Editor:
Whoa, Nellie! Your piece on bay and port development (Special Report, March), which involves a substantial dredging project and a sizeable tax hit to citizens (Yes, Virginia, the "federal government" is really you), does not once mention possible environmental concerns, nor does is ever question the validity of spending great sums of money to create a few jobs in the rail, trucking and shipping industry.
The trouble with all these business folk and chambers of avarice doing all this heavy salivating is that somebody might slip on all the goo and take a bad fall.
Jan Stickle, [email protected], Fort Bragg
Editor:
My 12 cows are going to the penthouse while I'm going to the poorhouse.
When my parents died, they left me 15 acres of their ranch on the Samoa Peninsula. Then along came Humboldt County and they constructed New Navy Base Road cutting off a portion of my property. Then Caltrans constructed the Samoa Bridge cutting off an additional portion of my property. Next we had the Endangered Species Act and the menzies wallflower making all the sand dunes undevelopable.
Then the Coastal Commission and California Fish and Game declared the lower part of my property wetlands and said no development there. The Indians also got in the act and said the high ground may have been the site of an ancient Indian village and don't dig.
Now the Harbor District wants to place an assessment of $41,229.90 on this property that I cannot develop. That is a cost of $3,435.82 per cow. I think I'm getting more bull than my cows as total county taxes are now only $509.
The Harbor District needs to get its assessments straight. Vote no until they do. Other property owners who are being unfairly assessed are asked to please contact me, so we can unite in our opposition to this proposal.
Lindberg "Lindy" Pedro, 442-9257
662 Pedro Lane, Arcata 95521
Editor:
Regarding "Six Rivers Bank Just Says No" (Upfront, March), the last sentence: "Coast Central Credit Union is the only other locally owned financial institution."
Is the Community Credit Union of Southern Humboldt not a locally owned financial institution, or perhaps you do not consider Garberville local even though we all live in the same county?
Marling McReynolds, [email protected]
Editor:
Thank you for the piece on Jim McVicker. (Cover story, March) He is one of the most straightforward people I know, and an artist in the purest sense of the word -- not because of his talent, but because of his humility. ...
Jim's generosity to other artists is boundless. It extends beyond professional concerns. He is genuinely interested and involved in the painting of other Humboldt artists -- so much so that his own work visibly changes, depending on who he's been painting with. ...
Despite moments of jealousy, I'm moved and comforted by Jim's success. It is the success of sincere personal and artistic integrity -- and, for once, not merely the false success of modern marketing.
Alan Sanborn, Arcata