Letters to the editor

EV mandate The Healey administration requirements to stop playing a wait-and-see match with its electric car mandate The governor s decision to follow the lead of Vermont Maryland and Delaware by delaying the Advanced Clean Car ACC II rule is logical but anemic Out of the gate EVs are more expensive With federal plans to eliminate the EV-purchase tax credit and impose annual fees on owners that price tag only gets higher If Massachusetts leaders want to make the state more affordable they shouldn t take away affordable options What s more there aren t enough charging stations to make EV advance reliable especially in rural areas and the grid limit doesn t exist to help widespread EV adoption Planning to restrict consumer choice particularly at a higher cost and without the necessary infrastructure makes no sense The U S Senate and House the latter with yeas from Democrats voted to overturn the California waiver that enabled other states to adopt ACC II President Trump is expected to sign the resolution into law and California s governor intends to sue It s sure to be a lengthy and costly legal battle Congress should put an end to this madness once and for all by repealing the Clean Air Act provision that allows other states to take up California s misguided exemptions Nonetheless the Commonwealth s feeble ACC II pause is irresponsible Any foreseeable timeline is unworkable and the entire concept is anti-consumer and anti-business Our leaders should face the facts and straightaway revoke the mandate altogether Paul D Craney Executive Director Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Boston Nicotine ban Proponents of a Generational Tobacco and Nicotine Ban aka Nicotine-Free-Generation intend it within to years to usher in total tobacco and nicotine prohibition in Massachusetts Listen to the voters on nicotine-free-generation moves May They cloak this scheme as being for the kids The Food and Drug Administration however reports that teen smoking is at a -year low and teen vaping is at a -year low The FDA just now authorized after extensive scientific review types of nicotine pouches and stated that teen use remains low If the tobacco industry is trying to attract youth it is not succeeding NFG activists insist that retailers will have time to adjust to reduced revenue from a tobacco and nicotine sales ban But they are quite secure in their university positions or as grant recipients from the state or tax-exempt foundations They have little understanding of the concept of profit and loss Stephen Helfer Cambridge