Valley residents need access to overnight cooling centers
Regarding the May 12 article describing using the Cathedral City Library as a cooling center: It was encouraging to see plans to use that city facility to provide a safe place for people to go during extreme heat emergencies. But it was discouraging to read that it will only be available during daylight hours. The Coachella Valley is a very dangerous place to be during the hot summer months. A failure of the electrical grid for more than a few hours would expose tens of thousands to life-threatening conditions. Our desert cities need to prepare robust cooling centers that can provide 24/7 air conditioning and other vital services for large numbers of citizens, possibly for days while the electrical utilities are restored. Without electricity, we are all essentially homeless when it is 120 degrees.
Donald Zeigler, Palm Desert
Fill your tank and follow the money
Your May 13 article, “Why do California gas prices keep rising?” ignores the most salient fact and, in the process, dances around the real answer to the question you pose. In the fourth quarter of 2023, according to data readily available with a simple Google search, ARCO generated a profit of roughly $470 million, an increase of 14.27%. Exxon's profits for that year totaled $4,366 billion. Petroleum executives can whine about the high cost of crude oil and refinery expenses 'til the cows come home, but none of that prevents them from extracting monstrous profits day in and day out. It isn't rocket science and we don't need CPAs to figure it out: Fill your tank and then follow the money.
David Hamlin, Palm Springs
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Valley residents need access to overnight cooling centers
