Readers’ comments: July 3, 2026

The cruel downstream consequences of rat poison
Dear editor:
Today I saw another coyote with mange. You may have seen him: young, painfully scrawny with his fur falling off. He’s disoriented and looks miserable. People on College Avenue weren’t sure what to do as he stumbled across the road one way, only to turn and go back across the other way and disappear down someone’s driveway. His slow painful death will go on for weeks.
Unfortunately, there always seems to be one or two of these sad creatures wandering around our city. This is because Claremont and the Colleges are still using rodenticide boxes to control our rodent population. You’ll notice these neat little black boxes against many buildings around town. Mice and rats go into the boxes, eat the poison, then slowly die of internal bleeding and dehydration. Their misery slows them down so a predator can easily catch and eat them. The poison moves right up the food chain. If an owl, hawk, cat, or a coyote eats one of these rats, it will also be poisoned and die the same slow death. Consequently, when the predator finally dies, whatever eats it will also be poisoned. It’s a horrible and inhumane way of taking care of a problem that can just as easily be done another way.
Many cities including San Francisco, Chicago and New York are fighting their rodent problems with ContraPest, a rat birth control. In a similar method as the rat poison boxes ContraPest is placed in bait stations where there is rat activity. Rats drink the birth control substance and eventually die but without bringing forth multiple generations. There is little or no impact on the environment or food chain, and it seems to be working to control the rodent population.
I hope we Claremonters, who pride ourselves on environmental sustainability, will consider this alternative to poisoning of our wildlife.
Marguerite Millard
Claremont

The 250th, sullied
Dear editor:
Americans should joyfully be celebrating the nation’s 250 year anniversary. But Trump is hijacking the celebration by turning it into his own indulgence and aggrandizement.
Opanyi Nasiali 
Claremont

Democrats urge voters to turn out in November
Dear editor:
As of June 16, LA County election officals reported that votes processed in the June 2 statewide direct primary elections were 2,224,294 (37 .75% of registered voters). For comparison, Orange County election officals estimated a turnout of 43% of the registered voters. In LA County, of the total ballots counted, 81.77% were by mail and 18.23% were from in-person voting. Both LA and Orange counties saw the highest number of primary voters since 2016. Overall, the California statewide voter turnout for the election was 40.6%.
Besides important state and national races, the upcoming November 3 general election will feature several local races of importance to Claremont. Three City Council seats (Districts 2, 3 and 4) will be on the ballot. The candidates for these races have from June 13 to August 10 to file their papers at city hall. Also on the ballot are three seats on the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education (Areas 1, 3 and 4) as well as a school facilities bond. Our area representative on the Three Valleys Municipal Water District will also be on the ballot.
It is important for every voter to become informed about local, state and national issues and candidates. As the voter turnout numbers cited above indicate, more of us should show up and vote. There are many resources available to educate yourself about ballot issues. One way to learn more about Claremont issues is to attend Democratic Club of Claremont meetings at 7 p.m. on the last Monday of each month at the Napier Center at Pilgrim Place, 660 Avery Rd, Claremont. Speakers on November election issues will be sharing their insights at the meetings. Learn more at demsofclaremont.org.
Barbara Barton
Claremont
Barton is the vice president of membership for the Democratic Club of Claremont.