Marin IJ Readers Forum May 29, 2022 – Marin Independent Journal

Vote yes on Measure A for parks, open spaces, agriculture

It’s hard to imagine Marin County without our vast expanses of parks and open spaces. They help define what makes Marin such a special place to live. Parks are integral not only to Marin’s beauty and quality of life, but also to our economy. Parks create jobs, they attract visitors upon whom countless local businesses depend, they add almost incalculable value to our homes and neighborhoods.

The Measure A tax for parks, green spaces and agriculture has already been a good investment for Marin over the past nine years. Take a look at McNears Beach Park, work underway at Bothin Marsh Preserve to combat sea level rise, the new Ponti Ridge Trail, improvements to Stafford Lake and more.

Marin County Parks staff did a wonderful job. Going forward, Measure A funds will support land stewardship, improve trails, improve access to parks, and expand vegetation management efforts that reduce risk to wildlife. This work benefits us all.

Let’s continue to invest in Marin and its future.

—Monica Stafford, San Rafael

Sausalito City Council Should Kill Ferry Plaza Plan

Despite outrage from residents and merchants, the Sausalito City Council is still moving forward with plans to renovate the Ferry Plaza and exacerbate the parking shortage (“Sausalito advances plans to improve the place of the ferries”, May 26).

Considering that it seems no one is supporting this downtown revamp, you have to wonder why City Hall is so determined to make it happen.

—Sandra Macleod White, San Rafael

New water directors must be open to possibilities

In September 2021, as our reservoirs shrank to catastrophic levels, a group of friends and strangers came together to find ways to improve our water supply. We all agreed that the inaction of the current Marin Municipal Water District Board of Directors has put us in this predicament. Some of us thought the answer was desalination or water reuse. Others wanted to raise reservoirs or collect stormwater.

We all agreed that conservation was part of the equation, but not enough – not now or in the future. We need a constellation of solutions to truly secure a future water supply. One way to do this is to elect new MMWD board members.

In her recently published Marin Voice commentary, MMWD Director Cynthia Koehler said she has always supported a multifaceted approach to water supply (“Take a silver buckshot approach to water reliability.” ‘water’, May 7). If that were true, our water supply wouldn’t have been as devastated as it was last year and the failed Hail Mary interconnection to East Bay wouldn’t have been necessary, a plan that has cost Marin’s water users millions of dollars and alienated our East Bay neighbors.

It’s not all up to Koehler, who will step down at the end of his term. There are four other administrators and the debacle rests on their shoulders as well. If only they really believed in a portfolio of water supply options years ago instead of finding this new “religion” now.

As water users, we need to know more about the different options for increasing supply. We can’t afford to have knee-jerk reactions to one solution over another until we know more about what each means in today’s world. Climate change is wreaking havoc faster than ever, but new technologies to deal with it are evolving rapidly. We must keep an open mind about the possibilities and elect new directors to realize them.

—Kristi Denton Cohen, Mill Valley

Women need to have full control of their bodies

I write on the subject of abortion. As a man, I shouldn’t have much to say about a personal medical choice involving a woman and her doctor. But I am a father, stepfather and grandfather, so I will continue.

I begin by agreeing that Roe v. Wade was a wrong decision, but you want to define imperfect. Add to that all the partisan politics that have followed since the early 1970s on the issue, including our pathetically partisan and utterly dysfunctional Supreme Court.

I can agree that our current health care system does not contain built-in safeguards against unwanted pregnancies or services to deal with them, a situation that will get worse before it gets better if Roe is overthrown.

Whatever your political or religious beliefs, it comes down to something the government, or anyone else, has no business having: a woman’s choice to have absolute control over her own body. The number of men who can really understand the depth of the problem is exactly zero.

—Craig J. Corsini, San Rafael