I read with sadness that the schools in Monterey are dying for lack of students, due to the actions of Gary Patton of LandWatch. Home and apartment building is verboten in Monterey, and families cannot afford the distorted cost of rental and purchase housing. Gary represents the interest of the wealthy of the Peninsula, who send their few children to private schools and could care less about those public schools. In those fine public schools, children learn that if you choke off supply of non-substitutable product, the price goes up. Gary has done a fine job of choking off the supply of housing in Carmel Valley and Monterey, and now he is working on Marina. Future generations of children can use his name as a curse word for screwing up the region for their generation. Oh well, they can always move to El Lay. Right?

--PHILLIP WEISSBURG, SALINAS

Marina Needs to Smell Coffee

It is indeed regrettable that the Marina City Council, Mayor Perrine, and their legal counsel have impeded implementation of the Marina Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) initiative. The council, with the exception of Councilman Bruce Delgado, placed LandWatch in the awkward position of defending in court its First Amendment rights to be involved in the initiative. More important to the citizens they ostensibly represent, the City Council wasted approximately $200,000 in taxpayer funds (so far), not to mention an indeterminable amount of time and energy, suing LandWatch and avoiding responsibility for the land use law that a majority of its citizens passed.

LandWatch urges the city to rethink its decision to challenge the UGB--the end result of a fair and democratic election--and instead make the UGB a swift reality. It is in the public's interest to incorporate the UGB into the city's general plan in as timely and cost-effective a manner as possible. As a first step, the city would be well served to collaborate with LandWatch on pending litigation and thereby avoid another law suit. There is no reason for further legal costs and delays. There is every reason to do the right and democratic thing.

--MICHAEL DELAPA, MEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORS
LANDWATCH MONTEREY COUNTY

Correction

In last week's cover story ("Muralista," pg. 14) we misnamed one of artist José Ortíz's paintings. The work on display at the Monterey Museum of Art is Dándole la bienvenida al año 2000. We regret the error.

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