It’s a conversation
EDITOR: Moving most of the heft of the paper to the website is a mistake. The reason should be obvious. The Trib has not just been news, in fact most of the coverage isn’t really news, since we heard about a lot of stuff through gossip or the PD, so much as reaction to news. The Trib, before its modernization, has been a bulletin board of events and options.
I loved the coverage of the one-way street to the post office, or the back and forth about housing. That’s the point, the paper has been a place for an ongoing and very public conversation. When I submitted my letter to the editor I had a reasonable expectation that a fair number of locals would read it and weigh in if it struck a chord. Don’t get me wrong, I think the way the website has been designed and curated is excellent but it can’t hold a candle to the notion that I will see this short paragraph in the paper next week and maybe get some support in the next edition for the idea that our Tribune is where we, all of us, meet to exchange ideas and feelings.
Jay Beckwith, Healdsburg
Measure V priorities
EDITOR: In response to the City of Healdsburg’s questionnaire regarding the spending of Measure V funds: Fix the roads first. Everything else has taken precedence for far too long. Do this first. Do it properly. Many of our streets need to be completely repaved, from the base up. Don’t use recycled rubber tire stuff. Do it correctly and completely. No more half fixes. There are way too many streets in town that must be navigated from side to side to avoid potholes that are big enough to swallow a Volkswagen Bug. Start with the worst and work your way toward the not-so-bad.
From appearances, there seems to be no reasonable standards enforced for partial repave. A recent example: PG&E dug a trench from Sunnyvale across Poppy Hill to replace some piping. That patch has already (in a couple of months) subsided far enough for tires to thump down into it. This thumpage will just continue to degrade the patch and it will spread, compromising the edges of the original trench and widening the damaged area. All of our streets need to be fixed properly in all applications.
As for the other categories offered for choice on this questionnaire:
Public Safety is always in need of more staffing. Right now, we meet minimums. Our biggest law enforcement issues seem to be drunk driving and exceeding parking time limits. It would seem our police department is currently meeting the needs. Our Fire Department responds to calls with multiple units, often with mutual response units from adjacent communities. We seem to be more than meeting the needs for public safety.
Economic development programs to entice and retain businesses? How about providing decent streets so existing businesses won’t have to apologize to customers and suppliers alike for the bone rattling, equipment damaging thoroughfares?
City Facilities: City building deficiencies and repairs should be part of the annual budget. They should not be foisted off on a special tax fund, just as the roadways should have been all along. Now, repair requires using Measure V types of funds because past budget funds have not been allocated properly in the first place. Once we get the streets fixed, continued maintenance should be in the city budget every year. City street replacement and repair funds should not be able to be tapped for any other perceived need.
As for Miscellaneous – Good grief, Charlie Brown. We have needs. Use the money for those needs, not wishes. Our greatest need right now is correcting the deplorable condition of our roads. The things listed under “miscellaneous” are lovely wishes. Until our roads are properly fixed and maintained, these wishes must be way down on the priority list.
Carole Chapman, Healdsburg
Value of holding source of information
EDITOR: I’m not against change (well not all) but need to take exception with the town paper. Some of my fondest memories are of my children picking up the paper or a magazine to read an article. No need for a new reader to commit to a book, just one article at a time. Local news, world news, personal stories. They were all available. There is a time to have your nose stuck in a screen and yet another to learn the value of holding, touching, carrying with you a source of information and imagination, something to save to give to a friend or family member. Usually followed by a lively discussion at the dinner table. Our kids need written material as much as we do.
Pamela Gilmore, Healdsburg
Get it back the way it was
EDITOR: I’d like add my voice, and that of several other folks, to the protest of what has happened to the Tribune. I happen to be in the middle of teaching a computer class at the senior center and the Trib was discussed last week. It was unanimous. Nobody in the class likes the cut down version. We’re dealing with folks who have very little, if any, technology knowledge. Looking for their newspaper on the internet is more than most of them can handle. Another person I was talking with, who is not an internet novice, did try to sign on and couldn’t navigate to where he thought he wanted to be. Think of all of the seniors in Healdsburg who don’t even have computers.
As for me, I am a retired technology consultant, and yet I like my hard copy newspaper. If it’s an economic thing, I’d be willing to pay more to get it back to the way it was. I suspect that I’m not alone in this. Please consider an alternative to the current state of the “new” Tribune.
Al Loebel, Healdsburg
Opposed to events on Fitch
EDITOR: My wife and I are residents on north Fitch Mountain and are seriously opposed to allowing large events from occurring at the summit of the mountain. The impact of these events will transform a serene and sacred experience to one of commercial and disruptive impact. More than ever, we need to protect and maintain places where we can experience wilderness and nature, free of events like these. We hope the city council will reconsider and refuse to allow these large events on the mountain summit. There are already venues that can be accessed without impacting the sacredness of the mountain.
Steve Lyman, Healdsburg
Pristine area threatened
EDITOR: I am writing to voice my objection to the city’s plan to include a Park Improvement Area #2 as part of the Fitch Mountain Open Space Preserve Management Plan. This is a beautiful area appropriately enjoyed by all, but not appropriately turned into a wedding and celebration venue. This cannot further the natural beauty and preserve anything – instead the area will be overrun by cars and caterers and the like. This is a small pristine area now being threatened to being turned into a commercial venue. We have enough commercial venues in this world, and not enough protected natural space. Let’s keep Fitch Mountain the beautiful place that it is now.
Alice Akawie, Healdsburg
