Protecting our environmental resources and promoting social justice
Public Letters to the County
EDITOR: Staff Writer Christi Warren’s reporting on the massive traffic jam caused by a festival at Sonoma Lavender in Kenwood warranted placement on Page A3 in Tuesday’s paper (“Highway 12 grinds to halt due to festival”). What was not mentioned is the potential for the cumulative impacts caused by the many events permitted (and not permitted) that …
Red Flag for further event permits…do you hear me now? Read More »
May 28th, 2016 Press Democrat Opinion: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/opinion/5532822-181/thursdays-letters-to-the-editor Wine, taxes and tourists EDITOR: Reading the article about Rep. Mike Thompson introducing a bill to lower taxes on the wine industry was absolutely disgusting (“Big breaks bubbling up,” Tuesday). The wine industry is a great contributor to the local economy — but at a severe cost. Tourists …
Fred Allebach 4/15/16 “Tourism can only be sustainable if it is carefully managed so that potential negative effects on the host community and the environment are not permitted to outweigh the financial benefits.” http://traveltips.usatoday.com/positive-negative-effects-tourism-63336.html Pretty much in Sonoma all we have heard about are tourism’s benefits. Boosters and government like the wine-tourism-hospitality combine …
Fred Allebach on the wine-tourism-hospitality costs Read More »
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/opinion/5217045-181/pd-editorial-coastal-commissions-shady?artslide=0 PD Editorial: California Coastal Commission’s shady firing of Charles Lester In the end, the numbers didn’t matter. The 1,000 or so people who showed up at the California Coastal Commission meeting Wednesday to show support for embattled Executive Director Charles Lester didn’t matter. The 10 hours of public testimony by some 250 speakers didn’t …
“Coastal Commission’s shady firing”……. Thank you Press Democrat! Read More »
Something fishy EDITOR: A narrow majority of Coastal Commissioners, while professing love of the coast, threw overboard a man eminently qualified to assess development proposals under the Coastal Act for the long-term. Some commissioners chose not to work with their executive director in a constructive manner, allowed their personal pet peeves to be exploited, felt …
“Something Fishy”, letter to the editor from coastal commission hearing Read More »
Saturday’s Letters to the Editor Lax enforcement EDITOR: The majority of the Board of Supervisors abandoning a meaningful vacation rental policy exposes a countywide failure: increasing land-use conflicts plus the total absence of code enforcement (“Blanket ban on vacation rentals rejected,” Jan. 27). The Press Democrat reported last spring that code violations are backlogged at …
PD Letter to the Editor nails lax enforcement by county Read More »