In support of the SMART Train
EDITOR: My family has lived in Sonoma and Marin counties for over 100 years. We commute daily, within and across county lines, or to our jobs in San Francisco. We understand that a no vote on Measure I — a vote against the SMART train — directly punishes the thousands of riders who have regained some sanity by not being in the car three hours a day.
Teachers and students who get to school on time without the stress of getting caught in traffic are of particular interest to me as an employer, but also nurses, lawyers, technicians, people who care for our elders, Marin Subaru employees … I could go on, but everyone knows someone who has directly or indirectly benefited from the train. If you think you don’t, you’re not paying attention to the workforce that our region depends on.
I have wondered why a rich land developer would commit a million dollars to kill the train. Are they truly worried about all of our tax burden as they claim? I mean, even if they were concerned about the additional cost of a new Range Rover, we’re talking $250.
No, I believe that the opposition to public transportation and the extension of a tax to support it is actually the latest incarnation of red-lining. If political will ever prevails and affordable housing is required to be located near transit lanes, developers who depend on scarcity of real estate inventory and megamansions for their profits and wealth would be highly motivated to eliminate the trigger — the train.
I want no part of this attitude and behavior in the counties I’ve lived and worked in all my life. We are already facing unprecedented tragedies, such as wildfires that are directly attributable to climate change. Will we willfully snub the SMART solution to both challenges — adequate housing and green transportation — to save a quarter on every $100 we spend?
I would rather be able to say to my grandchildren, “I did something. I rode SMART. I voted yes on Measure I.”
Elizabeth Schott
Sebastopol
Angels of the trail
EDITOR: The article on the “angels” of the Joe Rodota Trail was so inspiring. I used to go often to New York City and, at that time, there were a lot of homeless (probably still are). I talked to a man, homeless and singing beautifully on a street corner. I stopped and listened. At the time I had no money with me and couldn’t help him out in that way. He said that one of the worst aspects of being homeless was that most people would not even look at him and at his cohort. To be invisible was awful.
These women that you write of in your article (and such a well-written article) are doing this very thing and more. Thank them and thank you.
Ann Grant
Sebastopol
Never say his name
EDITOR: I am really upset with what 45th is doing to the environmental protections we have established through decades of scientific studies and lawsuits against corporations that have harmed people through their irresponsible acts. His actions will result in shorter life spans for all of us and most especially the poor.
I worked for an environmental consulting firm and a natural history museum during my career as a librarian. I worked closely with scientists, and I interviewed people whose community had been polluted by the illegal dumping of hazardous materials on a farm in their midst. I am familiar with superfund sites made up of mounds of hazardous substances left behind by corporations that declared bankruptcy, leaving it up to taxpayers to clean up their messes. Corporations must be regulated, because experience shows they will not self-regulate. They prefer to leave their messes behind for others to clean up.
I am sick of 45th’s blatant disregard for human life by allowing corporations to run rough-shod over my right to safety and health in my own backyard, in the air I breath, in the water I drink and in the public spaces that were set aside for all of us to enjoy. I am sick of it. Save NEPA, the Migratory Bird Act, and all that we have worked so hard for for many generations now.
Eileen Mathias
Sebastopol
