Letters to the Editor 04.14.22

Laughable LAFCO

Is a 1-percent tax revenue loss to a few special districts really the issue for Mary Ann Leffel? (“The legal battle over the public buyout of Cal Am begins with a lawsuit,” April 7-13). Her Airport District would lose 85 cents annually! Does that justify voting against the mandate of 24,000 Peninsula voters? Is the chance that Chualar’s extremely low water rates “might” rise in a Cal Am buyout grounds to keep Cal Am in control of the Peninsula’s water supply?

LAFCO’s reasons for denial were laughable. They were just a cover for personal bias and business interests who support Cal Am and its desal plant. There should be consequences for defying the will of the voters. Leffel is the only LAFCO member that Peninsula Cal Am customers can hold accountable for this. Melodie Chrislock | Carmel

Chrislock is managing director of Public Water Now.

Off To The Races

I wholeheartedly support Glenn Church for District 2 Supervisor (“The open seat for District 2 supervisor draws a busy ballot,” April 7-13). An impressive group of elected officials apparently agree with me! I was really upset to see that you listed endorsements for the other candidates, but not for Glenn! This is a significant omission!

Glenn has strong bipartisan support of elected and former elected officials, including former Congressman Sam Farr, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Monning, Assemblymember Mark Stone and Senator Anna Caballero, as well as current Monterey County Supervisor Mary Adams and former Monterey County Supervisors Karin Strasser Kauffman, Judy Pennycook and Marc Del Piero. This is in addition to the many, many District 2 residents who wholeheartedly endorse and support him. Mary Arnold | Prunedale

Mayor Kimbley Craig not only ignored the mandate of Peninsula voters with her LAFCO vote to block the Cal Am buyout but also snubbed LAFCO’s own staff recommendation of approval and the consultant’s recommendation that found the buyout feasible. But Craig, undemocratically, said NO!

By contrast, Glenn Church is a firm supporter of democratic values. He is conducting a grassroots campaign that seeks and respects citizen input, recognizing “We the People” as the rightful deciders in our constitutional republic. Church is a King Foundation board member. The foundation’s mission is to educate eighth-grade students on the U.S. Constitution. Margaret-Anne Coppernoll | Marina

This is a wealth of talent in these candidates! I prefer Glenn Church because this is the candidate most in tune with the real priorities of north county residents. Our issues are different and social justice and collaboration with big business are minor compared to our issues with water and the specter of wildfire. Church is the only one willing to press our county on existential threats. By that I mean changes which can make our homes either disappear from fire or lack of water. If you live in North County, this is very, very serious as it is possible to lose it all from lack of interest by government and everyone else. I don’t know if Glenn can solve it but at least he gets it. Russ Wilcox | via social media

None meet my criteria. Jeff Woods | via social media

Car Week Conversation

Given the impact that climate change is having on our coastal community, it is, in my view, antithetical to be hosting events like “Car Week” or anything else that increases carbon generation (“Carmel contemplates its Car Week future,” posted April 4). Instead, we should be hosting events that strive to have the smallest carbon footprint possible. Lisa Kleissner | Big Sur

I worked 30 years for a major California city as a civil and traffic engineer. I worked 17 of those years with a PD traffic enforcement unit and was in charge of city-wide “traffic calming” efforts. Unfortunately, too many times I saw a political tail wag the dog, which created a lot of unforeseen circumstances. Why? Because powers-that-be did not wish to be seen as a “police state.” I say let local enforcement agencies work with engineers to refine solutions – take advantage of lessons learned in 2019, as opposed to surrendering.

Car Week is an international event that generates lots of income for workers, businesses and governments, due in large part to thousands of hours of volunteer time. It also creates out-of-area repeat customers who fall in love with our county. Don’t give up on our history and legacy, make it better. Lawrence Moore | Prunedale

Bless you Pam for voicing the unthinkable. We detest car week, in fact, most years we leave town for two weeks, so Carmel’s revenue enhancement costs us airfare and lodging elsewhere. No, we do not rent our house out to entitled rich youknowwhats. Julie Quakenbush | Carmel

One thing I never see mentioned is the environmental impact of the show. After all, the cars are often brought here by myriad semi-trucks, and many of the cars are huge gas burners, given their vintage. The exponential increase in motor vehicles for that 10ish days is no small thing, especially given the drag racing that accompanies the cars, and the owners who like to stand around with the engines running just to preen.

In an area that has some of the best air quality around, how does all of that exhaust impact residents and wildlife? I think this is an important discussion point. Elizabeth Darovic | Monterey

Wine Time

It’s an amazing space that is welcoming (“A new wine shop in Carmel is drawing crowds even before its April 21 grand opening,” April 7-13) and the wine selection and service is superb! Monette Thiele | via social media