, have many family members still in the state,  and followed this race very closely.  I could not be more proud of Dr. El Sayed.  He campaigned on three endlessly repeated themes:  “Put money in your pocket, get money out of politics, and medical care for all.”  Dr. El Sayed is Egyptian, was born in Michigan, is a medical doctor and served as Director of Detroit’s public health system.  He is extremely well spoken.  The Israel lobby thru AIPAC spent $40 million dollars to try to defeat him in the primary.  

The Republican party spent hundreds of millions (this was the most expensive Senate race in US history) trying to beat him in November.  Trump called him a “terrorist Jihadist”.  My Michigan relatives told me the ads were relentless and viciously racist including implying that “blacks would never vote for a Muslim”.  I will wait for the detailed analysis but it looks like he carried some precincts in Detroit by over 80 %.

In his victory speech, Dr, El Sayed calmly stated  “Trump seems to have a hard time pronouncing my name but it will be easier in January.  He can simply call me Senator”.    Go Abdul !!!!

We still have a long way to go.  A clear message was sent to Trump. Let’s hope the Democrats were listening.  They now have to answer the question  “Which side are you on?”  Endless war and support for oligarchs and your billionaire contributors or the American people?

Time will tell.  La lucha continua !! 

P.S. Too early to comment on California results but two early returns are significant.  David Valdao (a major Trump supporter in the Central Valley) could be defeated by Randy Villegas (a progressive endorsed by Bernie Sanders) and Nithya Raman will likely defeat Karen Bass.  More to follow.

Thank you.

Diane Middleton

San Pedro