Our hearts go out to Ron Sanders, whose son in the Marine Corps is endangered by KBR. Since Bush, Cheney and McCain are good buddies with KBR, cost over runs on their no bid contracts are what we expect if McCain is elected. The only way for Ron Sanders to protect his son from KBR is to vote Democratic in November, to shut down KBR and bring our troops safely out of Iraq.
Frank Crosby, Morgan Hill
From toilet to tap?
Dear Editor,
With political gridlock from political action committees, politicians, political lobbyists and monolithically litigious giants such as the National Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, et al. Working people of California will be the casualties of our government's failure to act and provide water for all of its constituents, no matter whether they are urban areas, rural areas, wetlands, rivers or streams.
Many Californians seemingly don't want population growth and feel that this growth process can be "filibustered" through a continuous call for more studies and quickly adding one more forgotten species to the endangered list. Unfortunately our communities well being is dependant on growth. Well it's time to have a public discussion as to how this is all supposed to work.
A few years ago, the Santa Clara Valley Water District held a roundtable discussion on the release of discharge waters to the San Francisco Bay from the waste treatment plant in San Jose. Their list of attendees included Silicon Valley high tech representatives, educators, doctors, health-care practitioners, farmers and others. It was well organized, thoughtful and complete with people who genuinely wanted to give the best thought to a difficult situation of keeping the Bay's ecosystem in order and use water wisely. Everyone wanted to help.
After many meetings and discussions of where this water would be best used, a fellow farmer from South County, Joe Aiello, commented why not bring this treated water to a potable quality, pump it up to Anderson Lake and let it flow through the Coyote Valley and back to the bay, recharging aquifers along the way. Common sense is hard to come by these days, but Mr. Aiello hit that "pitch" right out of the park: A real walk off home run. It was brilliant, insightful and contentious. How would the public ever come to terms psychologically with bringing our communities waste water to the level of "tap" water?
It's time to take hold of the waters we use in our households, municipalities, industries and communities and think about turning our black water into our tap water. Expensive? Yes. Difficult? Yes. Bold? Yes. True recycling? Yes, again.
Erin Gil, Morgan Hill
No on proposed utility tax measur
Dear Editor,
In the time since I moved to Morgan Hill, almost 19 years ago, I have been a booster for successive city councils. I have served a term on the Mobile Home Rent Stabilization Commission, as well as an interim term as city treasurer. I have been a supporter of most, not all, Redevelopment Agency initiatives and have run for city council twice, unsuccessfully both times ... thankfully given 20/20 hindsight. I mention this to give perspective to my opinion regarding the utility tax which will appear on our November ballot.
In the early '90s, three members of the Morgan Hill City Council, Lori Barke, Ray Bunt and John Sorci, were recalled by the voters because they defied the will of the people and imposed a utility tax. Since that time, during some lean budget periods, the council has put utility tax measures on the ballot. I have supported these measures actively and publicly, but they were defeated.
This November, we will be asked once again to approve a utility tax. This time, I say no.
First, with the dismal state of the economy, this is just not the time to ask us to tax ourselves.
Second, this tax is being promoted as a funding source to add more officers to the Morgan Hill Police Department. While I would love to enhance the MHPD, this proposed utility tax does not guarantee that the money will be spent for that purpose.
This is a general tax and proceeds will go to the general fund. I believe wholeheartedly that the council intends to spend the tax revenue on enhancing the MHPD. But these council members will not always be council members and neither they, nor their successors, will be required to spend this revenue on public safety.
I did not vote for Marby Lee, and when she was elected I never thought I would find myself praising her. While I don't always agree with her, any more than I do with the rest of the council, she has turned out to be an effective and thoughtful council member. I appreciate that and point it out because on this issue, amongst others, I agree with her. Her reasoning for her position on the utility tax issue was 100 percent correct and I commend her for standing her ground. I bet Marby didn't see that coming.
Come November, please join me in voting no on the utility tax. It's just not a good idea this time around.
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Behind the brews: the origin and making of El Toro beers
