Letters to the Editor

<p>Bush's legacy</p><p>EDITOR: I'm touched by Donald J. Coon's letter regarding what we Bush-hater's will do when the president is out of office ("Wither Bush haters?" Letters, Jan. 16). No, we won't wander the streets foaming at the mouth as we'll be too busy rebuilding the country, repairing the damage George W. Bush has wrecked upon the United States.</p><p>Bush has taken money from your pocket with the secret energy deal Vice President Dick Cheney negotiated; he's allowed the pharmaceutical companies to gouge Americans with a sweetheart deal; against his top experts' and scientists' advice, he invited the EPA to gut protections that mean you are now more likely to be poisoned with dirty air and water; he ignored specific warnings about Osama bin Laden's threat to harm us; his incompetence made the Katrina hurricane worse than it had to be; and his handling of the unnecessary war in Iraq, and the way he's tortured innocents in the wrong place at the wrong time, have fired up people who want to destroy us. Millions have lost their homes and jobs on his watch.</p><p>Now honestly, how can you love a man like Bush?</p><p>CHARLES THOMPSON</p><p>Santa Rosa</p><p>Lead by example</p><p>EDITOR: I am writing in regards to the Jan. 10 article "County facing series of budget cuts." Why don't our county administrator, Bob Deis, whose annual income is $241,396 per his job specifications, and the Board of Supervisors begin by cutting their salaries by 5 percent to 10 percent? Why didn't they decline their raises to help the budget during these tough economic times?</p><p>If you want to earn the respect of your constituents and employees, I and many others urge you to lead by example. Let's see how serious you are about saving this county by not just targeting those who are in need of public services and those who work endlessly to provide those services to our wonderful community. We are all in this together and true leadership leads by example.</p><p>ROCÍO PEREZ</p><p>Santa Rosa</p><p>Nonprofits suffering</p><p>EDITOR: Steven Chatham's Wednesday Close to Home ("Capitol crisis threatens economy, local business") on the state's stop-work order on bond-funded contracts was on the money, but there is more to the story. In the nonprofit sector, organizations under contract to perform social services, habitat restoration and other state priorities are shutting their doors, laying off key personnel and losing years of organizational development.</p><p>For example, the Coastal Conservancy's recent grant to the Laguna Learning Center is threatened -- $700,000 that would have come into our local economy. And that's just one isolated example; there are many more.</p><p>It is wrong for the Legislature and the governor to ignore the pain caused by this problem, or to coldly view it as political leverage in the budget standoff. While we may assume that the bonds eventually will be sold, it makes no sense to dismantle the state's nonprofit partners in the interim. It's costing us jobs now, but more than that, it's costing us the future work on water quality, habitat restoration, climate change and developing the "green economy" that these nonprofit organizations would play a key role in implementing . . . if they're still around.</p><p>Some kind of mechanism for keeping projects going, perhaps in partnership with private foundations and/or financial institutions, must be found.</p><p>DAN SCHURMAN</p><p>Executive director,</p><p>Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation</p><p>Santa Rosa</p><p>The wrong choice</p><p>EDITOR: I want to put in my two cents on Hillary Clinton's appointment as secretary of state. When one considers the millions of dollars that flow from international corporations and foreign governments into the Clinton bank accounts, I cannot imagine a more ethically unqualified person.</p><p>When one considers her feigned gullibility during the Lewinsky sex scandal and her out right lies about being shot at in Bosnia, I cannot think of a more morally unqualified person.</p><p>When one considers her lack of administrative experience and that her only accomplishments come on the coattails of her husband's name, I can not think of a more professionally unqualified person.</p><p>In short, Hillary Clinton's lack of experience and ability is only matched by her lack of integrity and good judgment. As a nation we will pay an enormously high price for her time as secretary of state.</p><p>CHRIS NOWAK</p><p>Kelseyville</p><p>Creating the future</p><p>EDITOR: I commend the Board of Supervisors on its unanimous vote to accept the strategic economic plan of the Sonoma County Innovation Council. The board's action reflects the belief that the best way to predict the future is to create it. The current economic crisis and challenges facing our nation, state and county present a unique opportunity to unify our efforts and engage our community in preparing for the future, especially in the priority areas of workforce development, resource efficiency and economic climate that were identified in the Innovation Council report. Attention to educational access and attainment is vital to job creation and growth of the local labor force. In this regard, it is my privilege to partner with the Board of Supervisors in creating a strong and viable future for our county.</p><p>CARL WONG</p><p>Sonoma County</p><p>superintendent of schools</p><p>Petaluma</p><p>Winery vote</p><p>EDITOR: What has happened to your coverage of the Pelton House Winery complex in Knights Valley proposed by Jess Jackson?</p><p>On Jan. 27, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will vote on this controversial project. Should the supervisors allow a billionaire to not only build a commercial project in an area protected by the Williamson Act but also give him a property tax reduction? Wasn't the Williamson Act tax incentive supposed to prevent commercial development on farmland and open space? What gives?</p><p>Also, shouldn't a project in an area of water scarcity and near contributory streams to the Russian River be required to have an environmental impact report? Whose best interests are the Board of Supervisors looking out for?</p><p>KENNEDY HANSEN</p><p>Calistoga</p><p>Good Samaritan law</p><p>EDITOR: Thank you for your Jan. 12 editorial, "Hands tied," on the recent ruling on California's Good Samaritan laws. How crazy has our society become when we have to stop and analyze a potentially life-threatening situation for its potential legal impact? Must every act I take, every decision I make be dictated by the possibility of a lawsuit? It is certainly refreshing that our elected officials are working to restore common sense through the introduction of bills to amend the Good Samaritan law. I look forward to celebrating the successful passage of this legislation.</p><p>SYLVIA COOMBS</p><p>Santa Rosa</p>