Alexander Valley Healthcare looking for board members
EDITOR: As an Alexander Valley Healthcare patient and volunteer board member, I know how much this vital organization does for its patients and to promote the health of the general population of Northern Sonoma County. I have been pleased with the professional care I and my family have received.
The AVH Board of Directors governs the organization and sets policy to the benefit of patients and community residents. Serving on the board does not require special education or experience in the medical field. It does require a couple hours of reading and meeting attendance, usually 3-4 hours per month. We currently seek to fill seats with individuals who are patients of the healthcare center. We also seek to retain/expand Hispanic membership so the Board closely reflects community demographics.
AVH es un lugar excelente y seguro para sus necesidades primarias de attencion médica. Nuestros residentes hispanos necesitan representación en el consejo directivo. Si usted puede ayudar a que su comunidad sea más saludable por favor llame.
If you are at least 21 years of age, would like to have a role in improving the healthcare of our community, if you are or will become an AVH patient, and if you are a minority please call 707 669-1811 to request a return call from me or our Board Chair, Paula Wrenn. We look forward to your calls and questions.
Janet Anguiano
AVH Board or Directors
Vice Chair
Cloverdale
The false choice
EDITOR: In response to Mr. Churchill and the no on SMART Train folks let me first suggest that they present a false choice. No longer are we voting for or against the train, since it is already in operation and enjoying increased ridership every year with a newly expanded service to the San Francisco ferry terminal. Instead our choice is merely to continue making this a viable alternative to the freeway or after spending tens of millions of dollars on the system to abandon it.
While we can make an argument that the cost estimates were flawed, to argue that mass transit is unnecessary would be ignoring 100 years of history. Even BART had its detractors initially, but soon became a lifesaver for thousands of commuters every day.
None of us could have predicted the worst recession in nearly a century. But in spite of this and many other obstacles we now have transit system that operates efficiently and provides an alternative to highly polluting auto transportation.
Don’t be fooled by the false choice of a train or no train. Our only choice now is do we continue to fund the existing train by refinancing the bonds with lower interest instruments or do we saddle it with a short-term high interest bond that ensures higher fares.
Mass transit has proven to be a low cost alternative to the automobile for over 150 years. With climate change it is even more imperative to look for alternatives to the automobile.
Don’t kill the most viable alternative before it has a chance to prove itself.
Vote for measure I and continue supporting a cleaner environment and a better quality of life for our Sonoma County citizens.
Steve Ineich
Healdsburg
Vote no on ‘massive tax’
EDITOR: Jason Boaz (fire chief) and two county supervisors, Lynda Hopkins and James Gore, presented to the city of Cloverdale council meeting on January 22, 2020. I’ve been reflecting on their plea for another round of tax increases over the past few weeks. My contemplation is informed by the loss of our family home during the Tubbs Fire and subsequent rebuilding of our lives in Cloverdale.
The presentation attempted to outline the rationale for another sales tax increase, a massive half-cent rise in perpetuity; not the typical quarter-cent rise with a sunset provision. This tax increase is in addition to another proposed tax for SMART, even though the current tax does not expire for nine years, and for which the trains are not slated to arrive in Cloverdale for years. Coupled with a proposed “Prop 13 tax” at the State level, our politicians seek to burden residents with another round of bailouts for a failed firefighting infrastructure.
I applaud the efforts to make the fire-fighting service more efficient through district consolidations, and during 2019 it proved beneficial. Having the governor step up and provide capital funds for more firefighting equipment and better tactics for fighting fires should continue to be supported. Projecting a $7 billion surplus for 2020 on top of the ongoing $3 billion annual surplus the state already enjoys, will make these efforts to proactively fight fires more efficient.
To date, there isn’t even an updated Emergency Response Plan (ERP) document. Cloverdale’s ERP is from the 1990s and earthquake centric, while Sonoma County’s ERP is from 2014 and outdated.
Consequently, I will vote no on the permanent sales tax increase, Measure G.
Robert Koslowsky
Cloverdale
