Dear Editor, I would like to comment on Mr. Bruce Tichinin’s
recent Guest View column. Frankly, Bruce
”
I don’t give a darn …
”
about your reputation and income loss regarding the city’s
comments about you and sure don’t want to read about your hurt
feelings in my local newspaper.
Reader could care less about attorney’s hurt feelings
Dear Editor,
I would like to comment on Mr. Bruce Tichinin’s recent Guest View column.
Frankly, Bruce “I don’t give a darn … “about your reputation and income loss regarding the city’s comments about you and sure don’t want to read about your hurt feelings in my local newspaper. I think what you did cost the city a lot of money and affected many personal lives. Are you going to sue me for saying this?
I will be honest, I believe you already had a reputation issue. Remember the “Ford Store” that you tried to stop coming to Morgan Hill? I can only assume that affected your income as well.
With that said, I have a suggestion. Since you have lived in this community since 1955 you must like it. If you are successful with your litigation on this issue that you donate the proceeds to local city causes. The skateboard park or senior center to name a few could have a sign indicating “B.T. Donated This.” It would be a win-win for all and think of the positive public relations it would get.
Frank E. Gardner, Morgan Hill
Water district director should reconsider selection
Dear Editor,
It has come to my attention that Santa Clara Valley Water District Director Rosemary Kamei, of District 1 which includes Morgan Hill and Gilroy, had the opportunity to select a candidate from her own district to represent us for the water redistricting committee and instead selected a person outside our district.
I feel that someone who lives within our district should have been selected. Both of our cities have water needs for residential and farming. Many farming communities rely on large quantities of cheap water to grow their crops and hopefully, sell their produce to customers at a reasonable price.
At the very least, someone who would represent the farming community for both cities and who resides in District 1 should have been considered. I feel that Ms. Kamei’s decision to select someone outside of the district did not serve her constituents well and hopefully, she will reconsider.
Ron Kirkish, 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 voters for a 1 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 down. During the tech boom 10 years ago, Gov. Gray Davis lavished the state employees (starting with the prison guards) with unsustainable raises and benefits.
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
Now is the time to quit eating meat
Dear Editor,
Anyone who’s still eating meat in the wake of the latest beef recall – this one involving 864,000 pounds of ground beef potentially contaminated with E. coli that was sold throughout California – must have a death wish. This isn’t the first time that tainted meat has been shipped to stores, schools, hotels and restaurants, endangering public safety.
E. coli can cause bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, kidney failure, and, ultimately, death. Of course, even when meat isn’t contaminated with E. coli, it’s not safe to eat. It’s high in saturated fat and cholesterol and has been linked to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and certain types of cancer. Meat-eaters are a whopping nine times more likely to be obese than vegans are.
And since harmful salmonella and E. coli bacteria live in the intestines and feces of animals, raising animals for food greatly fosters the spread of food-borne illnesses. We’d all be better off if everyone ate a vegan diet.
Heather Moore, Research Specialist, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Norfolk, VA
