5 letters: Breastfeeding awareness; Fill the Boot; Kennedy responds to Muirhead; rent control

Breastfeeding Awareness Month
Dear Editor,
While Aug. 1 to 7 marks World Breastfeeding Week, Santa Clara County promotes breastfeeding awareness throughout the month.  
The American Academy of Pediatrics states that a mother’s milk is the ideal food to feed a baby and recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. Breastfeeding benefits a baby’s immune system, speeds up a mother’s recovery from childbirth and helps foster an emotional connection between mother and child.
Unfortunately, many new mothers are not provided with breastfeeding resources and support. In 2013, 96 percent of mothers in Santa Clara County initiated breastfeeding however rates began to decline soon after birth. As a result, more work needs to be done to support the continuation of breastfeeding in the weeks and months following delivery.  
South County: United for Health, a collaborative effort coordinated by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department (SCCPHD), has provided leadership in this area and has partnered with FIRST 5 Santa Clara County, Valley Medical Center—Gilroy and Saint Louise Regional Hospital to enhance breastfeeding support in Gilroy and Morgan Hill. The effort recognizes that support for breastfeeding must also extend into the workplace. 
It is important that employers adopt breastfeeding policies and create supportive environments for new mothers returning to work. We invite all businesses in Santa Clara County to join us in promoting breastfeeding. Visit the SCCPHD website to learn how to become designated as a “Mother Friendly Employer.”
Tyson Jue Interim
CEO, FIRST 5 Santa Clara County
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Boot fill thank you from firemen
Dear Editor,
I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you to all of you who donated at our sixth annual Fill the Boot event, which took place over Father’s Day weekend. We were able to raise $29,000 so far from your donations. It is always so overwhelming to see the support that the residents of South County always so graciously provide. Thanks for the continued support for MDA.
Herb Alpers
South Santa Clara County Fire District, CAL FIRE Morgan Hill
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Kennedy responds to criticism
Dear Editor,
In response to a recent letter to you by Mr. Doug Muirhead, first of all I am glad to hear that Mr. Muirhead has no complaints about how I’ve performed since being appointed to the Board of Directors of the Santa Clara Valley Water District. He is wrong, however, in his statement about my appointment. It is true that I made an offer not to run, if it would make a difference. My offer was not accepted. The appointment process was very lengthy. It took the board 12 votes and two meetings for the board to make their final decision. I have a more lengthy description of what happened on my website, which is: friendsofdenniskennedy.com.
Although, initially, I did not consider what my future plans would be after my two year appointment, after spending three or four months serving on the board, it became clear to me that this is a good fit for. I am a registered professional engineer with a strong background in water treatment and fluid systems, both as an engineer and manager at IBM, as well as a Project Engineer for the Parsons Corporation. Additionally, having served as Mayor of Morgan Hill, President of the Santa Clara County Cities Association, Chairman of the South County Regional Waste Water Authority and many other leadership positions, I have learned how to get things done.
With the county facing the worst drought in recorded history, the need to seismically retrofit Anderson Dam, the Llagas Creek Flood control project and many other critically needed infrastructure projects, I believe my engineering and leadership skills can serve the SCVWD well.
So Mr. Muirhead, I will do my best to regain your trust, as well as that of the voters of SCVWD District 1. I will do my best.
Dennis Kennedy
Director, District 1, SCVWD
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Medi-pot advocates: fizzling loss
Dear Editor
The City of San Jose recently passed a medical marijuana ordinance that the pro-marijuana advocates say is actually a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. 
In other words, the marijuana ordinance is a round hole while the dispensaries are square pegs, and a fit
is impossible.
San Jose, being the third-largest city in the State of California and 10th largest in America, was expected to be a huge prize for the pro-marijuana advocates in the hope to further their agenda to ultimately legalize marijuana in California and to also use it as a propaganda tool to convince other states to legalize marijuana.
As was expected, the pro-marijuana advocates fought hard to override the recently approved medical marijuana ordinance. Their leaders; Dave Hodges (owner of the All Cannabis Club), John Anthony (marijuana attorney), threatened San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and the city administration that they were going to organize an “Occupy San Jose” protest and bring in thousands of protesters and to also gather signatures to place a referendum on the November 2014 ballot to override the ordinance.
After all the bluster and threatening remarks, the planned attack on San Jose was a fizzle; a total failure.   
And this failure is a “stake in the heart” of the pro-marijuana advocates as Californians across the state are saying “NO” to marijuana and have been since the defeat of Prop 19 in 2012.
It is a fact (and a statistic that the pro-marijuana advocates are trying to keep secret) that the “large” majority of cities and counties across California have already banned marijuana dispensaries in their communities. And every attempt by the pro-marijuana advocates to attack these cities in the courts to override their bans has failed; all the way to the California Supreme Court.
Then on Nov. 2, 2010 the citizens of California defeated Proposition 19, to legalize pot by 53.5% of the popular vote. 
Fast forward to the 2012 ballot, and the citizens of California witnessed that the pot advocates were barely able to gather enough signatures to place a marijuana referendum on the ballot for four separate cities, and the citizens in every single city voted overwhelmingly to ban them, including the cities of:
1. Solana Beach (61.93% voted to ban)
2. Del Mar (56% voted to ban)
3. Lemon Grove (60.3% to voted ban)
4. Palo Alto (62.11% voted to ban)
Then it should remembered that the pro-pot advocates tried to gather signatures to place four separate measures on the November, 2014 ballot to legalize marijuana, and each one failed miserably to obtain the required 504,760 signatures.
1. California Cannabis Hemp Initiative (failed)
2. California Marijuana Legalization Initiative (failed)
3. California “Marijuana Policy Reform” initiative – 2014 (failed)
4. California Marijuana Control, Regulate and Tax Marijuana (failed)
This huge failure in San Jose is yet another example of the continuing downward trend showing the world the pro-marijuana advocates are losing city after city, up and down California.
The Citizens of California have seen enough, have had enough and they’re taking California back!
Ron Kirkish, Gilroy
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Rent control, greedy landlords
This letter is in response to the recent remarks made by the Metro and other news outlets in our area. Why is Gilroy and Morgan Hill doing so much building when we are in a drought? The answer is easy: greed? Yes. Greedy landlords.
Gilroy has no rent control. Years ago I addressed this issue; now I see it more and more in this area. Landlords are taking advantage now of the freeze that’s been lifted to now raise rents in South County.
The market price now for renters of apartments in our area is $1,400 and above depending on the conditions of area property value, etc. This now gives property owners realty companies license to cheat their low income renters and families.
Out of town owners can take advantage of no rent control to rip off their own clients. Check my facts. With no rent control in Gilroy or Morgan Hill, this will cause a lot of financial hardship for those who already have a hard time getting by already.
That’s why I say all this building should at least create jobs, in the middle of a drought. Look at the water use. Are the city planners looking into this?
I think not—no.
It’s one thing to grow the town and yes, we are really growing fast, but to make more money on the backs of poor and low-income families is wrong—dead wrong—and needs to be stopped now.
The rich, well off and well-connected are the winners here, and it is just not fair to the rest of us who have to pay these people to live here. It is hard to get affordable housing now, and it’s getting harder.
Daniel Garcia, Gilroy