Letters to the Editor

Winery fight

EDITOR: I sympathize with the Doerksens ("Mark West Creek dispute pits water vs. wine," Thursday). As a lifelong Sonoma County resident, I know all too well what poor neighbors winery owners make. Clearing trees to put in vines and using ethylene gas to sterilize soil creates toxic run-off. The steelhead are never coming back, sadly.

And why? So some outsider investor can have his own prestige wine label and brag to friends about his cabernet yield. Fueled by greed and vanity, this obsessive monoculture subtracts more from the area's rural character than it provides. Sure, agriculture's the lifeblood, but county permits ought to be issued with more discretion and oversight than is currently the case.

MARK CALVINO

Santa Rosa

Insulting cartoon

EDITOR: I find the Thursday cartoon by Mike Peters offensive and insulting to anyone who ascribes to marriage being between one man and one woman. Peters implies we are prejudiced for what we believe. Why would you be so insensitive as to allow such a blatant caricature to be published? I voted for Proposition 8 because I believe it represents what is traditional, and that it should be held as such.

I am not a Mormon, and my church had nothing to do with my vote. I am fed up with the in-your-face gay movement. I have three nephews who are gay, and they do not force their gender preferences on others, nor do they denigrate my preference. I respect them. What I cannot respect is activists who will not accept a democratic vote. The image of gay-rights activists marching, desecrating churches and creating havoc is antithetical to their cause.

Get rid of the gay pride parades showing naked, tattooed and hair-spiked gays, and maybe you will have more respect from those of us who want to be tolerant and understand you better. And in the process, try to be more tolerant of our beliefs. You are not the only people on this earth.

BURT BARNES

Healdsburg

Council voters

EDITOR: Sincere thanks to friends, the business community, my neighbors and family for supporting my campaign for Sebastopol City Council. I am deeply honored that the voters decided I would be an effective leader. Thank you to the people who displayed my signs and added their name to my list of endorsements.

I appreciate the people who took the time to talk with me as I walked door-to-door and then recommended me to their friends. Talking and listening to the people of Sebastopol was the best part of my campaign, and I will continue to do this as a council member.

My decision to run was based on my desire to work for Sebastopol and solve local problems. The economy, conserving water, focusing on neighborhood issues and advocacy for seniors are priorities. The modifications I propose in the Northeast Plan will help improve the local economy and revitalize our downtown core.

I am looking forward to working with the council members, the citizens of Sebastopol and local businesses to preserve our quality of life and to make the decisions in this difficult economy that will keep Sebastopol strong.

KATHLEEN SHAFFER

Sebastopol

Bikes and taxes

EDITOR: Regarding the Monday letter complaining that bicyclists don't pay their share of infrastructure costs ("Share the tax"): Studies estimate that motor vehicle users pay an average of 2.3-cents per mile in user charges such as gas taxes, registration fees and tolls. However, they impose 6.5-cents per mile in road service costs, more if driving heavy vehicles such as SUVs and trucks. In contrast, cyclists impose road service costs averaging a minuscule 0.2-cents per mile.

The shortfall of 4.2-cents per mile between costs and fees for motorists is made up out of income, sales and property taxes. Since all of us pay a share of those taxes, the cyclists are in effect paying more than their share of the cost of maintaining roads, based on the relatively low costs they impose on the system. It could in fact be argued that cyclists' taxes are subsidizing motorists, rather than the other way around, as the letter writer contends.

Cycling's detractors may find other avenues for denigrating and demonizing bikes, but this argument can't be one of them. It isn't supported by the facts.

BILL OETINGER

Sebastopol

Doonesbury fan

EDITOR: I write in response to Ken Lawrence's Sunday letter against Doonesbury being on the comics page ("Not funny"). I've enjoyed Doonesbury since Joanie was in law school, and I think it is very funny. I read the comics for laughs, too. That's why I skip most of them and read just the ones I like. I've got a suggestion: Don't read Doonesbury if you don't like it, and stop trying to impose your views on the rest of us.

HUGH HELM

Santa Rosa

Summit meeting

EDITOR: The summit called by President Bush was a big joke. It's agenda obviously was not what its naive attendees thought it was. How can a powerless lame-duck leader do anything to resolve a problem that was caused by him in the first place?

Bush's agenda was spelled out by the theme of the summit: Deregulation may not be good but over-regulation is bad. Bush is comparable to an arsonist who calls a meeting of firefighters in the middle of a raging conflagration to warn them that fire may not be good but too much water is bad.

If the attendees are serious leaders, they should know the summit was a waste of time. They should have waited for President-elect Barack Obama to call for one.

ANTONIO R. SERNA

Rohnert Park

Graton photo

EDITOR: With reference to the Nov. 9 article regarding the Graton Day Labor Center, I couldn't help but notice that one of the photos showed a very large portrait of Che Guevarra posted on the center's wall. Could it be that the day laborers are getting a good dose of Marxist political indoctrination along with their safety training? Are the taxpayers footing the bill for it?

ARRON FOGERSON

Santa Rosa

Prop. 8 lawsuit

EDITOR: It was the will of the people that recalled Gray Davis and elected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was the will of the people that re-elected Schwarzenegger. It was the will of the people that passed Proposition 8. Now, all of a sudden, the will of the people doesn't matter to Schwarzenegger? If the California Supreme Court throws out Proposition 8, they should throw Schwarzenegger out with it.

MANDY KABANUCK

Petaluma