Get A Life, Salinas

Here’s to hoping that the city moves ahead with the revitalization of downtown Salinas. This is exactly the type of development Salinas needs to move toward: infill and mixed-use. This type of development will reduce carbon emissions, reduce air pollution, keep downtown areas alive at night, create an alternative to owning a car, and enrich businesses. If I could live in a cute little apartment or condo downtown above a business, I would jump at the chance. Imagine simply going downstairs for a bite to eat or a coffee at night and walking to work everyday, and feeling safe doing these things because other people are out on the street, too. No more sitting in traffic, no more getting fat from lack of exercise, no more businesses shutting down at 4pm because no one is shopping, no more dead, creepy downtown, no more driving 20-plus miles to Monterey to get a taste of nightlife or a decent meal. The current paradigm of sprawling development is not working. Let’s get this plan moving forward. -Virginia Jameson | Salinas

Take A Stand, Carmel

I was dumbfounded at the Feb. 21 candidate forum by the smug “business-as-usual” tone of the incumbents. In one particular instance, all the candidates were asked for their position on the high-density rezoning of Carmel Convalescent Hospital. This almost-four-acre property on Valley Way and Highway 1 is at Carmel’s doorstep and, in accordance with Carmel’s General Plan, within its sphere of influence. If this 46-condo development is approved by the county it will have huge impacts on Carmel’s infrastructure and neighborhoods; it will change Carmel forever.  

“What is your position on the high-density rezoning and condo development of Carmel Convalescent Hospital?” asked a citizen at the Dec. 4 City Council meeting. To this date, there has been no response, no position taken by the City Council and most notably the incumbent candidates who were appointed, not elected, to their current positions. The same question was asked at the forum; the elected mayor and the appointed candidates once again demurred to the county. The only individual that responded clearly and concisely was City Council candidate Michael LePage. He declared such rezoning would set a bad precedent for Carmel, disrespect neighborhood community character, and would be against Carmel’s Local Coastal Plan, as well as the county’s General Plan.  

The present vice mayor, Ken Talmage, responded to the same question by stating he did not know all the facts about the hospital project so he could not take a position. A subsequent question pointed out that Talmage was on the Planning Commission when the hospital development was first introduced! Talmage could only acknowledge his lapse in memory with a “Yes, I was on the Planning Commission at the time.”  

We want honesty, integrity, and directness in our elected officials. We want to know where people stand. -Myrna C. Hampton | Save Our Neighborhood Coalition Carmel

Answer Me This, People

Q: What does this remind you of? Creating a false emergency to declare a war based on deceptive claims and fear based arguments; insistently incompetent tactics; massive violations of law and our constitution; huge hidden profiteering and no exit strategy?

A: You’re right – the Bush administration’s war on the light-brown apple moth. It is notable the Federal agency which approved 133 million pounds of tainted beef for school children is the same agency forcing us to endure getting sprayed with untested pesticides – the USDA. -David Dilworth | Executive Director, Helping Our Peninsula’s Environment Carmel