Supervisors are on track with golf courses
I completely disagree with Mike McLennan’s assessment in his recently published letter to the editor. He says the old San Geronimo Golf Course is “a blight on the property… (and) an eyesore to everyone who passes by.” The truth is that it finally looks like a field with some trees and grass. In spring it will bloom with wildflowers. Nature will restore it. Wildlife and humans will benefit.
Previously, only fee-paying golfers could use the course. Now I see walkers – often accompanied by dogs – and horse riders.
I am concerned about the horrific wildfires ravaging West Marin’s beloved open space. If the county fire department needs the clubhouse and adjacent 21.83 acres of land, I’m all for it. I want to thank the firefighters for devoting their lives to our safety.
I hope the Marin County Supervisors continue their good work on this issue. We all live in Marin for the beauty, open spaces, and outdoor recreation.
—Mary Kyle, San Rafael
Traffic diversion near the Richmond Bridge will help
There is considerable debate over whether removing the westbound bike lane from the Richmond Bridge will improve traffic flow (“Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Traffic Jam Frustration Fuels Bike Lane Debate », November 12).
Some say there’s no reason to remove the bike lane, since all it will do is shift congestion from the bridge to the two-lane connector on the Marin County side.
Yes, traffic will be heavier there during travel times. But in my opinion, drivers exiting the bridge have two choices: They can either take the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard exit toward Highway 101, or continue on Interstate 580 through San Rafael. Allowing traffic to branch off at this point may be enough to keep traffic moving most of the time.
Let’s try.
—Richard Pedemonte, Fairfax
Remembering Kennedy 60 years after his death
November 22 marked the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. For many of a certain age, the memory of hearing this news is burned into our brains like grooves on a record.
I was in third grade and living in Southern California. We had been sent home shortly after arriving at school that morning. The television was on and I will never forget the words of news anchor Walter Cronkite – putting on then taking off his glasses – doing his best to hold back the rising grief as he said, “Dallas, Texas: The Flash, apparently official. President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time. He said it in a journalistic, deep and solemn tone.
My family was in shock. I loved JFK. I was seduced by his charm, his charisma and his humor, even at 8 years old.
The events that unfolded were mind-boggling: the sound of horses’ hooves on the sidewalk as the carriage carried the coffin still resonates in my mind. I remember “John John,” the president’s son, greeting his deceased father as the motorcade passed. I cannot forget the assassination of accused assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, by Jack Ruby, which happened live on television, while Oswald was being transferred from one prison to another.
Later I realized that a part of America died on November 22, 1963. JFK was wise, prescient and profound. The words of his inauguration speak to the bitter enmity bordering on hatred in American politics today: “So let us begin again, remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness and that sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never be afraid to negotiate.
Yes, we had “Camelot” for a brief, brilliant moment.
—Bruce Farrell Rosen, San Francisco
Going wireless for phones won’t work yet
In his recently published Bay Area Voice commentary (“Go wireless and ditch outdated rules for phone companies,” Nov. 26), David Witkowski appears to suggest that a wireline phone network simply isn’t necessary and should to be abandoned. However, in my neighborhood we don’t have cell coverage except via WiFi connected to the world by telephone wires. It’s called a digital subscriber link (aka DSL) and many people use it.
For a significant number of people, “old-fashioned” wiring and landlines are the only option because of the way radio waves propagate. Additionally, a large portion of last-mile connections for Internet access are cables because they are more cost-effective, reliable, and work.
Having over 40 years of experience designing data communications systems, I can attest to the limitations of “wireless only” networks. In the meantime, we have to keep the threads.
—Paul Moore, Novato
