Letters to the Editor 1-16-14

Thanks from Rotary
Editor: In December Healdsburg Rotary held it’s 34th Annual Crab Feast & Auction (the Party of the Year). This is our biggest fund-raiser of the year, and again it was a huge success. Rotary was able to raise a significant amount of funds. Of course all of those funds go right back into the Healdsburg area community in support of schools, scholarships, healthcare, youth activities, the Healdsburg Senior Center, and many other worthwhile community agencies and non-profits. In addition, a portion of our proceeds go to Rotary International in support of the eradication of polio throughout the world.
This all happens because of the generosity of our donors and supporters. Accordingly we wish to thank all who were involved with this very successful event. Sincere thanks to our auction donors, sponsors, suppliers, volunteers, and of course special thanks to all who attended the event.
So … thank you, Healdsburg. You did great in support of the Crab Feast, and that support makes for a stronger community. You did it again and we greatly appreciate it.
We expect to see you all at the Annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday April 19.
The members of Healdsburg Rotary
Healdsburg
Neighbors
Editor: Having just read Neighbors by Shonnie Brown, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Warren and Janis Watkins are “new” neighbors having moved to Healdsburg in 2004. By their own admission as self proclaimed activists, had they arrived prior to 2004, one could argue that our town would look much different than it does today. Gone would be Hotel Healdsburg and Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen. Gone would be its sister hotel H2Hotel. Gone would be numerous shops and restaurants, many attracted by Healdsburg’s growing tourism industry. One might also conclude that the Watkins themselves might not have moved here in 2004, as there would be little to draw them to the old lumber town with several biker bars and gas stations.
While reading the article, I found it extremely distasteful that while they rejoiced in turning away the Kessler Collection and Saggio Hills with litigation, they proceeded to insult the citizens of Healdsburg. To say that the citizens of Healdsburg ‘swooned at the fast talking developer’ of Saggio Hills, and that our ignorance was our peril, is a direct insult to us Healdsburg old neighbors that supported the project. I find it interesting that they discuss saving the ‘view shed’ of the Northern gateway to Healdsburg, while never once raising a litigious eyebrow to the sea of corrugated metal roof tops of the storage facility that erected at the same time in our much used Southern gateway.
In summary, our new neighbors Warren and Janis Watkins do not represent all of Healdsburg. I like our hotels, our restaurants, and I enjoy our thriving town. Healdsburg has embraced many cultures, attracted enterprise, and is a destination location. As such, Healdsburg has the ability to fund many programs such as affordable housing, schools, and our hospitals. Yes, I am glad they stayed away until 2004, or Healdsburg could look a lot different than it does today.
June Snowden
Healdsburg
Smoking
Editor: We applaud the Healdsburg City Council for taking up the issue of smoking and tobacco use. Specifically, we support a discussion about raising the age at which young adults can buy tobacco products, from age 18 to 21. Dr. David Anderson, a longtime advocate for curtailing tobacco use, brought this issue to the City Council’s attention in November, and we were gratified that a majority of the Council expressed interest in the issue. We recognize that a careful discussion is in order, to make sure the city conforms to state law, but we believe that leadership on this issue is crucial. At our community clinics in Healdsburg and Windsor, we see firsthand the destructive effects of smoking on all ages, and we’ve been told by patients how difficult it is to quit, given the addictive qualities of nicotine. The top four causes of death in this country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are all exacerbated by tobacco use. Heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease and stroke risks can all be lowered dramatically by avoiding tobacco products. The American Lung Association notes that 85 percent of adults who smoke began before they were 21. We understand that a determined smoker who can’t buy tobacco products in Healdsburg can drive to another community, but we believe the messages we send about health are important, and that taking a stand matters. We encourage anyone in the community who wants to quit tobacco to get help from their medical professional. You can save your life.
The board and management at Alliance Medical Center
Healdsburg
Health insurance
Editor: Your front-page story last week emphasized how “confusing” signing up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act can be. While that may have been the case for some, the experience in our family was the opposite. We found that it was far less confusing to enroll in Covered California, than it was to buy health insurance on the open market, which we had to do last year when our Cal-Cobra ran out.  
With Covered California I created an account, filled in basic information, stated income for each family member, and picked a family insurance plan within 20 minutes. Covered California emailed a confirmation; I called the insurance company and paid the premium on January 6.
Contrast that experience with what we had to go through under the old system. To begin with, when it comes to “confusion” comparing insurance offerings was the essence of confusion. The variety of lifetime caps, of procedures covered or not, and deductibles and co-pays, etc, made it impossible for the buyer to compare. Under the ACA we are comparing like plans to like plans.  
When it comes to tedium and hours invested in applications, nothing in the ACA comes remotely close.  Last year I filled out five separate applications for each family member. Each application was 24 pages long. Each one asked endless questions about each and every encounter with the health care system in the last five to 10 years, depending.
Then came the processing, equally as time consuming. Just keeping track of the progress of each application was an adventure in insurance company bureaucracy. On top of that, the company claimed to have lost two of the applications, so I had to fill out two replacements.
For anyone who is confused about the ACA, I recommend calling the county department of  Human Services at  565-5800. I found the people who took my calls to be reliable, helpful, and courteous and the wait times were short. The county also has a helpful web page at www.sonoma-county.org/healthcarereform/.
Deborah Dobish
Sebastopol