Novato police hoping to continue K9 program
I am a board member for the newly formed Novato Police K9 Foundation. It was recently established as part of a Leadership Novato Project.
Members of the community have joined with an adviser from the Novato Police Department. The Novato Police K9 Foundation is a nonprofit organization. Using donations, police hope to fund the acquisition of several new K9s to continue the 20-year history of deploying well-trained canines. The cost to purchase and train a service dog has become increasingly challenging. The average service life of a K9 is about six years.
When a K9 retires from duty, the affiliated police officer maintains the care and medical expenses. It is our hope that the foundation will provide a health and medical policy to help K9s in retirement. Peter Pelavin is the president of the foundation and Sgt. Sean Sinnott is the secretary-treasurer. I serve on the board with Dan Hanlon and Keith Wheeler.
We are asking the community to help support the K9 program with tax-deductible donations. Go online at novatopolicek9foundation.org.
At Marin Humane in Novato, foundation representatives staffed a donor table at the annual Woofstock all-day picnic celebration. We were pleased with the many inquiries about continuing Novato’s police K9 program.
— Penny Hansen, Novato
Town Council has put Fairfax in very bad spot
From my perspective, our local system of government in Fairfax has completely broken down. I think our town roads are the absolute worst in Marin County. We have a dire lack of affordable housing. Our citizens are angry and divided — with good reason.
I think much of the blame rests with the present members of the Town Council. Instead of addressing problems, the council blundered its way into adopting a fringe, far-left, extreme rent-control ordinance without doing enough to consult the people primarily affected by their action. I’m talking about small landlords and owners of accessory dwelling units.
Many are outraged at being subject to new procedures. They make it much harder to evict nonpaying, defiant tenants. If a tenant breaks a lease, the landlord shouldn’t have to spend years and tens of thousands of dollars for an eviction.
The state already has a rent-control ordinance. Reputable economists agree that this kind of draconian law discourages rental units from being put on the market. Without an influx of new housing, it will only create more scarcity in the market.
The present members of the council must face the consequences of their ideological blindness. In my opinion, the council has demonstrated incompetence. Fairfax voters need to replace the entire council with people of common sense, who are aligned with the interest of the majority of the town voters and not with far left ideological extremists.
Cindy Swift was a candidate in 2022. If she decides to run again, I hope others like her will join Swift to clean up the mess that our present council has created.
— Carl Diehl, Fairfax
Fairfax recall push is truly a waste of time
I agree with recent letters to the editor opposing a recall push against two members of the Fairfax Town Council. There is no need to recall Stephanie Hellman or Lisel Blash. Both have been doing the job they were elected to do.
Recalls should only be undertaken when there is evidence of criminal activity or malfeasance in office. In some cases, as in Washington state, recalls are prohibited for political purposes or “policy choices that some people just don’t like or for managerial mistakes,” according to documentation by the University of Washington School of Law. Recalls in that state are limited to cases where there is a clear and “substantial wrongful conduct that affects or interferes with the performance of public duty.”
Since California does not require specific grounds for recall, it has often been used by those who simply disagree over a single issue or are the losers in a previous election. In any case, a recall without clear grounds or violation of duty simply deprives the voters who elected the officials being recalled of their right to have won their election.
It resets the election process (usually at great expense) so that the voters in one election see their votes canceled. This creates conditions where the democratic process is undermined and promotes repeated recalls and reelection cycles where government ends up being conducted by appointed bureaucrats rather than elected representatives.
I urge people to not sign the petitions, to go to council meetings or watch them on Zoom and be involved.
— Niccolo Caldararo, Fairfax
Rideshares would help with public transportation
I think the under-utilization of public transportation, such as the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District and the Marin Transit bus system, is caused by the changing dynamics of our modern-day community.
The overuse of cars in comparison to public transportation stems from the basic layout of our community. It renders broad public transportation inefficient. For the blessed residents of Marin, the system’s inefficiencies make it just too much work for many to bother using. This planning oversight has created a system that is irrational and unsuitable for many.
The superfluous use of single-serving vehicles is a major issue for Marin. It impacts traffic and leads to far too many emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide that harm our beautiful county. Large buses and trains are unsuitable for the micro-communities of Marin because of the separation between neighborhoods and the main roads throughout Marin, leaving the systems that we do have (like SMART) under-used.
To improve this, I implore that we implement smaller-scale transportation systems within neighborhoods. We need systems to promote carpooling or ridesharing to these main areas to optimize the systems we do have. By offering incentives (like dedicated freeway lanes or Clipper card benefits to those who carpool with others in their communities), we can both lower the use of cars and promote systems such as the SMART.
The promotion of ridesharing in Marin cannot be overstated. By condensing the number of cars on the road, we can lower the high-emission rates of Marin, reduce traffic congestion on all major roads and promote public transportation. We need to recognize the layout of our county and increase accessibility to our amazing public transportation systems.
— Ella Picketts, Mill Valley
Impressed by bravery of Fairfax nurse in Gaza
I was stunned but gratified by the recently published article about nurse Sandy Adler (“Fairfax nurse recalls horror, heartbreak of mission in Gaza,” March 19). She risked her life going to Gaza to work in one of the few remaining hospitals. Most of the hospitals in Gaza have been either destroyed or badly damaged. The largest hospital in Gaza, Al Shifa hospital, was so badly damaged that it can’t function.
Adler is one of many brave health care workers who have gone to Gaza to work under extraordinarily terrible circumstances. The few hospitals that are left are usually without water, electricity, anesthesia and antibiotics.
The mission of these doctors and health care workers is one of love, compassion and sacrifice. Some have been injured or lost their lives. Not one doctor, health care worker, humanitarian aid worker or journalist is safe in Gaza.
The carnage in Gaza must come to an end. Instead of sending more weapons to Israel, President Joe Biden should use his leverage and, at last, demand a cease-fire.
— Jan Bauman, San Rafael
