Lettersto the Editor 10.13.16

Pinnacle of Failure

I got out a month ago after they bounced my payroll taxes to both the feds and the state (“Monterey payroll firm leaves workers nationwide without pay,” posted Oct. 4). Took weeks to get it resolved and they were anything but transparent or responsive to my calls and emails. Eric Baggiolini | via Facebook

Oh wow. I moved my old company away from these guys last April because they were absolutely terrible. Wendy Barnett | via Facebook

Yikes! I hope he’s got good insurance coverage. Greg Hamer | via Facebook

In situations like this, nice guys lose. You got to go full-on hood to get paid first. Were it me, I would have the dude empty his pockets right there in the lobby. Then I’d come back with a truck for the furniture. You wait, he goes bankrupt, you lose out. Devin Podeszwa | via Facebook

The staff did everything that they could do when we came to the office today (“Monterey-based HR firm Pinnacle Workforce Solutions lays off entire staff,” posted Oct. 6). They are, of course, worried about their own jobs but they resolved immediate payroll issues for several companies today while I waited with my wife for her turn. There are still more concerns… it is not over… but the small remaining staff are doing what they can. Tom Noddy | via web

No excuse. Mary Ann Leffel | via Facebook

Editor’s note: Leffel is president of the Monterey County Business Council.

Kids’ Brains on Pesticides

As a special education teacher, I could have told you this (“Pesticide exposure during pregnancy shown to affect children’s IQ,” posted Oct. 5). JoHanna Hill | via Facebook

So while the CDPR has proposed a quarter-mile zone inside which pesticides cannot be used, this study shows it to be at least two-thirds of a mile, which generally means there should be a full mile between any fields that use pesticides and schools/residential areas. Joseph W. Borawski | via Facebook

Picking on P

Thank you so much for recommending No on Measure P (“The Weekly editorial board’s recommendations on how to vote on 20 ballot measures,” Oct. 6-12). As the chamber manager for 24 years, I respect your decision. What I struggled with is your recommendation to increase the business license tax and increase the hotel tax. My concern is that you reached this conclusion without any research or interviewing the business owners that will be impacted. I cannot tell you how much I value your opinion and hope you will reach out to the local small business owners before making such a recommendation. Moe Ammar | Pacific Grove

Drug Deals

Vote no on legal marijuana (“The Weekly editorial board’s recommendations on how to vote on 20 ballot measures,” Oct. 6-12). Don’t open the doors to more crime, drug addiction. My cousin was found in the gutter from a heroin overdose and it all started with the gateway drug marijuana. It’s not the safe drug people are making it out to be. It has cancer-causing chemicals, damages memory, brain development, etc. Rick Deal | via Facebook

Background Noise

Maybe a fancy (or hungry) accountant could run some numbers and prove that the performances at Sunset Center bring in huge numbers of diners who partake of Carmel restaurants and therefore contribute generously to the sales tax and employment (“Squid picks a soundtrack for negotiations between Carmel and Sunset Center,” posted Oct. 3). Kevin Herring | Prunedale

Whose War is it Anyway

The War on Women has taken a dangerous turn from a leftist catchphrase to a literal threat of violence toward our daughters and granddaughters. I write of the progression of the concept of drafting women into the military. I contacted both Jimmy Panetta and Casey Lucius; both are adamantly in support of drafting women.

Call me archaic, but I enjoin all those who share my belief that the security of women, the nurturers and childbearers, must be respected, to let their votes register their outrage. I intend to write in my own name on the ballot for the 20th congressional district. I encourage all those who recognize that this issue is critical to our society and civilization to do likewise. If enough people do this then it will become a strong political statement that cannot be ignored. Richard S. Hellam | Seaside

Some months ago I pondered aloud, and with mild alarm, that local Democratic leaders apparently believe Jimmy Panetta is the heir apparent because of the surname, but that they shouldn’t assume anything from this Democrat. Since then, his opponent boldly announced that she wouldn’t be voting for Donald Trump. So far so good. Unfortunately, she then said she might consider voting for Gary Johnson, who benefits from being only half as deranged and twice as goony as Mr. Trump. Mr. Johnson, appallingly, never heard of “Aleppo” and is unable to name a single contemporary world leader. For a Congressional candidate who touts her immense expertise in foreign affairs, I would expect Casey Lucius to swiftly call another press conference to declare her support for the only reasonable choice on the top of the ballot. Otherwise, in my mind, she’ll be just another kook trying to beat a Panetta. Joe Livernois | Monterey

Correction The Transportation Agency for Monterey County board voted 17-0 to put Measure X on the ballot, not 18-1 as reported in the Weekly’s endorsement of the measure (“Pot, death and taxes,” Oct. 6-12).