Letters to the Editor August 18, 2022

Deep Well

Thank you for covering this (“Pumping of the deep aquifer, which holds ancient water, has intensified in recent years. And it’s bad,” Aug. 11-17). Science is science, hydrography is hydrography, geology is geology. Big Ag, elected officials across Monterey County, and citizens on either side of the Lettuce Curtain wish to make this an ideological and political issue… which it is, but only in an extremely short-sighted way. Kent Glenzer | Monterey

The excellent article by David Schmalz doesn’t mention that the increased pumping of the deep aquifer speeded up when the Board of Supervisors failed to renew its moratorium on new wells in the deep aquifer in May 2020. Once the moratorium expired, ag interests immediately started drilling more new wells. The Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency also has the power to halt new wells but it has done nothing.

The SVBGSA’s own plan for the 180/400 foot aquifer subbasin requires that its board take such action and not allow pumping until the deep aquifer study is completed.

The mechanisms exist to halt pumping. However, the SVBGSA has a supermajority of ag members and will not act. Hopefully the Board of Supervisors will renew the moratorium when the balance of power shifts after the November election. Meanwhile, the unchecked pumping continues. Beverly Bean | Corral de Tierra

~ ~ ~

Misuse of poorly directed water onto crops has been observed many times by myself and others for years throughout the Salinas Valley. Sprinklers that are misdirected onto roadways, due to improper placement or wind conditions, contribute to the problem. This is also a public relations issue, when trying to convince others to conserve.

Since the agricultural industry uses approximately 90 percent of the groundwater in the Salinas Valley, they need to fulfill previous promises of using less water by using drip irrigation and proper sensor technology, as well as proper management of older sprinkler technology. Steve Kennedy | Salinas

Essentially, the farmers drafting from the 900-foot aquifer are taking water not only from below their land, but from neighbors who don’t draw from it, depleting the neighbors’ opportunity. There should be rules established as to how much one can draw, and certainly rules to prevent saltwater intrusion. Perhaps it should be recharged with winter runoff (if we ever get that again). Walter Wagner | via email

Power Player

I found your cover story on Assemblymember Robert Rivas and his ambition to become the next speaker quite informative (“Assemblymember Robert Rivas is confident he will become the next speaker. Can he hold on?” Aug. 11-17). He has accomplished much. It’s a plus, in my opinion, to have someone come from such distinguished yet impoverished roots. Sounds like Robert was “raised right.”

However, I don’t understand why his wife, Christen, has been “attacked.” Is it because she’s married to Rivas, or because she’s a pro-life Republican? One could infer that the slings emanate from the base of current Speaker Anthony Rendon, which, if true, is distasteful and mean.

Best of luck to Rivas, and I hope he attains the speakership. It would be a boon to our Central Coast. Michael Lojkovic | Monterey

Shop Talk

Wonderful article (“Dodi Khalil’s eclectic dealership is an international sensation and a Car Week destination,” Aug. 11-17).

My Dodi story: When I moved to the Peninsula a little over five years ago, my womanfriend couldn’t get into her garage because it was packed with her late husband’s woodworking tools and an incomplete vintage 230 SL restoration that he had been working on. On a whim we stopped in at Dodi’s. I told him what she had, he made an acceptable offer, sight unseen. Two hours later the car was on Dodi’s trailer headed down the road.

When we opened the garage door, Dodi saw the tools. He made another acceptable offer and returned the following weekend to load his trailer and take it all away. Dodi is a hustler of the first order… it seemed somehow ironic that Dodi paid her to clean out her garage! Gerald Kergan | Seaside

Traffic Jam

Sigh. I hope there are continuing improvements in traffic impacts (“Monterey County’s event tracker serves an added purpose: helping dodge Car Week traffic,” Aug. 11-17). Perhaps then when promoters suggest that people can avoid traffic with or without an app I won’t find it so freaking annoying. Right now, I am exceedingly worried about how the wonderful people who help us take care of our parents in Carmel Valley will be able to get to and from work next week. The timing, origin and destination are fixed. There are only two possible routes they can take.

Regardless of how one feels about Car Week per se, seriously addressing these real-life concerns needs to be a larger part of the equation. Martha Diehl | Big Sur

Bite Down

Wow! So glad to hear this ended well (“Paddle boarder and his dog escape a shark bite at Lovers Point,” posted Aug. 10). Rachel Youngblood | via social media

Amazing luck. Stephen Barkalow | Monterey

Art Imitates Life

I attended the stunning performance by Jane Press (“The one-woman show The Testament of Mary is a lovely treat for audiences,” posted Aug. 12). In her one-woman performance, Press commands the stage from beginning to end and gives the audience a human and in-depth portrayal of a grieving mother reflecting on events that led up to her being a witness to her son’s tragic fate. This is a compelling theater experience and I highly recommend this production. Harriet Lynn | Carmel