Letters to the Editor 12-4-14

No nice hotels?
Editor: Hospitality Group CEO Tom Harmon, who wants to create a 62-room hotel at the Barlow, sure needs a lesson in how to make friends in our community. Telling your reporter “Sebastopol needs a nice hotel…. There are virtually no nice hotels in the area.” is an insult to Kirk Lock and Mark Stevens who developed the Fairfield Inn and Suites and the Sebastopol Inn. According to Hotels.com, these lodgings are both rated 4.5 on a scale of 5 by their customers.
Based on the properties Mr. Harmon owns in Sonoma, Calistoga and Yountville, he caters to people who can afford $300 or more per night for a short stay. Perhaps he meant to say there are no upscale accommodations in or near Sebastopol. If so, he could have said so and not implied we have no nice places for the majority of people to stay overnight.
Steve Beck
Sebastopol
Safety for the holidays
Editor: In the days following Thanksgiving, many families will begin the festive tradition of lighting their homes and businesses for the holiday season. To ensure that lights bring joy rather than fire, injury or electric shocks, PG&E recommends that customers follow a few simple safety tips:
• Avoid electric hazards. Before climbing ladders to string outdoor lights, check for overhead power lines nearby, especially in trees. Contact can be fatal.
• Prevent fire hazards. Avoid overloading extension cords and wall sockets by limiting the number of light strings you connect. Inspect holiday lights for frayed wires, broken sockets or other signs of wear. Don’t place cords under rugs or furniture where they can overheat. Turn off decorative lights, indoors and outdoors, when leaving home or going to bed.
• Go LED. Light-emitting diodes are shatterproof and produce almost no heat, making them safe to touch and greatly reducing the risk of fire. As an added bonus, they consume 75 percent less energy and last up to 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs, helping you save money this holiday season.
Have a happy — and safe — holiday season.
John Ghigliazza
Sonoma Division Manager, PG&E