LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 3-8-12

Rush to the 18th century
Editor: Thanks, Rush. I can see it all now. The Super Conservative vision of America, “Where men are men, and women are property.” No wonder your sponsors are bailing on you. This is the 21st, not the 18th century.
John A. McDonald
Sebastopol
Sewer talk
Editor: There’s nothing like the sewer system to get Graton residents talking. I recently ran across Bob Rawson, manager of Graton’s Community Services District, and peppered him with questions, particularly about owners of second units who don’t pay extra for sewer services.
From Bob I learned that rates for second units are 80 percent of primary units. Bob said that no one took advantage of the District’s recent amnesty period which is now closed. The District adopted a new ordinance whereby hook-up fees are now double for owners caught with undeclared second units. In addition, the District can charge for uncollected fees for past years. They’ll soon be smoke-testing to identify second units.
In the 25 years that my husband and I have lived in Graton we’ve seen our rates increase enormously. From memory, rates were around $300 per year when we first moved in; now they’re more than $1,500.
I can think of many second units in Graton whose landlords probably don’t pay extra for sewer services. While I’m happy they supply needed housing, I’m guessing property owners like us would pay less if we weren’t subsidizing the costs for others.
Ann Hancock
Graton
Citizens United and CVS
Editor: How can it be that the member of the City Council who sponsored the resolution “Supporting an Amendment to the Constitution to end corporate personhood and to reaffirm that money does not equal speech,” gets attacked in the letters to the editor as a supporter of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision? (“Citizens United?” March 1.) As a community, we should reject the spurious reasoning that someone who supports the CVS project must thereby support unrestrained corporate spending on elections.
Undoing the terrible Citizens United will be a long haul. As an organizer, it is no surprise to me that Councilmember Shaffer would launch the effort started locally. As a dedicated Democrat, who has been elected to the Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee, she knows what is at stake. And, regarding the need for an “investigation,” anyone can look up donors to a campaign for City Council, as it is public information. Then one would find that donors to the Councilwoman have been local individuals, and a number of union groups, the bedrock constituency of the Democratic Party.
Deborah Dobish
Sebastopol
Flawed and biased
Editor: I find it so hard to believe that the Majority of the Sebastopol City Council again wants to send the CVS project back to the Design and Review Board. This body has proven to be a flawed body and a biased body. Its purpose has been to prevent use of the property by creating design issues. The last hearing was run like a Roman Circus and some of the members of this body have egos larger than the world. They we not elected by anyone and some members are not citizens of the city. They have shown their bias at the hearings before the council. This is a sad day when unelected members of the Design Review Board again get to show us they are controlled by Small Town Sebastopol and Boss Shane.
Martin M. Webb
Sebastopol
Save the redwoods
Editor: I’ve seen articles about the biggest cutting of redwood forest for vineyard ever to take place in Sonoma County. Spain based Artesa/Codorniu is a huge corporation and we’re a tiny dot on their map.
I’m concerned about our society’s take on nature. I was born and raised underneath these trees surrounding my home in Annapolis. I’m heartbroken that I have to fight to protect what Mother Nature gave me.
The California Department of Forestry should represent the state’s citizens by protecting our environment, especially our state tree. I’m devastated they’re signing off on a deal with Artesa to deforest my childhood memories. What bothers me most is grapes can grow elsewhere. Why cut down these unsurpassed trees to plant vineyards? The redwood only grows in this region of our country — that’s why it’s our state tree. They deserve to be protected. We can’t pick our state flower, but it’s okay to cut the state tree? We need to morally contemplate this before we destroy our planet’s beautiful assets. The wine industry is booming in a down economy. For a financially struggling society, the least we can do is protect our earth, because nature will always be free.
Holly McCarroll-Baker
Annapolis