Letters to the Editor 10-9-14

‘Jingoism’ won’t help
Editor: I want to congratulate John Eder for clearly articulating the issues surrounding Palm Drive Hospital (“Open Our Hospital,” Oct. 2).
There is no place for jingoism when it comes to approaching the complexities of the fiscal issues facing Palm Drive Hospital. While “Open Our Hospital” is an admirable goal, we must take the emotion out of the equation. The only way to successfully re-open the hospital is to be grounded in the cold hard facts of the fiscal nightmare that Palm Drive Hospital currently finds itself in.
We certainly can all agree that the absolute worst outcome would be for the hospital to somehow re-open and then fall into bankruptcy yet again.
As responsible citizens and voters, we must elect board members who are willing to take a realistic approach to the fiscal realities of the hospital even if that means the hospital remains closed. Let the board prove to us that there is solid financial plan in place before a decision is made.
We can certainly hope that there is a path to re-open the hospital, but the decision must be based on what is realistically possible, not on wishful thinking.
Michael Bell
Sebastopol
Jim Horn for Palm Drive
Editor: Voting can be an ambivalent process. It seems like you never get to cast a positive vote. In this election, I see one candidate who’s a positive choice for me and am voting Jim Horn for Palm Drive Health Care District Board.
As a local businessman, resident of the Health Care District and member of the General Plan Advisory Committee — which I do not represent in this letter — I am very active in the community and concerned with some of the issues surrounding the potential reopening of the hospital.
Palm Drive is mired in controversy and complicated financial issues. The simplistic signs around town “Open Our Hospital” show how emotional the issue is. Not that Jim can solve these issues single-handed, but he will bring a fresh viewpoint. He is a practicing engineer and up until the close of Palm Drive his wife was a nurse there. His more than 12 thankless years as a school board member of Gravenstein School gives him background in handling public finance issues. His engineering diagnostic skills bring a practical problem solving perspective. He is not confrontational but willing to argue his position and collaborate to a solution.
In support of his candidacy, I’m inviting anyone who wants to meet and talk with Jim to a gathering at 130 Petaluma, The Starling Building, Suite 3A starting at 4 p.m. through 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Please make an informed and positive choice for someone who cares about our community. Vote for Jim Horn for Palm Drive Hospital Board.
Craig Boblitt
Sebastopol GPAC Member
‘Numbers guy’ Horn
Editor: I support Jim Horn in the election for the Palm Drive Health Care District Board of Directors. All three candidates have reputations as good people with exceptional service to the community. All three want to see a successful, revitalized hospital. What distinguishes them from one another is the skill set that each would bring to the Board if elected. This is where Jim is the top choice.
A recently appointed incumbent, he brings the experience of a career as a professional engineer, having previously worked on many complex hospital construction projects. He possesses an understanding of the regulatory and financial environments that confront the reopening of Palm Drive Hospital. He is well educated in the structural and mechanical workings of a hospital — important for Palm Drive now and in the future.
Jim is a “numbers guy.” He has created and analyzed budgets and financial data his entire career. He displays a no-nonsense, realistic approach to Palm Drive’s finances, and is unafraid to ask the difficult questions needed to develop accurate answers. Jim has refused to “rubber stamp” plans that make questionable sense or are incomplete. His financial expertise has been consistently demonstrated during his 12-year tenure as a member and past president of the Board of the Gravenstein Union School District.
If you want the best chance at turning an insolvent, aging hospital into a thriving health care reality for Sebastopol and the West County, we need a business savvy person with hospital knowledge and financial and technical expertise. Join me in voting for Jim Horn.
See Jim’s website at jimhornforpalmdrive2014.com.
Lynn Deedler
Sebastopol
Support Measure H
Editor: Most of you have read or heard about SRJC Measure H. I urge you to vote “yes” to pass the measure in the upcoming election. The JC is one of the top community colleges in the state, if not in the nation. Some of you may have graduated from the JC, or like me, attended classes offered to the community.
My parents both graduated from SRJC, and my dad Jack Jacobs went on to Cal to get his dental degree. My mother, Audrey went on San Jose State and got a BA, and then taught art in high school. They were both very proud of their connection to the JC. In fact, Jack served on the SRJC board of trustees for many years. He liked to point out that the JC offered a great educaton, and that many students who went on to a four year school, found their GPAs going up.
The JC needs to upgrade science and math buildings, which date from the 1950s, and modernize biology and chemistry classrooms. Proposition H would do that as well as expand job training centers and provide career training in welding, auto mechanics and computer science.
Please support our JC with a yes for Measure H.
Greg Jacobs
Sebastopol
Honest information
Editor: Just today I received a flier in support of Measure R, the increase to the utility tax. I am not writing this for or against the measure, but I think the flier is deceiving and should be clarified. First, the flier states that the rate will be reduced from 4 percent to 3.75 percent. True, but this is a one-sixteenth (6.25 percent) reduction. But the new tax will be “modernized” to apply to telecommunications, cable and garbage. For me, at least, these items are much larger than gas and electric so the amount of tax I actually pay will double or even triple.
I wish that or civic leaders would be open and honest about what they are proposing, giving us the real impact and avoiding euphemisms such as “modernize.”
David Little
Sebastopol
Yes on R
Editor: As a lifelong Sebastopol resident, former councilmember and mayor, and concerned citizen, I wholeheartedly support Yes on R.  Yes on R would renew the existing Utility Users Tax (UUT), reduce it from 4 percent to 3.75 percent, and modernize it to include telecommunications and garbage services.  The UUT would expire in 10 years, and contains a low-income exemption for person in need.  The UUT is how we help pay for things like the fire and police departments, parks, sidewalks, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, road maintenance, and more.  Our city weathered the storm of the Great Recession because policy makers and staff did a great job, and because our community is willing to invest in keeping Sebastopol the best city in Sonoma County.  Please join me in saying yes to maintaining our superb quality of life in Sebastopol by voting Yes on R.
Craig Litwin
Sebastopol
Horn best choice
Editor: I would like to strongly recommend a vote for Jim Horn for the Palm Drive Health Care District Board in the upcoming election. Jim has been serving on the board in an interim capacity since July. He has been a true asset in the deliberations about the bankruptcy and the options that face the district.
Jim is an engineer with his own business in Sebastopol. He is most astute about fiscal matters. Jim has brought his considerable skills to the district, first in doing a comprehensive assessment of the Palm Drive physical plant and then in consistently being an active involved member of the finance committee of the board
Jim is a man of integrity and independent good judgment. I think he is someone we want to be part of the decision making process about the options available to the health care district in providing health care services to west county. Jim’s wife was a nurse at Palm Drive hospital before it closed, so he is familiar with strengths and weaknesses of the hospital, and he is well versed in the history of the district.
Jim Horn is the candidate most qualified to serve as a board member for the Palm Drive Health Care District.
Sandra DeBella Bodley
Vice President
Palm Drive Health Care District Board
Thank you West County
Editor: The West Sonoma County Union High School District Board of Trustees recently approved a plan to broaden course offerings and strengthen educational programs for students at Analy, El Molino and Laguna high schools using revenues from the Measure K parcel tax passed by the West County voters in 2012. On behalf of everyone associated with our local high schools, I want to thank West Sonoma County for supporting the parcel tax. The parcel tax funding is enabling our local high schools to keep libraries open before and after school daily; offer highly challenging college prep courses plus a variety of art, music, drama, shop, culinary and technology courses; and provide counseling services that are second to none in the North Bay Area. Again, thank you, West County for making a huge positive difference in the quality of education that our local high school students are receiving.
Keller McDonald
Superintendent, WSCUHSD