Letters to the Editor 12.22.22

Rights On

Thank you, Weekly, for being a stalwart supporter of women’s reproductive rights (“After Roe v. Wade was overturned, California is now a destination for those seeking abortions. Here’s how the landscape of abortion access is changing,” Dec. 15-21).

In the past year since the overturning of Roe, we’ve participated in local marches, demonstrating strength for access to health care. We urge like-minded readers to consider making donations to Planned Parenthood. We also give to two worthy organization that assist those in red states to travel safely to states that have not blocked access: The Brigid Alliance (info@brigidalliance.com) and Elevated Access (elevatedaccess.org). Michael Lojkovic and Sarah Matterson | Monterey

Down the Drain

The California Public Utilities Commission was created to curb the excesses of the railroad barons. Now, we have a water baron whose exploitation of us ratepayers is every bit as outrageous (“Cal Am uses rate structure to hold recycled water project hostage,” Dec. 15-21).

Cal Am’s latest refusal to sign the Pure Water Monterey expansion agreement is especially infuriating coming right after Cal Am told the California Coastal Commission water is so urgently needed that the Commission should approve Cal Am’s permit for its too-big, too-expensive, desal project.

The expansion would provide water at a fraction of the cost of Cal Am’s bloated desal plan. Yet, Cal Am is again stalling the expansion so that Cal Am can further gouge us ratepayers.

This is just the kind of irresponsible, predatory conduct that led to the creation of the CPUC. It is high time the CPUC put its foot down as regulators and require Cal Am to sign the agreement immediately. No more delays! And, it should not allow Cal Am to collect any more money from ratepayers for signing this agreement. Barbara Moore | Monterey

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Thank you for covering the current water situation. Cal Am stood in front of the Coastal Commission last month and promised to sign that water purchase agreement. Now we see how truthful they are. And Monterey One Water has secured grants that are waiting on this agreement that may be jeopardy and could lift the moratorium.

That desal plant won’t be built for some time. No, they will twist the arm of the CPUC to get even more money. They should not be rewarded for bullying behavior. This shows their lack of commitment to getting off illegal pumping on Carmel River and their bad-faith negotiating tactics. Susan Schiavone | Seaside

Smoke-Filled Rooms

I’ve been waiting for this to come up in discussion. It’s a great idea, and the revenue potential could be substantial (“As the cannabis industry faces challenging times, county looks to legalize smoking lounges,” Dec. 8-14). There are still a lot of vacant business properties throughout the county, and this provides a way to fill some of them.

Couple that with the potential tourist-based income, and it seems worth discussing.

I’m not naive though. Just like I wish our bartenders would do a better job, as an industry, to curb drunkenness, I hope we will do the same with cannabis. We’ve proven as a culture that we can’t police ourselves. I’d hate to see statistics increase for accidents, vehicle fatalities, etc., because of it. Thomas Gray | Salinas

Park-n-Shop

I wish the powers that be in Pacific Grove would put more energy into filling up the empty storefronts. I was in town 10 days before Christmas and found plenty of parking, but sadly just a few stores to shop in (“Outdoor dining is at risk in Pacific Grove after the Planning Commission suggests strict rules,” Dec. 15-21). Anna Bonsignore Mitchell | Marina

Taco Time

Thanks for covering this local business that helps our community grow and also for covering Estrada’s story and the ways cooking can help people (“David Estrada’s food truck starts with tortillas,” Nov. 10-16).

The highlighting of local restaurants that help enrich communities, especially those that offer healthy alternatives, is really important. More coverage on food spots in other cities and towns that offer healthy dishes would be great and could really benefit communities. I’ll be sure to check Sabor Latin Fusion out some time! H. Gonzalez Plasencia | Castroville

Whose Home?

Ned Resnikoff’s article refers to Houston’s housing policy for remedying the problem of homelessness (“What California can learn from Houston, Texas when it comes to building enough housing,” Dec. 8-14). It does seem to be a policy worthy of serious consideration in California. The article states, “Our cities can accommodate millions more residents… ”

That brought to mind a critical issue that is not given nearly enough consideration and is even ignored, not that Resnikoff’s article about remedying homelessness was the place to do it. The issue is that accommodating an increasing human population means the continued degradation of our planet and the lives of its non-human creatures. Accommodating more human beings requires more than providing physical space for them. The planet’s resources must be diverted to them: water, lumber, resources to make roads and highways, electronics, schools, provide medical care, sustaining increased food production, and so on.

The lives of animals as well as the plant life they depend on are severely disrupted and ruined by the requirements of the human population. The unspoken and unacknowledged belief that every human being takes precedence over every other creature on Earth will never be changed, but the critical issue of the unavoidable degradation of our planet and the lives of all of its creatures by an increasing human population should be a topic of public discussion and political policy. Joseph Petrini | Salinas