Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for Oct. 7, 2023

‘Sound the Alarm’ fire safety plan saves lives

An article in the IJ dated Sept, 4 entitled “Blaze during night destroys residence” describes a home fire in the Contempo Marin neighborhood of San Rafael. The article reported all residents escaped unharmed. This home and 100 other homes in the area received free smoke alarms and installations as part of the “Sound the Alarm” program offered by the Marin Chapter of the American Red Cross.

As public information officer for that group, I can say the victims followed fire safety instructions provided by the Red Cross and escaped from the home unharmed. The program offers free smoke alarms, installation and safety instructions. A home visit takes less than an hour.

On Oct. 28, the team will be in Novato’s Bel Marin Keys neighborhood. If you live there and are interested in a free smoke alarm with installation and fire safety training, please reach out to kay.tsenin@redcross.org or send a text to 415-271-8669. An hour of your time can save the lives of you and your family members.

Help your community stay safe by becoming a volunteer installer or fire safety educator. All training and materials will be provided. Reach out and be part of this lifesaving community program.

— Veda Florez, San Anselmo

Still uplifting people in this polarized world

Yes, we do live in a messed-up, polarized kind of world, as some say. Yet, if we look all around us, we can see people who care.

Recent stories in the IJ, including the Bay Area Voice commentary by Thomas G. Plante (“The world is a mess. Embracing ethics might be our only hope,” Sept. 29) and the feature about San Quentin State Prison marathon coach Markelle Taylor (”Run with joy and love,” Sept. 29) spread that light for everyone to see.

Whenever I go to the Marin YMCA in San Rafael, which I do at least five days a week, I am reminded of the people who always say a kind word or tell me to have a good day and mean it. This kind of encouragement is uplifting. It is out there, all around us.

Thanks to all of you who care and help us to create a better world for and with each other. I am grateful.

— Therese Stawowy, San Rafael

Many reasons ranching should come to end

I find the thesis set forth in Lily Verdone’s Marin Voice commentary (“Ranchers play key role in county’s fire-mitigation strategy,” Sept. 28) to be misleading. I doubt it truly solves any issues related to wildfires, but it does create many other problems.

Putting aside the idea that “ranching” is just a polite way of describing the enslavement of animals for slaughter and meat consumption, it continues to cause irreparable environmental damage.

It has led to the indiscriminate fencing of open space so that native animals, such as deer and tule elk, cannot graze freely. It accounts for a significant contribution to our climate crisis by methane emissions. It has led to the rapid increase in non-native invasive grasses and plants mostly not seen in the Point Reyes National Seashore tule elk preserve. It creates tons of waste that can and has contaminated parklands and the ocean. Additionally, ranches account for a loss of parkland for hiking and other recreational activities.

It is the justification for brutally killing native wildlife and unbalancing the ecosystem. When will the desire for a biodiverse and healthy environment outweigh the personal financial gain of private ranching businesses?

— Cheryl Ruggiero, Bolinas

More must be done for unhoused across nation

It’s disheartening that neither Republicans nor Democrats are discussing issues regarding the growing population of unhoused people in the U.S. and throughout our communities.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for clean streets without tents, garbage, needles and neighborhoods being referred to as “unofficial open-air public housing.” But my concern is that, in spite of growing numbers of unhoused people everywhere, few politicians in Washington, D.C. are addressing why it’s happening to so many people, including veterans and families, seniors and disabled people. What can we do about so many being forced to live on our streets?

There are those, of course, who believe that the homeless want to be homeless, want to be unemployed and like living on the streets. That’s ridiculous. For most, living on the streets means they are living their worst nightmare. They are one step closer to despair and death. I worry that most have simply given up.

To get the tents and garbage off the streets, we need shelters that provide the help to rehabilitate unhoused people so they can lead productive lives with jobs and permanent housing.

Shelters can be temporary solutions. If they are tightly regulated with a structure that includes counselors, social services, housing assistance, employment training, medical and mental health services, food and clothing, they can help provide a “second chance.”

The answer is not to “clear the camps” with the campers having nowhere to go. The answer is to clear the camps and move them somewhere so all can find help.

— Sandra Macleod White, San Rafael

Hate speech at meetings concerning for democracy

I am writing in regard to the article published Sept. 27 with the headline, “Marin council meetings disrupted with bigoted comments.”

It may be true that “hate speech” is allowed under the First Amendment, but that doesn’t mean it has to be tolerated in a council meeting. These racists should not be allowed to spread their hate and lies, using the Constitution as a cloak, at a public forum where decency and decorum have always ruled.

When society allows this to spread, these small-minded people abuse the platforms to distort the truth and spread hatred, making us all losers.

I am concerned that some Republicans have taken this to a new low with their leader, Donald Trump, who stated at the beginning of his first campaign for president in 2015 that some Mexicans crossing the U.S. border illegally were “rapists.” Since then, our public discourse has sunk to all-time lows.

Some in the Republican Party appear to have no moral center. I worry that this lowly faction wants to shove its version of America down our collective throats. If their leader isn’t elected in 2024, will they arm themselves to the teeth and take to the streets?

I am concerned that Trump’s “Big Lie” could become the “Big Revolution” and any of us who are “different” in any way will be persecuted like never before. I don’t want our election system demonized, nor do I want our free press attacked. Some of these people are accepting obvious lies as the truth.

I worry that if Trump is reelected, he will seek revenge against all he thinks wronged him. Trump has already destroyed much of what is good about our country. If he wins the election next year, I think our democracy is in danger of being destroyed.

— Paul Bartolini, Santa Rosa

Gas prices suspiciously high across California

I just returned from a trip through the state of New York, having driven from Toronto, through Niagara Falls, Cooperstown and Hudson Valley before flying home from New Jersey.

The most I paid for gasoline in the U.S. was $3.99 per gallon. After the portion of my trip through Canada, I did the math to convert liters to gallons and Canadian dollars to American. It appears the most I paid there was $4.26. Meanwhile, the average price in California is about $6.

I think oil companies are making Californians pay more because our governor announced a lawsuit against Big Oil. It appears to be pure retribution for wanting cleaner air and climate change relief.

I call on the attorney general to investigate this obvious scam to gouge Californians.

— Bob Leedy, San Rafael