Letters to the Editor

What to throw away and what not to

Editor: First I thoroughly enjoy Kathleen Hill’s home and garden column, however this week I am compelled to clear a couple of things up about one of my favorite subjects, municipal collection of yard waste and its magical conversion into black gold, compost!
In Kathleen’s home and garden column Thursday, Nov. 8 issue of the Sonoma Valley Sun she wrote:
“Once you pull up the vegetable plants in your garden, toss them in your compost if they are healthy. If not, dump them in the garbage, because no one else should get bad bugs via your yard waste can.
By the way, if you don’t have a yard waste can, they only cost $1 per month from Sonoma Garbage Collectors (707.996.7555) and, theoretically, the green matter turns into compost at some unknown destination to be used in some unknown place.”
Contrary to Kathleen’s advice, please do throw all of your garden waste in your yard waste can and not in your garbage. Do not put the following items in your yard waste can:
Garbage
Wood Products
Poison oak
Grease or oil
Palm fronds
Soil, rocks, sod, cement, brick
Metal of any kind
Nursery pots or trays
Plastic bags
Glass
Bamboo
Pet waste
Do Not Place Plastic Bags or Garbage in Yard Waste Container!
The mysterious unknown destination is the fabulous Sonoma Compost Company. Yard waste collected from our curbside yard waste containers is hauled to Sonoma Compost at the Central Disposal Site, 500 Mecham Road, Petaluma, and is sold to landscapers, farmers and the public as premium quality, organic compost. Wood is also available. Learn more at www.sonomacompost.com.
The materials at Sonoma Compost are carefully managed and the compost piles are kept at 131º F for a minimum of 15 days to kill pathogens, because of this careful management the possibility of spreading disease from your yard waste is eliminated. So please do not throw your garden waste, healthy or “unhealthy” into your regular garbage cans. So far in Sonoma County, Sonoma Compost Company has successfully converted 1,000,000 tons of our yard and wood waste into organic compost and mulch, recycled lumber and firewood and bio-fuel.
So please do add all of your acceptable yard waste to your yard waste containers and let’s go for 2,000,000 tons! Also, take a look at Sonoma Compost Company’s website for information about their wonderful products and patronize their business. This is what sustainability and green is all about!
Christine Condon
Sonoma

Slow down and save your Buddy

Editor: I lost my Buddy on Halloween. I would have thought he would’ve had enough sense not to go out into the street, but he did, and was hit and killed.  Buddy was my pet cat.  I raised him from a kitten.  He was only 2 1/2 years old.  Black and white, cute like a panda bear.  I’m so sad over this. I wonder does the person who was driving even know what they’ve done? Do they care?  This is right by an elementary school. What if it was your pet, or someone’s child? Please slow down. Pay attention when you drive, and please pull over if you need to use the phone. Don’t you know that big vehicle you’re driving could be lethal?  Please! Thank you.
Phil Holden
Sonoma

Thank you for all the hard work

Editor: Way back when, under the old administration, the hospital was told by the Powers That Be that the existing hospital building is not to standards for a public use. The then-Hospital Board and Administration spent thousands of dollars on a “study” to determine what was needed to bring Sonoma Valley Hospital into compliance and provide medical services to future generations. One solution they came up with was a new facility on Fifth Street West, which included using eminent domain. The residents of the district would not support any eminent domain decision.
Since then, residents have elected new Board members, criticized the old administration to the point that the CEO and his assistant left, and set up a “Coalition” of local citizens (most of whom are not in the health care industry) to spend thousands more dollars to come up with a solution to the hospital issue.
The Board accepted the Coalition’s recommendations and is pursuing the In-Town location and existing assets. In my opinion, the Board made the best decision they could to satisfy the residents of the district. They chose to purchase a little over four acres of bare land instead of ten plus acres on Broadway, and they chose to use some of the existing hospital land and facilities. Both decisions will keep the cost of a new complex down. And the hospital staff in their planning chose to include medical offices to lease out which would provide revenue for the hospital and subsidize operating costs for generations to come.
Now, some residents are up in arms because the hospital made a “Quick” decision and do not have final cost estimates “written in stone” for a new facility. I do not believe six plus years along with hundred of thousands of dollars spent on studies a “Quick Decision.” It seems to me that four acres of land will cost much less than ten acres on Broadway. It seems to me that constructing a hospital building and parking lot along with renovation of the useful part of the existing building will cost much less than a whole new facility on the Broadway. I know construction costs per square foot will be the same whether on Broadway or in town, but much less construction will be required on the In-Town site.
I find it hard to believe that the people who are criticizing the hospital’s decision are concerned about building and operating costs when more land will have to be purchased, more buildings would have to be built, and the planned medical offices on Broadway will be owned by a private party who plans to lease the space to the hospital How does taking revenue from the hospital benefit the hospital and the taxpayers of the district?
Now back to the original problem. I suspect that it is going to take a minimum of six years to get a new hospital built that will satisfy the Powers That Be. With that, I feel it is time put aside all personal desires and hidden agendas and support the Sonoma Valley Hospital in their In Town decision. I want to thank the Board, the Administration, and the Coalition for all their hard work and difficult decisions they have had to deal with on behalf of the Sonoma Valley Hospital District.
Mary Smith
Sonoma

The pros of Real Estate now

Editor: Since January of this year there has been a relentless, lopsided presentation of the market for real estate in the Press Democrat and the San Francisco Chronicle. Sensational headlines of January sales being at a 10 year low ignored the fact that January sales are always the lowest level of the year. The five year graph supporting the headline revealed that the difference between the current year and any preceding year to be negligible.  With each passing month, our regional and national media have continued the onslaught against real estate by sensational misleading headlines. Actually, the real estate market is in a corrective phase after having had significant increases in value for over a decade.
Real Estate articles and headlines were often placed above the fold on Page One of the paper where all readers could see them. Often these articles were accompanied by images of streets filled with “For-Sale” signs, or some tragic photograph of distressed people.  All other benefits of real property ownership — shelter, security, equity buildup, or tax advantages were rarely, if ever mentioned.
On November 11th, Dennis Park of CPS Real Estate decided to take on the media in a full-page ad on page 6 of Section A of the Sunday Press Democrat entitled  “What if?” He presented a convincing counter argument to the news being reported.  What would the current market look like if positive facts were given equal weight?
•The average property owner has 36 times the net worth of the average renter.
•That nearly one-third of all homeowners own their homes debt-free.
•That on average, the value of a home nearly doubles every 10 years despite periodic market setbacks.
•That 60 percent of the average homeowner’s wealth is in their home’s equity.
•The foreclosure rate in California was higher in 1998 than it is today.
•That current low interest rates could offset any short-term reduction in value for homes purchased now.
The best time to buy or sell a home is when you need to. The advice of a real estate professional will help separate fact from fiction. Realtors have an ethical responsibility to clients and the public to help them make decisions based upon facts, not fear.
Norm and Pat Brown
Sonoma