Letters to the Editor 02.10.22

Tee Off

My favorite weekend of the year! (“The return of fans and celebrities created a special Pebble Beach Pro-Am,” posted Feb. 7; “Hoge fends off four others to take the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am crown,” posted Feb. 6.) David Giertz | via social media

That is what you call a chef with a drive! (“Famed chef Thomas Keller finds that a lot from the kitchen translates to the course,” Feb. 3-9.) Francesca Thorn | via social media

Nice swing, chef! Idalia Garcia | via social media

Moving Forward

Thanks for a well written article on the antiquated Feast of Lanterns (“After reckoning with the Feast of Lanterns, Pacific Grove should start over,” Feb. 3-9).

How about still having a festival in July, because obviously people like going, and changing it to the Festival of the Monarchs? (Now that the monarchs seem to be making a comeback, hopefully.)

Pacific Grove could still have the October butterfly parade to welcome the monarchs, and the festival in July would be to honor them. There could even continue to be a play, with a new theme and a butterfly emerging at the end… many possibilities.

Continue to include the pet parade and other non-offending festivities. Barbara Langdon | via email

There are good reasons why the Feast of Lanterns should be changed, but to eliminate it wholly seems a lost opportunity. Certainly, with a talented group of people involved, the portrayal of the plight of the Chinese fisherman and their village, as a significant part of Pacific Grove history could be portrayed in a culturally acceptable way. Explaining the racially motivated evictions (easily documented from news articles of the time) by telling the story factually as part of a new program would be important in the understanding of Pacific Grove’s history. The entire Royal Court’s origin and relevance to the time period was never clear to me.

To deny that the events happened is a disservice to the people that endured this mistreatment. Building upon the Feast of Lanterns in a factual manner, as a celebration of Pacific Grove history, is the right thing to do. Buck Jones | via email

Thank you for reporting on this! This festival is so disturbing. Reassured to know that not all my neighbors support it. Colleen Durkin | via social media

Smoked Out

Thank you for your wonderful piece in Monterey County NOW on the battle for a ban on flavored tobaccos, and relative nuances (“Will the Monterey County supervisors cave, or stand up to Big Tobacco?” posted Feb. 4). Many cover the issue as simply a national “ban-it-or-not” story, but your piece truly shows the machinations and difficulties of getting important local/county ordinances passed. With comments from both sides, I very much appreciated the fairness and detail – not just as a tobacco cessation advocate, but as a Californian. Rick Smith | Malibu

Note: Smith is a senior director at the American Lung Association.

Update: The County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 8 indicated their support to proceed with the ban as originally drafted, without an exception for modified-risk tobacco products. It will come back for a vote.

Rent Registry

This is such a bad idea (“Would a rental registry help or hurt the rental market in Salinas?,” posted Feb. 3). One more way for government to be in private, personal business, create another bureaucratic maze, and put a “fee,” otherwise called a tax, on it. Virginia Ray | via social media

If it’s simply a list (and not inspections) why is there any fee at all, let alone a recurring one? Is it that complex or onerous a task that city employees cannot handle it without extra expense?

I rent. Every lease I have ever signed in Salinas specifies that new city fees are passed directly along to the renter. Matt Brysch | Salinas

Snow Day

As a kid, I thought it was great (“Almost 60 years ago to the day, the Pro-Am at Pebble Beach got delayed – by snow,” Feb. 3-9). I’d never seen snow before, only on TV and photos. I don’t believe Salinas got as much as Monterey, but we had fun playing in it. Walter L. Wagner | via email

Water Works

Whenever we talk about the regional water issues, it seems that we are forever being overwhelmed by strife, with angry citizens and agency discord ruling the day (“Squid Fry,” Jan. 13).

But we need to be reminded of something that did occur right in our midst that crystalizes collaboration, cooperation and true regional intent. The Pure Water Monterey project and its expansion will generate 5,750 acre-feet of purified, recycled water per year. It is an award-winning facility with amazing state-of-the-art science that creates a new sustainable water source.

I remember back in 2018, when this local project was awarded $88 million by the U.S. EPA. What an honor and a vote of confidence for our region! But even more amazing, it involved three public entities that imagined, planned and fully executed such a project. Monterey One Water (M1W) and Marina Coast Water District financed the project. M1W constructed the treatment and injection facilities while MCWD constructed the tank and the pipelines; the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District became the first customer.

Let’s never forget that the vision of cooperative regional projects has already been established here. This should serve to remind us of what can be and what was accomplished by our own local public agencies! Kathy Biala | Marina

Biala is a co-founder of Citizens for Just Water and a member of Marina City Council.