Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for April 8, 2023

Organic produce better for numerous reasons

I consider Laura Effel to be a friend, but I must strongly disagree with her statement about nonorganic produce at the Lucky supermarket in Larkspur (“Longtime Larkspur grocery store to close downtown,” April 3).

In the article, Effel states that conventional produce is just as healthy and nutritional as that which is grown organically without oil-based fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Many believe that isn’t true. Studies show there is frequently an additional nutritional value for certain organic produce when compared to conventionally farmed produce.

Furthermore, farming without chemicals improves the soil tilth and fecundity as organic farmers steward and renew their land, not damage and deplete it as happens with conventional production. Organic farming is far healthier for the farmworkers who are sometimes plagued with chemically driven ailments such as asthma and cancer resulting from their labor in the fields.

As a consumer, I am certain only organic produce will do for these very reasons. If one is careful to buy in season from local growers, the slight additional expense is quite acceptable compared to that which conventional production promotes — the possible loss of nutrient value, the damage to farmworker health and safety, as well as the depletion and erosion of the very soil that sustained the crop in the first place.

— Hilde Simon, Corte Madera

High school music program is impressive

When I read the article about a proposal to cut back on funding for Tamalpais Union High School District music programs (“Tam Union school district weighs cuts to music program,” March 17), I thought about Redwood High School and its fantastic music program.

John Bowman is my friend. He helps the Redwood program as a special sound technician. On occasion, I have joined him at the school to watch and hear performances.

Redwood Music Director John Mattern is an exceptional teacher. I have been really impressed by bands put together within the program. Mattern’s energy and creativity have produced many successes. Students have gone on to the famed Berklee College of Music and, for some, he changed their lives with his energy and understanding.

I have a long history of appreciation for jazz. When I was in my late teens, I was fortunate to be invited to the U.S. Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand to meet “Ambassador Satch,” aka Louis Armstrong, during a jazz appreciation tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department.

I have seen memorable jazz performances all over the world. In London, San Francisco, Australia and New Zealand, I attended performances by Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Zawinul, Ray Charles and many others. I was fortunate to meet some of them.

Being steeped in jazz, I was grateful to see the young people at Redwood High perform so well. I was happy to learn that many of them go on to music careers. The benefits that teens gain in understanding music and performing are so valuable. To hear about possible cutbacks is unbelievable.

— Robert Cutten, San Anselmo

Skeptical of Kullaway’s comments on e-bike rules

I am writing in response to quotes attributed to San Anselmo Councilmember Tarrell Kullaway in a recently published article (“San Anselmo reexamines electric bike rules after park collision,” April 2).

I would like to point out that when Kullaway said, “it is not always the bike itself, it’s the behavior of the person riding the bike that is the problem,” she could be accused of borrowing slogans from the National Rifle Association and other hardline supporters of gun rights.

Kullaway is the executive director of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition. That makes her a bicycle advocate. I think it also makes her an apologist.

— Philip Hicks, San Anselmo

Doing the math on cost of MMWD’s new rate plan

As I looked through information on MarinWater.org and read through the details of the Marin Municipal Water District proposed rate increases, a few things struck me.

Yes, the rates for water in Tier 1 are increasing about 60%. The old price was $4.73 per hundred cubic feet (CCF) and it is increasing to $7.67. I did the math. When someone uses 11 CCF bimonthly (which MMWD says is average usage), instead of paying $52.03, it will cost $84.37 just for the water. In four years, that will increase to $119.46, which is well over double.

Whereas we used to be charged at the lowest rate for 26 CCF in the summer, now that is cut back to 15 CCF for both summer and winter. So my calculations show that if someone used 26 CCF last year, it cost $122.98. Starting in July, that will cost $225.27.

None of those changes take into account potential surcharges, which could easily double your bill.

The only good news is that the bimonthly watershed management fee of $11.59 is being reduced, but ratepayers will hardly notice. It is being reduced to $6.71, a savings of $4.88.

— George Topor, Corte Madera

Stop new hookups, focus on improving the system

I would like to congratulate the three new members of the Marin Municipal Water District Board of Directors. I’m hopeful that they will bring common sense to the board and its responsibilities. So far I don’t see it.

For starters, MMWD should freeze all plans for new connections. That way, the district’s commitment to provide adequate supply for all will be taken seriously. It does not make sense to add new hookups when we can barely serve those we have in place now.

I respectfully submit the following: Create, evaluate, focus on and start just one project that will improve upon our existing system. On a parallel track, MMWD should continue to explore new opportunities.

It is time for the new directors to make us believe we voted for the right people. I wish them my regards and good luck.

— Thomas A. Tucker, San Rafael

Without world-class view, we need to keep our lawns

A recently published letter from a Belvedere resident suggested that the Marin Municipal Water District ban all lawns in Marin County.

I’ll consider doing so if the author will step down from that tony perch in Belvedere and instruct me on how to replace my water guzzler with a world-class view of San Francisco.

— Bob Bowen, Tam Valley

Whether it rains here or it doesn’t, we whine

An old friend from New Jersey recently asked what was wrong with California residents. “It doesn’t rain and you whine,” he said. “Then it does rain, and you still whine.”

I told him that wasn’t the half of it here in Marin County. It actually goes like this: It doesn’t rain, the water district raises our rates and we whine. Then, when it rains, the district raises our rates again and we whine. After that, our state mandates thousands more dwellings, the district raises our rates again and we whine.

Our mantra is that we love nature, but we love to whine about it too.

— David Weinstock, Fairfax

State needs to make solar buyback rates fair

My wife and I recently installed solar panels on our roof. Although we had been warned that we live on the shady side of the ridge, we are already generating more electricity than we use. That means we are supplying energy to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

Unfortunately, the California Public Utilities Commission has voted to decrease the rates PG&E pays homeowners in the future by up to 80% (“California lowers incentives for rooftop solar panels,” Dec. 15). From my perspective, the rates were already unfair.

The PUC slashed the solar credit by 80% for commercial and industrial solar projects. This includes schools, churches, farms and businesses. The PUC’s own analysis found that there was no basis to cut the solar credit for commercial and industrial solar projects.

If the PUC doesn’t revisit this issue, we will need the Legislature to fix things so that solar is encouraged. Overall, our home is a supplier, not a user, of power. PG&E should be required to eliminate the many fees we pay using their infrastructure and treat us like any other suppliers of power.

—Joel Blackwell, Corte Madera