Letters to the Editor

SMART train good for Sonoma Valley

Editor: I take significant issue with your editorial opposing Measure Q to fund the SMART train. Although we in the Sonoma Valley may not have direct access to the train, it is a critical element to the overall transportation infrastructure of our region and we will all ultimately benefit from the congestion relief it will provide in the Highway 101 corridor. SMART also offers broader economic benefits, helping to retain jobs and attract new businesses that seek locations where the transportation systems actually work.
SMART is not a state initiative as you suggest, it is a regional district governed by a local board. We also have the distinct advantage of existing rail lines and right-of-way already in public ownership – a billion-dollar asset currently going to waste. Those assets eliminate the majority of the cost any other start-up commuter train system would face.
Please vote yes on Measure Q.

Steve Page
Sonoma

Pier in touch
with community

Editor: Vote for Will Pier and vote for Measure P to keep our hospital. We need a new supervisor who supports good land-use planning. Supervisor Brown supported Measure C and the taking of the Leveroni farmland by eminent domain. She also approved the development of an elaborate resort north of Kenwood. We need a supervisor who has an environmental ethic and is not influenced by those with money.
Will Pier supported keeping our hospital in town and reusing our present hospital resources. Supervisor Brown was behind the building of a totally new hospital out in our greenbelt. Please vote for P to refurbish our hospital where it is and to maintain our very needed ER. And vote for Will Pier, who is in touch with the community he lives in.

Marilyn Goode
Sonoma

Do unto others

Editor: To the people of California: Our nation was founded on religious freedom. Please do not force your religious beliefs upon others. I am sure you would not want others’ religious beliefs forced upon you. Would you want laws to say women must wear ankle-length skirts, long sleeves and scarves on their heads? Would you want to be told that it is illegal to eat pork? Do you want all alcoholic drinks banned?  (Gee, we already had that one, but it didn’t last.)
My daughter was married on June 27 of this year. If Proposition 8 passes, her marriage may be deemed invalid. Please don’t do this to so many families in California.
Vote no on Proposition 8.

David Eichar
Boyes Hot Springs

Democrats say
‘Yes on P’

Editor: Quality, accessible health care for all is a Democratic core value. That is why the Sonoma County Democratic Party’s central committee has endorsed Measure P. Sonoma County Democratic Party leaders are concerned that the health and safety of those of us living in the Sonoma Valley will be jeopardized if our community doesn’t continue to have a local hospital with its critical life-saving emergency services. The Sonoma County Democratic Party also finds Measure P to be sound, because it uses Sonoma Valley Hospital’s existing site and facilities, saving money and natural resources. At a cost of less than $40 a year for the majority of Sonoma Valley homeowners, Measure P is a great investment at a low cost to taxpayers. We urge all Sonoma Valley Democrats to vote yes on P.

Ray Gallian
Congressman
Mike Thompson’s representative
Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee

Affordable health care for all

Editor: In the last union contract, it seemed fair and equal that both the workers and administrators could afford health care for themselves and their families. To quote Orwell’s book, “Animal Farm,” it seemed that “All animals were equal.” The major outcome of the County “Strategic Plan” is to give administrators and the Board of Supervisors big pay raises and cut workers’ pay and health care costs, so that they will soon not be able to provide health care for their families. It is ironic how the words have changed to, “Some animals are more equal than others.”
Please respect families, retirees and equal and affordable health care for all by supporting your county workers in their fight to elect a fair and equitable Board of Supervisors.  Vote for Will Pier, Rue Furch and Shirley Zane in the upcoming November election.

Joe Kase
Santa Rosa

Hohorst qualified for hospital board

Editor: Our community is lucky that a man with Peter Hohorst’s qualifications wants to be on the Sonoma Valley Health Care District Board. Peter will bring intelligent, level-headed leadership to ensure our community continues to have high quality health care. He is the only candidate, besides the incumbent, who has been actively engaged with the hospital in tackling the challenging issues of maintaining local health care. He serves on Sonoma Valley Hospital’s Finance Committee and Strategic Planning Committee. Peter is also an engineer who has extensive construction experience. I look forward to voting for Peter Hohorst. Please join me.

Roy Tennant
Sonoma

Abuse of power

Editor: Gov. Sarah Palin says the so-called Troopergate report released on Friday by a panel of 14 Alaska state legislators was a “partisan circus,” despite the fact that Republicans outnumbered Democrats on the panel by more than three to one. The panel found that Palin “abused her power” and “violated state ethics laws.” Palin’s response to the report was a declaration that the official report absolves her of “any legal wrongdoing.”
During Palin’s recent nationally televised debate with Democratic vice presidential contender, Sen. Joe Biden, Palin expressed a belief that under the Constitution, she would have the right to expand the powers of the office of vice president beyond the powers Vice President Dick Cheney has already usurped. It seems clear to me that if Palin has “abused the power” of her current office and “violated state ethics laws,” she will be even more dangerous as vice president than Cheney and will further seek to erode the constitutional rights of all Americans beyond that of the Bush administration.

Allen Moore
Albuquerque, N.M.
(former longtime Sonoma resident)