LETTERS TO THE EDITOR – 3-1-12

Gratitude for great folk
Editor: I’d like to express my deep gratitude to Cloud Moss for bringing Tim O’Brien to the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center last Sunday night. Tim is one of my musical heroes, and choosing between his performance and the Oscars was a no-brainer. Tim did not disappoint! He, Bryan Sutton, and Mike Bub demonstrated the highest level of musicianship in the genre, and Tim’s songwriting is nothing short of inspirational.
For many years, Cloud has worked tirelessly to bring us talent that we’d otherwise have to travel to San Francisco or Berkeley to see. Instead, our little town is included on the tour calendars of major artists like Tim.
I count Cloud and our Community Center among the top few of my many blessings here in Sebastopol. Thank you and keep the music coming!
Jan Kahdeman
Sebastopol
Everybody loves pottery
Editor: Here’s an idea: Instead of agonizing over putting or not putting a CVS at the entrance to town, let’s bring in a Pottery Barn! They are beautiful stores, full of wonderful merchandise people want. We could be a regional Pottery Barn, drawing people from Mendocino and Lake counties. We’ve missed out on Williams Sonoma but Pottery Barn? Brilliant idea if I say so myself.
Adele E. Yare
Sebastopol
Citizens United?
Editor: A couple of weeks ago, when I read in the Sonoma West Times & News that Kathleen Shaffer was actively recruiting support for the CVS/Chase Project, I was shocked. In my eyes, she was violating her mandate as a councilmember. In the current, Feb. 29, 2012 edition, I see that she is now a cheerleader for the project’s passage.
Both of her stances invite me to wonder if the results of Citizen United are possibly operating at the local level of government and not just at the state and national levels. I had wondered this before, when the City Council whitewashed the evidence of the dangers of EMF provided by Sandi Maurer and the local EMF group. The Council didn’t even take a prudent precautionary approach — a stance that I think will come back and haunt the City in the form of a lawsuit or two. Has Sonoma West Times & News done any investigative journalism on Citizen United operating locally here in Sebastopol?
If not, I hope that with your sources and resources that you do.
Robert Leverant
Sebastopol
Deal-breaking ‘truth’
Editor: Newspaper reports of the dispute over CVS miss a critical truth of the CVS/Chase quest to move downtown.
In addition to the bad design, CVS insists it must have a drive-through pharmacy pickup, as well as a drive-up ATM for the Chase Bank, and that a midblock in/out driveway to Petaluma Avenue be okayed.
The traffic that would result from these “deal breakers” would result in a huge increase of vehicles at the already congested crossroads of highways 12 and 116, and a hazardous exit that would force customers who need to go west across three lanes of traffic and a bike lane. These defects would have been revealed by an adequate traffic study.
The resulting mess would discourage people from shopping in our downtown. Quite the opposite effect on revenue enhancement from what is pleaded by supporters of the plan.
Helen Shane
Sebastopol