Letters to the Editor 3-3-16

Thank you, Rollie
EDITOR: A Feb. 17, 2016 letter to the editor responding to an article discussing the financial viability of the SWMC hospital questions the journalistic integrity and legitimacy of the author, Rollie Atkinson, as well as the power of the press.
Rollie’s responding editorial, “A Healthy Opinion,” verifies the reports accuracy and historical perspective. It is also very telling of who he is as a journalist.
In his editorial, “Power of the Press,” published Oct. 7, 2015 in Sonoma West Times and News, Rollie discusses the importance of newpapers and the public who read them as well as the journalists responsibilities. I think the summation of his editorial says it all.
“Real power of the press is derived from restraint and with professionalism. It requires a special intelligence to decipher bullshit without stepping in it.”
Enough said. Thank you, Rollie.
Jeanette Dillman, RN, FNP
Guerneville
One more point
EDITOR: Although Lynda Hopkins managed to do a good job clarifying the points she addressed in her letter, she left me wondering about another point that she brought up.
She said she’s running for office because of a land use issue that arose in the summer showed her just how broken our government is. As a voter in the fifth district I’d like to know what government policy she found so repulsive as to motivate her to run when, in the spring, by her own admission, she “had never even considered running for elected office.”
Emil Bacilla
Sebastopol
Friendship not fear
EDITOR: An alarming wave of Islamophobia is sweeping our nation. It has taken the form of hate crimes, profiling and verbal attacks. Increasingly inflammatory political rhetoric has included calls for internment camps and halting the resettlement of Muslim refugees who are fleeing war and terror.
As people of many faith backgrounds living and worshiping in Sonoma County, we, the undersigned, are committed to working for justice, equality, inclusion and safety for all the members of our community. We are keenly aware that the scapegoating of religious minorities has never ended well —in this country or elsewhere — and we do not want to see it in our county or under our watch.
We call on this community to oppose and reject Islamophobia in all its forms. We will not be silent or indifferent. We call on all people of good conscience to stand up for peaceful coexistence. We call on this community to extend the hand of friendship to our Muslim neighbors so they know they do not face this challenging time alone.
Kaz  Jabbari
Interfaith Council of Sonoma County
Once again
EDITOR: Once again we have a new vineyard/winery submitting an application in our residential neighborhood and next to schools and a cemetery. Is there no end to these continuous applications? People live here and we pay hefty property taxes, so why doesn’t the county officials hear our voice? We don’t want any more wineries and vineyards in our neighborhoods poisoning our children, ruining our trails and peaceful lives. And West County residents are also fed up of being portrayed as a bunch of pot smoking hippies. We are a very diverse population; we are mostly average families trying to protect our children, landscapes and mellow lifestyle. So our message is loud and clear: we will not allow for any more encroachment of the wine industry into our neighborhoods and least of all near our schools and beloved trails.
Jacqueline Schael
Sebastopol
Pleasant
EDITOR: Each day, I drive to work as a teacher in Petaluma, along beautiful rural roads beginning with Pleasant Hill Road in Sebastopol. Over the past year, I noticed the welcome, open country look changing, as fence after fence was constructed around fields of trees and vines. Who are they trying to keep out, I wondered? And how will the deer manage if the only right of way is the road? But I let it go.
Then, recently the same unpleasant fences were now festooned with huge, bright red signs, shouting at me. My idyllic drive is now an eyesore. Is this really a more rural look than a transparent, and harmless radio tower, that will be situated near an already-ugly water tower?
A community radio station deserves our support, not our antagonism. Let’s thank KOWS volunteers for keeping the station afloat. Let the tower be built, and restore Pleasant Hill back to its name: Pleasant.
Laura Duggan
Sebastopol