Letters to the Editor 04.24.25

Fee Forward

I’m a landlord and these “administrative fees” should be covered as part of your “business” of being a landlord not charged to a tenant (“A new law requires landlords to be upfront about charges and limits certain tenant fees,” April 3-9). It’s the cost of doing business. I understand applicant fees as it includes running credit checks, etc. but fees to draw up the lease… come on, that’s ridiculous. The property management company is already getting a flat monthly fee or percentage of the rent charged. — Shannan Watkins | via social media

It also shouldn’t take 30 hours. It is usually a boiler plate document that they make a few changes to. — Eliza Jaros | Salinas

If you’re going to make a profit from a basic human need, planning your costs and absorbing them is part of that business model. — Nona Childress | Salinas

I had to leave the area a year ago. The house I rented was sold, they told us we could stay if we could afford the new price after refinishing, of $4,000 a month. We had been paying $1,750. We couldn’t afford all the move-in costs elsewhere in Monterey. We decided if we had to go in debt to move (we did) and move so far inland that we could no longer readily see the water, we may as well move home where rent is one-third of what it is in Monterey, and where our landlord doesn’t lie to us about returning any of our deposit or honoring a promise to help with moving costs if we would leave before closing. — Jan Brown Lane | via social media

Strike a Balance

It is feasible to build low-impact housing that won’t negatively impact the wildlife corridors, which is utilized primarily in the night by those critters (“After 24 years, a controversial Harper Canyon subdivision comes back for a vote,” April 10-16). However, this would place serious restrictions on the kind of housing to be built, and the access roads. I-80, for example, utilizes large “bridges” for wildlife to travel over the freeway. Similar construction might be required for the roadways this will entail. We should probably have some of those over Highway 68 and elsewhere, which would be a boon to the construction industry, and leave less roadkill and fewer damaged vehicles. Indeed, we even need wildlife corridors traversing the Salinas Valley! — Walter Wagner | Salinas

Before we add to the problem, I’d love to see a real solution for the extreme backups on Highway 68 during commute hours. It gets worse every year. What used to be a 30-minute commute can now take up to an hour and 30 minutes. — Joaquin Turner | via social media

Seems like an awfully flammable place to be building homes. — Sam Winter | via social media

Slow Build

Very well done – a good summary of why our housing costs are out of reach for the average family (“Development is a long, slow road – and recent projects in Monterey County are examples of it,” posted April 19). — Ben Heinrich | via email

Rolling On

Great news and good work Todd Clark! (“A federal judge rules the handcars in Marina can remain operating indefinitely,” posted April 17. — Alex Stewart | via social media

Good for him. There’s plenty of room on the current freeway right of way to add a bus lane if the empty buses really need their own lane. — Pat Camara | via social media

What is the point of making a bus lane from Marina to Seaside? More power to these guys for utilizing the tracks for entertainment! — Phil Carroll | via social media

Down the Drain

May not look like a lot, but with everything going up this is gonna hurt people (“Salinas City Council prepares to vote on sewer rate increases, potentially tripling rates,” April 17-23). People are already feeling the squeeze. — Amanda Castro | via social media

Politics and People

I believe that you have confused liberal with progressive (“The Monterey County Democrats vacated their office in Seaside, and Progressives moved in,” April 10-16). The last administration was not progressive. The progressive leadership is currently on the road, attracting thousands of supporters. These supporters have also been disenfranchised and are ready for change too. I just hope the Democratic Party is watching and learning because this is part of the lesson. — Colleen Ingram | Pacific Grove

A living Legacy

Thank you for reminding us of the tragic deaths of so many bracero farmworkers at Chualar (“A stunning new mural in Chualar captures the beautiful, painful legacy of bracero farmworkers,” April 17-23).

As you recount, Juan Martinez placed the wooden cross at the site of the accident, as part of his many years reminding us of this historic event and its importance to our local farmworker community.

In partnership with the late activist Gary Karnes, Juan established a memorial of this poignant Monterey County history and other local events in a collection of artifacts gathered in their People’s Oral History Project. It has been temporarily hosted by the Monterey County Historical Society. Juan and Gary both wished that it would find a permanent and appropriate home in the old county jail in Salinas, where it would serve as a crucial civil history lesson to all of us. — Heidi Feldman | Pacific Grove

Spread Your Wings

One of the new hotels should take it and place it inside (“A developer wants to find a home for a stained glass window in Pacific Grove, but there are no takers, so far,” posted April 15). — Roxane Viray | via social media

How about making it a freestanding art installation rather than find a building window to put it into, which limits the options greatly? It could go in one of our parks or other public spaces. — Beth Kuperman | via social media