Tuesday’s Letters to the Editor

Changing technology

EDITOR: Regarding the Feb. 4 article “AT&T looks to cut landlines,” I have to say that I survived the demise of 8-track tapes, so I think I will be able to weather the loss of landlines.

KURT HARRISON

Santa Rosa

End gas, oil subsidies

EDITOR: Recent storms knocked out power for 800,000 of us Californians. We need to wake up to what action we can take to address climate extremities that increasingly threaten our futures. Reducing personal use of plastics is not going to make a dent in our threatened futures. According to research posted by the Climate Center, last year the world passed the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold for global warming.

In the void of concerted worldwide action to protect our ecosystems, Gov. Gavin Newsom can and should provide global leadership. He should revise his proposed state budget to eliminate all subsidies and tax breaks for oil and gas corporations (over $8 billion) and invest in clean energy, sustainable agricultural practices and community support. Let him know. Please consider writing him and calling his office.

ELIZABETH GRIEGO

Kenwood

No on Measure G

EDITOR: Once again, we are asked to vote on measures that unfairly burden newcomers and young people with excessive taxes. As a retired teacher, I am supportive of education but not of funding it through extra taxes based on property value. We moved to Santa Rosa in 2015 and couldn’t carry over our tax base from a different county. Now we find that we are paying just under $1,000 annually for school bonds on top of a very high property tax. Measure G would add another couple of hundred dollars in the Rincon Valley Union School District.

We know that we are paying a lot more than people who have lived here a long time and whose houses are worth far more than ours. Many young people who managed to buy in this area would also be asked to pay more than their fair share. We shouldn’t be asked to shoulder more of the weight of financing schools than our neighbors.

This is not progressive taxation. Please consider some other way to gather money, perhaps a parcel tax. Proposition 13 started this problem. Many revisions have been made, but they seem to help businesses and heirs of property more than ordinary people.

GAIL MORGAN

Santa Rosa

Risking the public’s trust

EDITOR: Thanks for your thoughtful editorial regarding the district attorney’s misinformation campaign against the fentanyl crisis (“Stick with the facts in fentanyl warnings,” Jan. 26). I have a couple of points to add. First, her response: District Attorney Carla Rodriguez has neither apologized, said she made a mistake nor promised to stop misusing federal funds earmarked for investigation and prosecution of opiate crimes for other purposes, like public service announcement radio ads, fakes like these or otherwise.

Also, she has shown no understanding of the effect of District Attorney’s Office misstatements on a public that has grown cynical and mistrustful of government in general. Her office was caught broadcasting false information, and she blew off the seriousness of her breach of duty to be honest when communicating to those she serves.

Her response to being caught with the false ad was, “If the worst thing I do as district attorney is raise awareness about the dangers of opioids and fentanyl then I feel like I’m ahead of the game,” as if the very serious responsibility of being the head of all criminal prosecutions in Sonoma County is a game. That’s not the way to earn public trust. Sonoma County deserves better.

BRUCE KINNISON

Santa Rosa

Greenwashing in Sonoma

EDITOR: It’s nice to see the county thinking about climate solutions (“County releases climate hub business plan,” Feb. 1). I’m not sure the climate center envisioned for the Sonoma Development Center site is the best use of the property to address the crisis. There is already a well-respected organization, Rocky Mountain Institute (rmi.org), which was growing bananas at 8,000 feet above sea level in Snowmass, Colorado, at its first site in 1982. Today it’s well-respected internationally and has an office as close as Oakland.

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Wouldn’t it be nice to instead create a community that utilizes many of the technologies that have matured in the ensuing 42 years, and is capable of creating more energy than it uses, in addition to remediating the land it’s sited on? Why should we demand less when all the parts are available and affordable, except for the will of developers and planning departments to make it happen? Don’t be brainwashed by greenwashing.

JONATHAN McCLELLAND

Santa Rosa

You can send letters to the editor to letters@pressdemocrat.com.