Morgan Hill taxpayers get the short end of the real estate stick on this ‘deal’
Dear Editor,
As a real estate professional and resident of Morgan Hill I was amazed at the article headlined “Vacant home saga finally turns.” I have experience in dealing with the Below Market Rate program as I have performed appraisals on these type of properties.
It is apparent that these homes have a large red flag on their title as considered in appraisals, lender requirements, etc. If a lender does not see the giant red restrictive red flags and loans on the property, why should the City of Morgan Hill (taxpayers of Morgan Hill) make up back payments to this incompetent or crooked lender and subsequently ending up settling with a foreclosure company after making the back payments of $140,000?
This city needs some Council members with some common sense and a new attorney.
George M. Lopez, Morgan Hill, Certified General Appraiser
President Obama gives way and allows spraying of toxic sulfuryl fluoride on our food
Dear Editor,
The federal Farm Bill recently signed into law by President Obama contains a provision that overrides a ruling by the EPA to phase-out the toxic fumigant sulfuryl fluoride because it leaves unsafe levels of fluoride residue on food.
The aggregate dose that children receive from these residues along with the fluoride from other sources, including fluoridated water and dental products, exceeds the EPA’s safe reference dose for fluoride “especially in the case of infants and children” which is why the EPA started the processing of phasing sulfuryl fluoride out.
Lobbyists for Dow AgroSciences and the National Pest Management Association worked to get a provision into the Farm Bill to reverse EPA’s recommendation. This not only undermines the credibility of the EPA Pesticide division but also delivers a critical blow to the Food Quality Protection Act, which was designed by Congress to provide stronger protections for infants and children from pesticides.
Of the developed nations, only the U.S. and Australia apply this fumigant directly to food. The rest of the world has shown that sulfuryl fluoride is not necessary for the safe storage and handling of food. Our kids are already getting far too much fluoride as evidenced by the fact that 41% of American adolescents have some form of dental fluorosis, a telltale sign that they have experienced the early signs of fluoride poisoning.
Making matters even worse is a recent meta-analysis by Harvard scientists that reported that 26 of 27 studies investigating the relationship between IQ and elevated fluoride in water have found a reduction of IQ, with an average drop of 7 IQ points.
The idea that we are taking these risks to satisfy Dow’s thirst for profit is both intolerable socially, and highly shortsighted from an economic and public health perspective. With the increased exposure to fluoride, it is more urgent than ever that we end water fluoridation wherever this outdated practice is still in force.
Go to www.FluorideAlert.org and watch the 10 Facts on fluoridation. Don’t let ill-informed bullies persuade you that this foolish practice is a sensible idea.
Don Raymond, Morgan Hill
Reader poses questions about the safety of the PG&E pipeline on Fry’s land
Dear Editor:
I read the article in the Times about the AIM castle project and am concerned about the PG&E natural gas pipeline and have several questions.
1. When was the PG&E pipeline constructed?
2. How can we be sure the pipe wont blow up due to the fatigue loads caused by the construction?
3. Do the pipe welds meet current welding codes? If not will they be brought up to current codes? This is very important!
4. Will the pipe welds be inspected? If not, why not? The potential problem is that the welding codes have been improved to preclude fatigue failures and catastrophic events. Old pipelines can be a serious problem.
Ken Mort, Morgan Hill
