18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY november 9-15, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com Voyage Home Saw her today in Monterey! Beautiful boat! (“After a storied history, the legendary boat that took John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts on a voyage to Mexico returns to Monterey Harbor as a floating interpretive center,” Nov. 2-8.) Olle Siljeholm | via social media So happy for her! I saw it in Port Townsend and am looking forward to seeing her soon! Corki Kerr | Redding A very momentous occasion! John Davidek | via social media Great story. Patty Weidner | San Jose I enjoyed the homecoming and the tour! John Carlsen | via social media Out with Infill Carmel is living up to its elitist reputation by considering themselves so special to be exempt from meeting the goals all other cities are expected to (“Carmel pushes back against state housing goals,” Nov. 2-8). With so many vacation homes and part-time residents, who would even notice the much-needed units being added? Carmel needs to step into this century and do its part to help the region in addressing the housing crisis. It’s attitudes like theirs that contributed to the crisis over decades and they need to be a part of the solution instead of flaunting their privilege even more. Esther Malkin | Monterey Note: Malkin is a founder of Monterey County Renters United. Build out Another article from Monterey County Weekly asking for more housing (“Salinas Valley cities urge more flexible ag mitigation terms to allow annexation, development,” Oct. 26-Nov. 1). Have you ever thought that people may have moved here or decided to stay here for the pace of a small city? I find it incredibly odd that there has not been a single reservation by the Weekly to the onslaught of housing that is popping up everywhere. Instead it is only—expand roads, take the natural environment and build! build! build! destroy! destroy! destroy! Jack Gillott | Seaside We need to preserve working farms. Building housing for commuters will lead to gridlock on Highway 101. Bob Roach | Salinas A decade ago I wouldn’t have said this, but: Save the land. Stop the sprawl. Increase density! Build walkable communities. Greg Hamer | Salinas By the Numbers Very revealing juxtaposition of stories in the Weekly’s Nov. 2-8 issue. In an article on deluxe services offered for transient and shortterm occupants, the census numbers on vacant homes are cited as over 40 percent in Carmel, and double digits in Monterey and Pacific Grove (“Kristy Farmer says ‘there is no typical day’ in the home concierge business”). Another article (“Monterey’s first homeless shelter for women and families is ready to welcome guests”) praises the philanthropy of a local who is helping provide shelter for 35 homeless women and children, with 145 on the waiting list. There was a time when reasonable living quarters for working people could be had in Monterey Bay Area cities, alongside a thriving tourist industry, with a slightly larger population. Brutal conditions like this are normalized by the idea that housing is a commodity, and that The Market numbers are more important than The People’s lives. Luana Conley | Carmel Valley Doc in a Box Thank you for writing an excellent article about the search for a physician for Big Sur Health Center (“Doctor recruitment challenge puts a small, rural health provider in peril,” Oct. 26-Nov. 1). I have a similar problem as the Big Box corporations have taken over much of the medical talent. Right now, 70 percent of MDs are employees for a for-profit or nonprofit entity, and that percentage is growing annually. As you can imagine, the lack of diversity in the health care sector is a significant issue as we are losing providers that are not being replaced. Unionizing the employed physicians is only a partial answer. I am concerned about consolidation in health care and the effect that will have on the patient experience. Stephanie Taylor | Carmel Note: Taylor is an independent physician trained as an OB-GYN with a specialty in menopause medicine. Fall Back I enjoyed your essay about daylight saving time (“Have a good weekend, but then get ready to be confused,” posted Nov. 3). I do wish the U.S. would choose to go year-round either with DST or Standard Time. I’m agnostic. The U.S. tried wintertime DST back in 1973-74. This was due to the energy crisis of that period. I was in high school at the time, had to get there by 8am, walking about two miles. It was very dark walking to school, although the evening hours were marginally lighter for a bit longer. At some point, a kid somewhere in the U.S. got hit by a car while walking to school in the morning dark—that’s what I vaguely remember. Year-round DST was dead in the water after that. Katharine Ball | via email Thank you for an interesting article about daylight saving time. Very informative. I didn’t know about the Benjamin Franklin history. Reed Bartron | via email Speak On It Is it your place to politicize? (“Monterey County NOW,” sent daily.) I will be unsubscribing. We are overwhelmed with all kinds of propaganda from social media and daily bombardment of garbage from news outlets such as MSNBC and CNN and even commercials. We definitely don’t need anyone to continue telling us how to THINK and how to view the world. You’re spewing HATE as well— practice what you PREACH or just quit your ideological propaganda to the public (“Anonymous groups use Zoom to interrupt public debate during local government meetings,” posted Oct. 23). Sally Mayes | via email Letters • CommentsOPINION Submit letters to the editor to letters@mcweekly.com. Please keep your letter to 150 words or less; subject to editing for space. Please include your full name, contact information and city you live in.
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