Local input valued
EDITOR: A contemporary philosopher named Mortimer J. Adler writes that when a constitutional government functions properly, the citizens are the primary, principal and permanent rulers and according to Professor Adler, when I was elected as an officeholder within that constitutional government, I became a temporary and transient ruler in order to serve Sebastopol’s permanent rulers (its citizens).
With that said and imagining that our constitutional government is functioning properly; as your temporarily installed officeholder (or transient ruler), how do I know how to serve you?
During the first year of my term on city council, I have heard from a very low percentage of Sebastopol’s total population of 7,379 citizens, and from that small percentage of input, I am expected to make important decisions that affect every person who lives and/or works in Sebastopol.
There are two issues on the Sebastopol city council agenda for the meeting of Jan. 16 that I need your help deciding.
First, a decision that will affect every citizen living within the 1.861 square miles of Sebastopol’s city limits. Do you want the City of Sebastopol to install LED streetlights on 560 of the PG& E owned streetlight poles? The city installed a “test street” of the LED streetlights on Jewell Avenue between Dowd Drive and Hayden Avenue. Details of this test of the LED streetlights, the location of that test, and a contact email was published in the Sonoma West Times and News in order to receive the opinions of as many citizens as possible. Since publication, I have received one email.
The second important item on the Jan. 16 council agenda is a decision that will lead to the elimination of the city owned parking lot adjacent to the historic Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway Power House (now the HopMonk Tavern), without replacing the lost parking of 122 to 150 spaces. One suggested use for the parking lot is to build market-rate apartments (with 20 percent of them designed as affordable) up to four stories tall, with high-end retail spaces below. I beg to ask one simple question of every citizen reading this, the answer to which is a single word. Do you want this or not?
Please communicate your stances on these issues directly to city council. When we don’t participate with our government, we become a subject of it. Constitutional government is a participatory concept so please engage with us by letter, email, telephone, or show up and be heard at our council meetings.
Michael Carnacchi
Sebastopol city council member
Middle class tax breaks
EDITOR: Frank III wrote a letter which is a disservice to middle class taxpayers because it is incorrect and will sadden the non-rich. He is correct that the rich get a tax break of greater than one percent — wow, lucky dogs. That has nothing to do with me and I hope they go crazy spending the extra one-plus percent. He is right that the corporate tax will be brought into line with European levels and make it less desirable to leave this country for other developed countries with lower tax rates
He largely wanted to express his hatred for Trump; that is an unusual sentiment.
But then all the misinformation came out. He said that 13 million of our lowest income Americans would lose their medical care and probably die. The law only said that the penalty for not having insurance is gone; the IRS will no longer fine us for not supporting the insurance industry. Medicaid is managed by state government not the IRS.
Then Frank said the middle class deductions were eliminated for medical care, mortgage interest and state taxes. The truth is that the deduction for medical costs is increased. The deduction for mortgages is retained up to $750,000 (sounds middle class). The deduction for state taxes is retained up to $10,000 (sounds middle class). More good news — middle class families will get a standard deduction of $24,000 (100 percent increase), a child credit of $2,000 (100 percent increase) and middle class parents that have been saving for their childrens’ college in tax free 529 accounts can now use that money tax free if they want to send their kids to private schools pre college.
That is what the law actually says; look it up. Sounds like most middle class employees will have a bigger paycheck after withholding. Those that don’t have to pay tax may get a check in the mail for the extra child credit. Sounds like those of us that are not rich might also get a greater than one percent tax break, just like the rich.
Roger Delgado
Sebastopol
Pot dangers
EDITOR: From the Smart Approaches to Marijuana website: “Marijuana users are also three times more likely than non-users to become addicted to heroin, and a 2017 National Academy of Sciences report found a statistical association between marijuana use and the development of substance dependence for other drugs like opioids and heroin. The average potency of marijuana has skyrocketed since the 1970s and research demonstrates it is associated with substance use disorders, drugged driving crashes, lower IQ and other negative consequences. Today, more young people are voluntarily seeking treatment for marijuana addiction than for all other drugs combined, including alcohol.”
The younger people are when they use pot, the more likely they are to become addicted and the greater possibility there is for negative psychological outcomes.
Brent Gudzus
Windsor
