Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for July 24, 2024

MMWD plans need to respect all wildlife

In a commentary published earlier this month (“Recently active MMWD needs to keep pushing projects,” July 7), IJ political columnist Dick Spotswood appears to admonish the environmental community for seeking to protect the few remaining fish in Ross Creek.

Marin old-timers will tell you that, in the 1950s, there was an abundance of steelhead trout and other fish in Corte Madera Creek and its tributaries, including Ross Creek. Youngsters could blithely catch fish all day long in those carefree times.

Then, sometime in the 1960s, the engineers stepped in and decided the best way to rescue Ross Valley residents from occasional flooding was to bulldoze Corte Madera Creek and construct a concrete channel in Kentfield, a structure that sadly persists to this day.

The once-plentiful fish habitat was destroyed — the fish population never returned in numbers to Corte Madera Creek and its tributaries, including Ross Creek.

In case Spotswood missed it, California’s coastal and inland fisheries are on life support. Most recreational and commercial fishing is on hold pending a “hoped-for” recovery. Fish-eating gray whales and brown pelicans are suffering massive die-offs from starvation. California’s white sturgeon population has been decimated and is headed toward being listed as a threatened species.

Contributing factors are a warming planet caused by human activity; historic flood control projects (like Corte Madera Creek); massive water diversions to satisfy Southern California water agencies and corporate agricultural interests in the Central Valley (like the proposed and quite unnecessary Sites reservoir in Colusa County); commercial use and overuse of pesticide that kill fish, bees and more.

Spotswood scolds environmentalists when he should be examining his own attitudes toward wildlife. When will enough be enough for the water district? Is the water supply really more important than our aquatic species? MMWD officials need to seriously ponder these questions.

— Steven Schoonover, Kentfield

Rent control won’t truly solve Marin housing crisis

I am writing to comment on Abby Shewmaker’s recently published Marin Voice commentary (“Fund affordable housing now to keep families close,” July 15).

As someone who also grew up in Marin and went to Redwood High School, Shewmaker’s lament over the splitting up of the generations of Marin residents struck home for me. The current solutions for me seem to be staying with mom and dad (a bit too close) or moving north (a bit too far away).

I also agree that “decades of low housing production” have made it hard for young people to find housing. However, the push (by groups like the Democratic Socialists of America) for complicated regulations, micromanagement of housing rules and stifling controls on rents is not going to help us build new housing.

Costs of construction and repair, insurance, maintenance and just about everything else has pushed building costs to about $650 per foot (not counting design costs, land costs and permit fees). I think economic reality places the creation of affordable housing on our local governments.

— Andrew Allen, Belvedere

Opening Alto Tunnel might be best option

Let’s reopen Alto Tunnel to connect Corte Madera with Mill Valley for cyclists and pedestrians. Let’s further our goal of a comfortably safe, nonmotorized transportation network to be here for generations.

Those opposed will tout the “alternative connections,” but they can’t be serious. Only three remotely feasible alternatives to the tunnel exist: Camino Alto, Alto Bowl and Horse Hill. The first two are not significant enough to be part of a real network.

Regarding that Horse Hill path by the freeway: It is quite short, connecting Casa Buena Drive in Corte Madera to Lomita Drive in Mill Valley. But it is very hilly.

It could be leveled somewhat by grading it down to the level of the nearby freeway, but we still have to find our way to each end. Right now, that would mean navigating some quite congested streets. To make them achieve our goal would require a whole lot of property acquisition and engineering. I suspect those costs would make the tunnel look ridiculously cheap.

A good way to evaluate any alternative is the 10-year-old rule. That is, send a 10-year-old kid out alone on a bike to ride it. If you aren’t willing to do so, it isn’t a valid alternative. Any active 10-year-old could navigate Alto Tunnel, but the Horse Hill path would be a formidable challenge.

Note that a lot of kids go back and forth between Hall Middle School in Larkspur and Mill Valley Middle School. Today, they are driven by mommy or daddy. With the tunnel open, a lot of them would ride a bike.

— Dwayne Price, Larkspur

The disappointing fair polluted Lagoon Pond

Attendance at this year’s Marin County Fair was down sharply from last year. While some attribute this to the heat wave, I suspect it is due to the expressed discontent of county residents.

The cost of attending the fair inclusive of parking, food and drinks (attendees were prohibited from taking their own food and drink) — with an extra charge for ride attractions, as well as insufficient discounts for children and seniors — was too high. Additionally, there was inadequate attention to the needs of handicapped attendees; an overall failure to showcase enough local entertainers, artists, food vendors and craftspeople; plus reduced attention to livestock and animal exhibits and the lack of visible support from local 4H or Future Farmers of America programs.

However, my real pet peeve was the nightly fireworks shows. Everyone loves fireworks. They evoke joy and excitement as few external things do. But for far too long, the county fair has put aside what the fireworks do to the quality and appearance of Lagoon Pond. What was once one of the most scenic parts of the county center, as was intended by Frank Lloyd Wright, appeared to be filled with dirty, polluted water. The fish, ducks and other fowl that inhabit it had to be impacted.

The mess turns what should be one of the most endearing showcases of the county’s leadership in environmental protection into a glaring example of the county’s neglect.

I think dropping the fireworks should be a last result, but we need a solution. Spending money to restore the water’s purity and beauty — then maintaining its luster — is imperative. The cost to do so should be included in the fair’s operating budget. Citizens have a right to expect that our county supervisors, whose offices look out upon the pond, will face up to this plight and restore the pond to its rightful luster.

— Ronald S. Loshin, San Rafael

Time to push out last hurrah of founding elite

I am writing in response to Brian Auger’s recently published letter to the editor. Auger writes, “This country was founded on doctrines of inclusiveness not exclusion.” Actually, it was founded on the opposite.

The country was founded by wealthy, White, Christian, males. Many appeared to be supremacists. Their doctrines were enshrined in the Constitution. The first Black Americans were considered property; Native Americans were considered savages and women were basically excluded from government.

For our first 100 years, the economy was propelled by slavery and genocidal land acquisition. Not until 1920 were women allowed to participate and it wasn’t until the 1964 Civil Rights Act that Black Americans were given the opportunity to vote in the South.

I believe we are now facing the last hurrah of the founding elite in Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s “make America great again” movement. Our democracy is fragile and I worry this group wants a government “by the few” and “for the few.”

— Arthur L. Silberman, San Rafael