LETTERS TO THE EDITOR – 9-22-11

Save us naked protestors
Editor: Why am I not content with just ranting about the
atrocious, abandoned newspaper racks? Why can’t I accept CVS moving
to the busiest and most congested intersection in town? What better
place for some new, no-turn, no left-turn/right-turn, merging lanes
and at least two new traffic lights? And across the street at
Mimi’s, why should I be disturbed because some customer doesn’t
like the sound of the bell ringing on the door? Mimi’s bell meet
CVS. Why should I be disturbed because Copperfield’s Used Bookstore
(an institution!) has lost its lease because the wealthy landlord
needs to maximize his profits? And across the street women
panhandle for dollars while their toddlers stand for hours, baking
in the sun, walking barefoot on the hot sidewalk. Innocent toddlers
meet wealthy landlords.
If only the nude street-walking men in San Francisco would move
to Sebastopol, I wouldn’t have to worry about these petty issues.
Noisy bells, congested intersections, maximized profits, neglected
waifs, abandoned news racks, and the loss of our very own
Copperfield’s Used Bookstore would all pale, if only we could have
our own naked exhibitionists to distract us from our everyday
problems.
Pan-handling naked men demonstrating for war and/or peace, in
front of toddlers, and Copperfield’s, while passing a petition for
or against the CVS development and the door bell at Mimi’s. Circle
the Taco trucks, it’s going to be a long winter of discontent.
Neil E. Davis
Sebastopol
 
Community spirit
Editor: Recently (at the end of July), I was in Monte Rio with a
friend (we’re both senior citizens) when an automotive situation
developed.
Three businesses came to our aid: Noel’s Automotive, Bartlett’s
Market and Occidental Towing and without exception, all these
businesses exhibited a genuine friendliness and concern while
helping us with our predicament. They were excellent
representatives of the Monte Rio/Occidental community spirit.
Louisa R. Vessell
Sacramento
 
Death by EPA
Editor: As we head into the week of celebration and clean-up of
our local waterways and beaches, we have sad news from Washington
about air pollution.
On the Friday before Labor Day, President Obama announced his
decision to block new standards for smog pollution, which were
developed by the EPA in response to the abysmally low standards in
place from Bush’s tenancy. This lack of action could lead to as
many as 12,000 extra deaths in the U.S. per year, as well as
increased health costs, due to asthma and other lung and
respiratory diseases.
The environment in Sonoma County is a major reason why many of
us live here and contribute to its maintenance. Some aspects of the
environment are easier to care for than others. For air and water,
resources that are not easily segmented and are the first needs for
life, our environment needs the highest level of protection.
The costs of mishandling this care are all too easy to hide when
polluters are not held accountable for their misuse. Remember the
Superfund sites? How many areas of the U.S. are off-limits due to
the prohibitive cost of cleaning up dangerous substances allowed to
accumulate? Remember too, the rivers back east that actually caught
fire before the environmental movement took hold? Areas that were
unlivable can sometimes be rehabilitated, but prevention is almost
always much cheaper than cleanup.
The current trend of dismissing science and technology
notwithstanding, the technology for air pollution prevention is
available or reachable, and can lead to industrial strength.
Implementation of higher standards can create jobs and maintain a
healthier populace and living space. The balance sheet has to
include those items when we consider what basic standards of
cleanliness are suitable. It’s time to stand up for this
change.
Iris Moore
Sebastopol
 
Detrimental to PDH
Editor: On Monday night, Sept. 12, the Palm Drive Hospital Board
voted to not renew the contract of a critical physician provider,
OffSiteCare (“Palm Drive directors end Gude contract,” Sept. 15).
The negative vote was made without obtaining the research and
opinion previously concluded by the late Board Member Jared
Dreyfus.
The OffSiteCare contract provides essential and irreplaceable
services to PDH patients by Dr. James Gude and a number of other
physician specialists. OffSiteCare also provides leading
telemedicine services, hospitalist care, and access to top expert
doctor consultations.
We believe that the Board’s negative two to one vote is
seriously detrimental to Palm Drive Hospital and did not reflect
Mr. Dreyfus’s research and opinion. Nor did the Board’s vote take
into account the medical staffs’ concern for the hospital’s ability
to provide quality medical care. We strongly encourage the
hospital’s board to extend the OffSiteCare contract for the month
of October to allow full disclosure of Mr. Dreyfus’s research and
the concerns of the physicians. Let’s not jeopardize the hospital’s
continued existence.
The Palm Drive Health Care Foundation: Stewart Goldberg, VP
for strategic planning; Bob Gillen, VP for hospital relations; Gail
Thomas, past president PDHCF; Heidi Gillen, past president PDHCF;
Duane Phillips, Treasurer, Marty Webb, human resources