Letters for September 28, 2006

Councilman responds
Re: “Shape up, council” (Editorial, CN&R, Sept. 21):

In response to “hypocrisy allegations,” I believe that it is helpful for your readers to understand a different “history” than that presented in your editorial.

Prior to 2002, city staff (verified by our planning director) allowed for projects to be approved in existing neighborhoods at historic average densities.

After a 2002 political shift in the City Council, city staff received a clear policy regarding housing density, the limit raised to 7.0 units per acre as provided in the general plan, and there was a push to achieve far higher housing densities overall.

City Council sets the policies that city staff follow.

From that point forward, there has been a growing frustration within Chico neighborhoods regarding high-density infill development in older, mature Chico neighborhoods. Similarly with new construction, high density may not be what the marketplace wants but what the City Council has imposed upon the market.

The sympathy shown by the current council majority to neighbors within these areas appears disingenuous when the source of the neighbors’ frustrations comes from the very policy set by this current council majority.

You represented that the builders referred to in your editorial wanted higher density. In fact, these landowners made their business decision and land purchase after receiving direction from city staff regarding acceptable densities within these parcels of land.

I have recently proposed a new zoning policy that will allow infill development within existing neighborhoods to be built at lower densities, hopefully taking politics out of the debate.

Dan Herbert
Chico

Victim of the system
Re: “The costs of reform” (Newslines, by Joe Krulder, CN&R, Sept. 21):

Interesting story about the broken-down workers’ compensation system in California. I was injured in the mid-1990s working for the city of Redding and spent two years fighting the very corrupt workers’ comp system. It is a huge system in the USA that costs about as much as our national defense budget (hundreds of billions of dollars).

The money all goes to insurance workers, doctors, lawyers, et al, with very little actually going to the injured worker. I ended up with a mere $25,000 after a two-year battle. Since I was crippled for life (disc injuries in my back and neck), that wasn’t even enough to buy a car or a house.

Michael M. Peters
Chico

Birth choices
Re: “Maternal instincts” (Backbeat, by Christine G.K. LaPado, CN&R, Sept. 21):

Thank you for writing about Elena Tonetti [-Vladimirova] and her visionary new film Birth as We Know It. This film provides a point of view that is a needed balance to the medicalized picture of birth usually portrayed by the media, doctors and hospitals.

Your readers should be informed that conscious, gentle, empowering birth is available to families of Butte County. There are two homebirth midwife practices serving the area, providing care during pregnancy, birth and after. Waterbirth is one of the many options available to families who choose to birth at home.

You don’t have to be a certain “type” to have a homebirth, just a desire to have a profound, undisturbed experience for the mother and a gentle, love-filled beginning for the baby.

Dena Moes
Sacred Ways Homebirth
Paradise

Off the rail
Re: “Let’s talk about riding the rails” (Guest Comment, by Malcolm Thornley Jr., CN&R, Sept. 14):

I would like to compliment Mr. Thornley for his well-written and thought-out Guest Comment. The North State is in dire need of alternative transportation options to private automobiles. Light rail would be a viable and cost-effective alternative to our overcrowded highways.

Amtrak has become horribly unreliable since they are scheduled at the whims of Union Pacific and whatever fits into U.P.'s schedule. Amtrak now can be running up to three hours late and sometimes later and therefore cannot be depended on.

Furthermore, on my morning walks along the U.P. bike trail, I have noticed that the tracks are falling into deplorable disrepair. Even if Amtrak ran on time, I would not feel safe riding it.

Chuck Voss
Chico

This is educational?
I attended the school board meeting and saw that our schools are proposing a fundraiser of selling magazines in order to raise $3,000 so they can take their students to Marine World. Here is something critical to the education of children!

How dare they ask me for money and waste it on something that has nothing to do with school. I feel so foolish that I have bought magazines in the past thinking it went to supplies. Never again. Our schools cry poor and then throw it away so kids can go ride on roller coasters all day? Aren’t these the same people who complain if our children miss school for a day?

If the school board approves this, I suggest we replace all the incumbents come election time, including those not up for reelection.

Esther Lacy
Paradise

Camp questions
It was at about this time of year, nine years ago, when a group of us gathered in my back yard to address the issue of how to provide emergency shelter to Chico’s homeless. Those discussions led to the incorporation of a community nonprofit today known as the Chico Community Shelter Partnership.

Over the years, there have been many potential clients who never make it through the shelter’s doors. Many of the people in this situation have been displaced by the recent wave of cleanup work along Chico’s creeks and, as winter approaches, are scrambling to find a place to call home.

A campground has been proposed as one alternative. While some feel this idea is well-intentioned, it raises as many questions as it answers.

Who will set policy? How will the campground be staffed? Will there be supervision? Will there be a curfew? Will there be a limit to how long a person can stay? How will the operators deal with guests under the age of 18? How will people with mental illness be accommodated and supported? Again, this idea might be well-intentioned, but is it realistic?

I am enormously proud of the work we have done as a community to support those among us who have the least. While community-based programs like the Jesus Center and the Torres Shelter have made tremendous progress in recent years, there is still a great deal of work to be done. Let’s join hands, the way we did nine years ago, and engage in a community-wide dialogue that will ultimately result in long-term solutions.

Mary Flynn
Chico

Bush’s whistle stop
How nice of our president to visit Northern California on Oct. 3 in order to support our decorated troops and military families. Oh, wait a minute, sorry, he is taking precious time out from fighting his global war in Iraq to fight here for four Republican incumbents in Congress: John Doolittle, Richard Pombo, Wally Herger and Dan Lungren.

Is there a pattern? These four are all non-veterans. They are all career politicians, with close ties to multinational lobbyists. These four all supported the President’s veto of stem cell research, the privatization of Social Security and spending money to attack Iraq, instead of Osama bin Laden. They all have not had time to debate their challengers, who are veterans: Charlie Brown, Jerry McNerney, A.J. Sekhon and Bill Durston.

Support our troops by voting for our troops Nov. 7.

John C. Chendo
Woodland