Dear Editor,
The Dispatch article on the silting coming from Uvas Creek
published Jan. 22 begs the question
”
What part of NO does the ‘stinking rose’ not understand?
”
It seems abuses to our local natural resources have been
connected to or associated with garlic.
Dear Editor,
The Dispatch article on the silting coming from Uvas Creek published Jan. 22 begs the question “What part of NO does the ‘stinking rose’ not understand?” It seems abuses to our local natural resources have been connected to or associated with garlic.
First abuse: the Christopher Ranch which two years ago, dumped pollutants into Uvas Creek resulting in a steelhead trout kill, a federally protected species. Also killed were various other species of fish, crustaceans, amphibians, aquatic plants and everything else up the food chain. Christopher Ranch was prosecuted and fined $60,000.
Second abuse: The Christopher High School contractor was prosecuted and fined $170,000 for and erosion control failure. This was a one-time incident during a downpour. The sediment made its way into a flood control canal and into Llagas Creek, but no fish were killed. Hmmm, why the discrepancy in fines for those two incidents?
Third abuse: The silting of Uvas Creek by the Garlic Festival and their failure to provide adequate erosion control after each festival. The fine powder from both the north and south parking lots flows down the footpaths and roads into the creek.
The festival should establish policies and procedures that would prevent this from occurring again. It is not about money! It is about responsible business practices and environmental stewardship.
If the largest developer in South County, Tim Filice of Glen Loma Properties, understands the importance of protecting our natural resources, why can’t the stinking rose mascot, Mr. Garlic, the goodwill ambassador of the Garlic Festival?
Violet Rentfrow, Gilroy
True turtle tale restores family’s faith in the younger generation
Dear Editor,
As relatively new residents of the Gilroy community, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to a group of teenagers who truly restored our faith in the younger generation.
On Friday morning, Jan. 29, we were surprised and dismayed that a large turtle we had placed in our front yard was smashed into unrepairable pieces. Granted, it was just a decoration, but neighbors and passers-by enjoyed it as much as we did, often stopping to take pictures with their small children sitting on its broad-shell back. Its popularity was displayed this past weekend, as several people asked about the turtle, noticing that it is no longer standing in the front garden.
It wasn’t until later that Friday afternoon that an apologetic young teenage girl rang our doorbell and tried to give us an envelope with $40 in it that she and her friends wanted to give us to “replace the turtle.” She explained that they also wanted to take a picture “on the turtle” and it broke.
We know it must have taken all the courage she could gather to face and admit to the unexpected event. Although she was the lone representative of the group, she and her friends should know that their simple act of kindness and honesty warmed our hearts, and we appreciate their sincere concern for our feelings and our property.
The Avillas, Gilroy
It’s another con job in the works – no vehicle tax for the state parks!
Dear Editor,
Another con job is in the works: The state wants us to pay an additional vehicle property tax of $18 to fund the overrated parks. They promise no entry fees for their use. They just doubled this car tax (compare your bill to a year ago); they should instead be asking if $18 of what we already pay should go to the parks!
No one who is able to read can actually believe this will last. Those who are supporting this new car tax are the same liars who moan about “ballot box budgeting.” (Does anyone see the hypocrisy?) They con us into paying more and then divert the money. Both the state and our county have a long history of breaking promises and using the bait-and-switch to pass tax hikes.
To pass Proposition 63 (2004), the state asked the voters for a one percent income tax hike on “the rich” to fund mental health services. The majority of voters were conned into passing it. Despite the second-highest overall tax rate in the country, California is always broke, so they declare an “emergency” and divert funds to the general waste.
In the 1990s, the county asked for a tax hike in twin Measures A and B to build and expand freeways. The voters were conned into passing it, and within one year the county diverted half of the funds to the waste known as VTA.
Wisely, the voters have repeatedly demanded that gas taxes fund only road expansion and maintenance; taxing gas to fund anything else is pure thievery. So every year Sacramento cries, “fiscal emergency,” and diverts funds. We pay the highest gas tax in the country and have the worst roads.
At all levels of government, the more tax we pay, the more they spend. State taxes have never gone back down. During the tech boom 10 years ago, Gov. Davis lavished the state employees (starting with the prison guards) with unsustainable raises and benefits. This was in lieu of keeping their promise to drop the sales tax from 7 to 6 percent when things got better. I remember their exact words, parroted by their lapdogs in the media: “This is not the time to cut taxes.” Let’s stop this car tax before it gets any momentum. Tell its supporters to take a long hike off a short pier.
Alan Viarengo, Gilroy
