Aug. 2 Letters to the Editor

<p class="bold allcaps">Dangerous bikers</p> <p>EDITOR: Bicyclists complain that cars don’t show enough concern for the rights of the bike rider. But what about the rights of pedestrians when bicyclists disregard city laws?</p><p>Recently, I missed being severely injured when I walked out of a bank on Fourth Street and a bicyclist came within inches of hitting me as he raced on the sidewalk. The man behind me stated, “You nearly had your life changed radically.” I then watched two other adults using the sidewalks as their bike path.</p><p>Still shaking, I drove down Mendocino Avenue where I counted five individuals using the sidewalks even though traffic was relatively light, the bike lane is clearly marked and no cars were parked on the street. Maybe it is time to ticket and heavily fine these people who have no regard for the rights of pedestrians and create a dangerous situation on the sidewalks of this town.</p><p>PAM FRASER</p><p>Santa Rosa</p><h3>Gallaher's plans</h3> <p>EDITOR: Bill Gallaher’s frustration with the planning process of the Fountaingrove Lodge matches my frustration (“Resentment building,” July 26). The Santa Rosa Planning Commission has stated the project is too massive for the small site. The neighbors have said for a very long time that the size and mass of the project would overwhelm the site and the surrounding residential area. With the current plans, we would shoehorn another hulking fortress-type Varenna into a small ill-suited site, while what we need is a campus-type property to fit the site, which will blend into the neighborhood and better serve the tenants. </p><p>And there is no way that removing hundreds of heritage trees can be mitigated. Please listen and care for our neighborhood.</p><p>DEWEY NELSON</p><p>Santa Rosa</p><h3>Carinalli's gifts</h3> <p>EDITOR: We have invested with Clem Carinalli and feel he is doing his utmost to restructure his debts to take care of his obligations. Carinalli has kept his investors informed and made himself available, yet The Press Democrat’s coverage seems very one-sided. Carinalli, like almost all businesspeople, has been hard hit by the worst economic downturn in decades. Certainly Carinalli made profits by taking on riskier loans and properties. He also paid higher interest rates. That is why numerous individuals invested with him.</p><p>I don’t see much space being devoted to the time and money he gave to organizations in this community during the good years. People made loans to Carinalli because they received higher returns on their investment. Along with that comes higher risk. It seems like a lot of things went bad for a lot of people about the same time. It is vitally important to many individuals and organizations that Carinalli be given the opportunity to restructure so that everyone involved is compensated. Like all of us, however, I suspect he can only pay off so many people at one time. How about chronicling those years of community support by giving him our support and the opportunity to work this out? How about an article on what he has given to the community?</p><p>TOM COMBS</p><p>Truckee</p><h3>Race to the top</h3> <p>EDITOR: There has been so much angst concerning state spending cuts for education that I’d have thought you might have put the July 25 article titled “Obama holds carrot for school changes” on the front page instead of Page A7.</p><p>The good news in this article is that the federal government has set aside $5 billion in stimulus money for grants to states under its “Race to the Top” program, which is to be used for performance pay for teachers and charter schools. The bad news is that the money will not be awarded to states barring student performance data from being linked to teacher evaluations. California bars the use of student performance data in teacher evaluations.</p><p>Several states have already repealed such restrictions in order to be eligible for these grants, but California has not.</p><p>Teachers unions have fought for and been granted this unrealistic requirement and are now in a position to either relax their position or face even greater lay-offs as the state’s ability to fund education continues to deteriorate.</p><p>I urge The Press Democrat to follow this matter and all its readers concerned about the education budget to urge their state representatives to repeal this unrealistic restriction so that our state will be eligible for these funds.</p><p>J.J. SCOVILLE</p><p>Santa Rosa</p><h3>Proper vetoes</h3> <p>EDITOR: Cuts in social services will simply mean those who milk the system probably have to go elsewhere or pay their way. Most of the programs involved support illegal immigrants and their families or those with self-inflicted maladies, such as child welfare and AIDS<NO1> and so-called healthy families<NO>.</p><p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in using his veto power, correctly sees through these red herring issues bemoaned as necessary by ultra-liberals such as Assemblywoman Noreen Evans and Speaker Karen Bass.</p><p>There is little doubt the state Legislature failed miserably with this budget. That leaves the governor no option but to make tough decisions within his power.</p><p>DENNIS G. TOBIN</p><p>Santa Rosa</p><h3>Safe driving</h3> <p>EDITOR: My wife and I use our scooters for shopping, commuting, enjoying our glorious Sonoma Coast and, now, vacations. We’ve all done it — talked, dialed, texted, tweeted, while driving our cars. We had two close calls during our recent vacation. One involved a driver using a cell phone, and one was a driver who attempted to pick up a hitchhiker by swerving across the slow lane from the fast lane to stop.</p><p>We are upgrading our scooter “beeps” to loud horns to wake up drivers who are compelled to use cell phones or simply make hazardous decisions while driving.</p><p>We hardly fit into the Harley category with resounding engines and loud mufflers. However, we now understand why gunning Harley engines may wake up distracted drivers in time to avoid accidents. Scooters and small motorcycles are barely heard tooling down the road, and our “beep beeps” do little to wake up distracted drivers.</p><p>The trend is to reduce oil consumption and greenhouse gases, so riding a 70 mpg scooter may get more popular as more baby boomers retire and realize that texting the boss while driving is no longer needed. Please watch out for us and drive safely.</p><p>JACQUES BOYER</p><p>Penngrove</p><h3>End-of-life choices</h3> <p>EDITOR: Thank you for publishing the insightful op-ed by Dr. Martin Welsh (“A former doctor contemplates his own end-of-life wishes,” Wednesday). Surely many readers are facing similar situations.</p><p>I am the California end-of-life counselor for Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit organization. I and my volunteers counsel people about choices they have as their end of life nears. First, and foremost, complete a California Advance Directive for Health Care. Give a copy to your primary physician and to someone you appoint as your agent if you become mentally incapacitated. Discuss your desires with your family. This can avoid getting caught up in the emergency medical system. </p><p>Having control over your future brings peace of mind. You can then concentrate on living instead of worrying about an awful death. Call my office at 544-5993 for a free consultation. You may request our booklet “A Gentle Death,” a practical guide for planning your future.</p><p>CAROLE VAN AELSTYN</p><p>Santa Rosa</p>