NOT ABOUT DOGS VS. HORSES

In response to Celia Petroum Costis’s letter [“Love From Afar,” June 19-25] regarding the fate of the Marina Equestrian Center, Ms. Costis believes that the horses at the equestrian center are standing all day and eating sand and no one ever rides them. I would like to disagree. The Star Riders Program is a therapeutic horseback-riding program that has greatly benefited children with special needs over many years at the Marina Equestrian Center. There is no direct cost to the families and the staff of the program is all volunteer. This program operates most Saturdays and through the week. Many of the horses used in this program are relinquished and would have nowhere else to go. I am a special-education teacher in Monterey County and my class attends every week. If this program did not exist, many children with special needs in Monterey County would be at a loss. I think there must be a way that both the equestrian center and a dog park could co-exist. – Cindy Diaz | Seaside

NO MYSTERY, SHE WROTE

There’s no mystery to E. coli. It’s probably from the sewage sludge and wastewater used on many farms. Radioactive waste; pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics (medications were meant to last, not break down); our germs; soaps, including antibacterial soaps, and their fragrances and preservatives; and toxic chemicals like lye, bleach, ammonia; all flushed down the drain, “treated,” and then dumped on fields growing food (in addition to chemical herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers). It’s amazing more of us don’t become ill from conventionally grown food. Why are we living like this? – Nina Beety | Monterey

LOOK OUT THE WINDOW, WEEKLY

In recent months, Monterey County Weekly has provided some excellent feature articles on topics such as being green, saving money, and local travel. I was surprised to see that in all of these articles the Weekly missed an opportunity to discuss an option that provides residents and visitors a chance to do all three that is right outside their office window– an MST bus stop. Monterey-Salinas Transit bus service provides an excellent way to visit local attractions while reducing your household carbon footprint by up to 30 percent and saving over $6,000 per year compared to driving a car.  With over 1,200 destinations from Big Sur to San Jose, King City to Watsonville, and most points in between, MST is a green, affordable way to go wherever life takes you. – Carl Sedoryk | CEO, Monterey-Salinas Transit

Peaceful proposal

For many years people have come through Monterey County to serve the war effort and donated to local religious organizations to look after their families and country. Since they have given so much, maybe we should build here an institution dedicated to peace. Dr. Robert Schuller has considered creating a university in California. Maybe we could invite him to hold a non-denominational meeting at Asilomar to start plans for something like a northern USC to balance “Pentagon West” coming to Santa Clara County. – Bruce Arthur Perry | Marina