18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY december 14-20, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com Game Time Your article on the Peninsula’s water poverty is the best I have read to date (“Nearly 30 years after Cal Am was ordered to cut back on its pumping of the Carmel River, solutions brought by public agencies might finally end the Peninsula’s water poverty,” Dec. 7-13). Your organization of how this matter has developed is spot on. Even creating a game? Wow—way to keep the story fresh. The current conversation of where the replacement water for the Carmel River is going to come from is one that is surely contentious. I think the only water source that is “the one” is one that is failsafe. Too many of the water sources that the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District is touting are not failsafe. The Carmel River Steelhead Association is backing a desalination project. CRSA simply cannot allow the degradation of the Carmel River to happen again. Should the water sources other than desalination lose their ability to provide, then the Carmel River becomes an “emergency” go-to source. All of a sudden, we fall back 30 years and everything CRSA has worked for goes down the drain. CRSA is turning 50 years old in 2024. I am sorting through all those years of documents, articles, meeting minutes, letters and stories to write the 50-year history. I could write it just about the characters it has taken to keep the ball moving up the field. Thanks for your great article. Steve Park | Carmel Valley Note: Park is president of the Carmel River Steelhead Association. Thank you, David Schmalz. This is a fantastic summary, history and synthesis of more than a decade of twists and turns between a complex mix of actors, motivations and interest groups. For everyone who has been sort of following the local water drama, but not sure how the pieces all fit together, or what the hubbub is all about, this provides the context and review that has been lacking. This piece deserves a Pulitzer Prize and is a must read for anyone who cares about who will manage and where their drinking water will come from in the coming decades. Michael Baer | Santa Clara County Really enjoyed your article. Plus the Cease and Desist board game is fun! Jeff Markham | via email As the author of MPWMD’s Summer Splash Water Challenge, I really appreciated your clever twist on the concept with your Cease and Desist game board. Well designed and hilarious. Thanks for the smile. Stephanie Kister Campbell | via email Note: Campbell is a conservation analyst at Monterey Peninsula Water Management District. Water War The issue of housing related to water is real, but not the whole story (“Letters,” Nov. 30-Dec. 6). The housing shortage has causes beyond water, including economics, race and politics. Blaming the water district is misplaced. MPWMD has worked very hard to sensibly predict and provide a water supply. Cal Am has a history of disregarding legal limits on the river and the Seaside basin, and failing to complete infrastructure already approved, while charging some of the highest rates in the country. Their cash-cow solution is an expensive, environmentally damaging desal. Pure Water Monterey expansion provides sufficient water for housing requirements and planned development. Also, while Public Water Now was the catalyst, it was the voters who made the strong decision to pursue a buyout of Cal Am, despite Cal Am’s $2.5 million propaganda campaign. Susan Schiavone | Seaside Upward with the Arts Thanks for the great article on the Monterey Museum of Art’s movement to create an arts and culture hub (“Monterey Museum of Art and government agencies partner in a vision to expand an art footprint downtown,” Dec. 7-13). This is a bonus for a city that has so much to give to the world. Just wish the City of Salinas had the same insight. Denise Estrada | North County I love the idea of creating a central collection for the artwork adorning our precious adobes (“Monterey Museum of Art’s choice to stay downtown is good news for the institution, and for the public,” posted Dec. 9). Every time I enjoy access to the adobes for various events (since 1984) and see fabulous artworks, I worry about their preservation and lack of viewing on a regular basis. To have a central museum for these treasures would be an investment that, I believe, the community would heartedly support. So many stories of artists, their works, the Bohemian culture…all are integral to the history of our Central Coast and Monterey Bay communities. They are going in the right direction, and I applaud the effort. Karen Cowdrey | Pebble Beach Sing out John Turri is incredible (“Although he didn’t start out as a musician, that’s where John Turri found his voice,” Dec. 7-13). I’ve seen him perform a few times in the area and he’s so kind. I adore his music. It’s about time he gets the recognition he deserves. Well done for the young man. Sean James | Seaside Life Saver I was very happy to read that Sun Street Centers is planning construction of this new outreach center (“Sun Street Centers plans a home for sober living and intensive youth outreach,” Nov. 30-Dec. 6). I’ve seen firsthand the impact that this type of help can make in people’s lives, and I heartily encourage folks to join me in donating whatever they can to this very worthwhile organization. Derek Dean | Monterey Be a Scrooge Hey Fisherman’s Wharf, just because you have 10,000 cheap Christmas decorations doesn’t mean you have to display them all (“Morsels,” Dec. 7-13). Very tacky. Steve Prelsnik | Pebble Beach 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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