Letters to the Editor 07.13.17

Water, Rated

Yup, we did such a good job conserving water that it ate into their profits (“A survey shows Monterey Peninsula’s might be the most expensive water in the country,” July 6-12). So now we get to pay more for less water. Amanda Roberts | via Facebook

My bill went from $79 to $205. Cathy Roscelli-Pryor | via Facebook

So tired of being fleeced. Hetty Keaton Yelland | via Facebook

The Peninsula might have the highest water rates in the nation? We do have the highest water rates and we are just getting started. Current rates do not reflect Cal Am’s recent request for a 22-percent rate increase over the next three years, nor the additional cost of major capital improvements. Kick Cal Am out. Let’s go public and get back to sanity! Michael Baer | Monterey

Thank goodness we voted down public water. Otherwise, those Cal Am officials might have missed their next yacht payment. Todd Strauss | via Facebook

How else will the poor executives and CEO get their millions? They are nothing more than a profit-driven, mega-corporation. Period. NYSE: AWK. Tom DeBiase | via Facebook

New Wiring

This is an important issue, because fake contractors are ripping people off left and right (“Monterey home serves as a trap for 19 unlicensed contractors in sting operation,” posted June 30). And it hurts REAL contractors, like my husband, because it undercuts their business. I’m happy to hear that the authorities are working to catch these guys before they rip more people off. Lauren McPherson | via Facebook

It’s funny how people think this is a victimless crime or that they’re “cracking down on good hardworking people who can’t afford a business license.” A business license is $400. If you can’t afford that, or the requirements to be licensed, you probably can’t afford materials or to run a legit contracting business. It’s not a victimless crime when people have homes that are wired incorrectly, aren’t up to code, or left unfinished. This isn’t Big Brother or red-tape bureaucracy, this is a real issue. Brian Blueskye | Palm Springs

You wouldn’t want to buy a place built by people who don’t know what they are doing. You could lose a ton of money or someone could be hurt or even killed by the shoddy workmanship. It doesn’t seem like a pressing problem until there’s a big catastrophe – and that might not happen for years, and by then the “contractor” has moved on. Andrew Radcliffe | via Facebook

Biker Battle

There is a problem with this little “adventure.” It is illegal (“A mountain biking trip in the Big Sur backcountry turns into a creek-soaked crucible,” July 6-12). Check your U.S. Forest Service regs. Mountain biking is a growing sport. Riding is permitted only on designated forest roads and trails. Riding is not permitted inside designated wilderness areas and some “front country” trails. From the gate, down to the creek all the way down to the highway is the Silver Peak Wilderness area. Please don’t be advising others to take this road. And further, the Kinder Mine is owned by a friend of mine; is not abandoned. He hikes in.Kate Novoa | Big Sur

Monterey County is blessed with an abundance of public lands. Regional, county and state parks offer easy access for human-centric recreation. BLM, the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service hinterlands offer many uses, but within these federal boundaries is a special designation – wilderness. The Wilderness Act of 1964 was established to protect wild places “where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man.” The Act permits recreational use, but prohibits “mechanical transport.” Wilderness areas (less than 5 percent of U.S. landmass) are places where we’ve agreed to practice restraint and prioritize wild nature. As an avid outdoor recreationist, it’s an honor to lock my bike at wilderness trailheads and enter quietly, slowly, on foot. It’s also the law. Consequently, I was flabbergasted to read the Weekly’s account of a “creek-soaked crucible” involving mountainbike trespass in the Silver Peak Wilderness. Thank you for setting the record straight and discouraging further wilderness incursions. Mike Splain | Bonny Doon

Editor’s note: Splain is executive director of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance.

Healthy Hotels

This is wonderful! (“Hospitality industry bands together to offer health insurance to its workforce,” July 6-12.) I have so many friends in the hospitality industry and because their work is physical, many have health and injury issues. How interesting that this sector of our business community is also responsive to the housing crisis and is building some of the only new affordable housing on the Peninsula.

On the other hand, this could be one way to avoid the unionization of their employees, something I read recently that was avoided at Kodak. The employees had such a good deal (while George Eastman ran the company) that they weren’t interested in unionizing. Leigh Fitz | Monterey

Sip of the Slurpee

Oh, come on… one of your rules is “be nice” (“Squid sips Slurpees with the Monterey police,” posted July 3). The intent behind the Slurpees is a wonderful one, and an admirable one. How about giving suggestions, if you disagree with how they are doing it (in a nice way)? Leslie Bruhn | Salinas