Letters to the Editor 03.23.17

Feds v. City

The ones who voted against becoming a sanctuary city because of fear of the president denying any emergency funds voted to sue the president? (“Salinas City Council to sue President Trump,” posted March 7.) So how much will that cost? C’mon! Abril Esparza | via Facebook

Don’t use my tax dollars for this. Salinas has a lot this City Council could positively work on. Kathy Keeler-deHaaff | via Facebook

Makes no sense at all. Why not designate Salinas a sanctuary city, if the idea is to show support to immigrant residents? If, and only if, the federal government tries to withhold funds, then a lawsuit can be filed to dispute the constitutionality of that action. Lupita Jaime | via Facebook

Weddings and Funerals

I happened to pick up the Best of Monterey Bay Wedding Guide 2017-18 yesterday. Most often I don’t pay much attention to these magazines and the photos. However, the cover picture is horrible. It does not look like a happy wedding couple, it is more like they had just been to a funeral and were a bit overdressed! Or maybe they are reflecting on the idea of getting married and decided it is best to go their separate ways. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If this is the best of the best, no wonder the newspaper has no readership. The Wedding Guide is no better. Susan L. Flynn | Pebble Beach

Fires and Floods

Is Monterey [County] exhausted at this point? (“Massive fire destroys an empty building in Salinas’ Chinatown,” posted March 20.) Floods to fires to Big Sur? So much, too much. Julie Law | via Facebook

Hopefully they can revitalize Chinatown now. It needs help. Nicole Nancy Amaral | via Facebook

Bombs Away

I resent the tactic of FEAR and being SCARED how about fight back, revolution, resistance and positive change, including bringing down the Trump administration and neoliberal government which has caused this instability, a military budget that is the most in the world, a prison population in the U.S. not to [be exceeded by] any other country (“How a group of analysts at MIIS are helping to stave off Armageddon,” March 16-22). Sherry Lessen | via Facebook

David Schmalz’s article is a page-turner! Thanks; I have been watching YouTube videos about North Korean daily life and misinformation for a while now, and really enjoyed reading it. It was also quite enlightening to learn about Middlebury Institute’s role in supporting our national security interests.

Also in this issue, I enjoyed Kelsey Liebenson-Morse’s pothole story (“Faced with winter storm damage, Monterey’s fast-paced pothole repair crew is busier than ever,” March 16-22). She captures just perfectly the typical DNA of our city of Monterey work crews. It was written with a lot of heart. I like that. Hans Uslar | Monterey

Editor’s note: Uslar is assistant city manager of Monterey.

Prayers for a Pastor

This is so sad (“Salinas pastor stabbed to death while praying,” posted March 15). I don’t understand people sometimes. Prayers to the all the families. Vannesa Sorvetti | via Facebook

This is terrible. Prayers to the family and friends of Pastor Herb. Karen Autry Woodson | via Facebook

Prayers are no substitute for mental health care. RIP to a beautiful soul. Anna Masteller | via Facebook

Ball v. Bridge

Oh my. That’s going to take awhile (“Big Sur bridge demolition delayed as Highway 1 reopens to traffic,” posted March 14). Renee Larson | via Facebook

Dynamite that thing. Geez. Cain Fisher | via Facebook

The engineers have to be very careful with the wrecking ball. They are trying to make the bridge fall inland. Thus the slow meticulous pounding. Brian T. Phelps | via Facebook

Where’s Miley Cyrus when you need her… Matthew Jasinek | via Facebook

Pay To Build

Ah Carmel, the city by the sea that loves to give money away (“Carmel City Hall shakeup as two department heads resign in two months,” posted March 20). Whether it is paying out for lawsuits or over-spending on handrails, this city has a reputation for turning a blind eye to fiscal responsibility. It hit an all-time high with the last administration and it looks like this current one is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, or in this case, the handrails. Why were any of these bids even looked at? For a handrail?

Bids like this come in because every company out there knows by now that Carmel will pay big money. If the council estimated spending $24,700 for this project and the bids came in between $46,500-$56,800, who came up with the original estimate? Shameful. Alice Nancarrow | Carmel

Corrections

A story about the local effects of the federal hiring freeze (“Federal hiring freeze brings local confusion as to who’s in and who’s out,” March 16-22) misspelled the name of the union rep for the Naval Postgraduate School. Her name is Sara Stolt, not Sarah Stoldt.

The figure for the total amount of energy Taylor Farms will generate from renewable sources for its Gonzales facility is 90 percent, not 76 percent (“Weekly Tally,” March 16-22).