The Commission Comes to Town 

Editor:

Having attended the Coastal Commissions meetings, written a letter and watched with shock the way the commissioners deliberated on their decisions, it was necessary to look further into who is a commissioner and who funds the commission ("'Ground Zero'" and "Trinidad Rancheria Gets 'Conditional' OK for Hotel Project," Aug. 15).

The commission is funded by many sources but the main donor is Caltrans. The commissioners are not scientists, nor are they in any way skilled to decide on many of the issues placed before them. Mike Wilson is an exception with his engineering background. 

Most are political appointees. Sadly, the folks who work for the Coastal Commission don't make the grand decisions, they advise. Many are very knowledgeable and have scientific training.

It was as though we were slapped down at that meeting. Everything we stand for in protection of the environment in our county was discounted. Amazing!

Apparently the governmental agencies that we deal with, HSU included, discounts us.

Katie Whiteside was used by HSU to garner the anger of the community ... then, as was predicted, we would stop financially supporting the station and they could claim it was not a sustainable investment. We were played.

Are we also being played with the Trinidad Casino and the 101 planning?

Probably.

Ginni Hassrick, Bayside

Editor's note: Caltrans does not donate to the California Coastal Commission, though the agencies do have an ongoing agreement under which Caltrans reimburses the commission for staff services provided to the agency and its projects.

Editor:

Reading Elaine Weinreb's comprehensive report, "Trinidad Rancheria Gets Conditional OK for Hotel Project" (Aug. 15), I was struck by the apparent lack of interest by almost everybody as to how the 14,000 to 18,000 gallons of waste water per day will be treated. Nobody gives a shit.

I think Trinidad is already on single-home septic systems now. We know that Little River and Clam Beach are already unsafe for human contact due to substandard septic systems. Is that what we want for Trinidad Bay?

I grew up on Lake Erie; you will not like it if Trinidad Bay and adjacent beaches and waters become unfit for fishing or human contact.

The good old Humboldt Way has been to rubber-stamp subdivisions and projects with inadequate research. The developers and realtors make their money and when the water and sewage go bad, the detested, hated government (taxpayers) is stuck with clean up.

Timothy Crlenjak, Eureka