July 29 Letters to the Editor

<p class="bold allcaps">DUI's survivors</p> <p>EDITOR: When we get into our cars we should become responsible drivers. This means keeping our cars in good repair, gas in the tank, seatbelts fastened. Finding sunglasses in our purses before starting the car. Getting rid of distractions — cell phones, particularly texting. Pay attention. A ball rolls out, look for the child or dog chasing that ball. Watch the car in front who stops suddenly, perhaps for that ball. We have the responsibility to pay attention to driving and everything in our path.</p><p>This sounds easy enough. But if a driver gets behind the wheel after drinking, he or she is no longer a responsible driver. He or she can become a killer. If the drunken driver survives the crash, jail is the next destination. Families and friends of all those involved are affected.</p><p>This happened when my daughter and son-in-law lost his mother because a young woman allegedly did not take the designated driver responsibility seriously and drank and drove, killing two innocent women and injuring three others, all ladyfriends on a Sunday afternoon outing. A song from the '60s comes to mind, “When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?”</p><p>ROWENE HASSETT</p><p>Petaluma</p><h3>Democratic ‘bums'</h3> <p>EDITOR: In response to Richard Sansom (“GOP tactics,” Letters, Tuesday), yes, the GOP has attempted to thwart the Obama socialist policies that most Americans oppose. That is the job of an opposition party.</p><p>Sansom fails to acknowledge that Republicans were not in control of Congress when this recession hit, nor does he seem to recognize that the root cause of the recession and current economic crisis is not Republican deregulation of banks and financial institutions but rather failed Democratic policies and failure to regulate government-sponsored enterprises, as many Republicans have been trying to do for years, including George W. Bush and John McCain.</p><p>Our current roster of career politicians is all Democratic, state and federal, so if you want to throw the bums out, remember, all of our bums are Democrats.</p><p>EARL WHITEHALL</p><p>Member, Sonoma County Republican Central Committee</p><p>Healdsburg</p><h3>Community health</h3> <p>EDITOR: I ask you to share with the residents of Sonoma County the severe consequences to the community's health care system should the new hospital proposed by Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa not get approved or is delayed. If the new hospital is not under construction by the end of the year, the county could face the closure of the Chanate Road buildings in 2012 due to noncompliance with state seismic safety laws.</p><p>Sutter plays a particularly crucial role in Sonoma County's health care system as one of only two hospitals in the county providing invasive cardiac surgery services. Closure of the Chanate Road buildings would leave our community with only one hospital to perform cardiac surgery.</p><p>The health of our community depends on ensuring the approval of this project without delay so that our community has no interruption of life-saving medical services at Sutter medical Center of Santa Rosa and Sutter's heart and vascular center.</p><p>RUTH SKIDMORE</p><p>CEO, Northern California</p><p>Medical Associates</p><p>Santa Rosa</p><h3>Fair's stage hands</h3> <p>EDITOR: For nearly 40 years resident union stage technicians have looked forward to working the Sonoma County Fair. This year, however, much of that work was jobbed to out-of-county vendors, causing the loss of work to those same county residents. All this was done under the guise that unions cost too much, without one day of negotiation with the union that represents those stage technicians.</p><p>This year, the fair's revenues will increase, and six to eight local stage technicians will not be working. Is the Fair fair?</p><p>G. ANTHONY PHILLIPS</p><p>President, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 16</p><p>San Francisco</p><h3>Bush tax cuts</h3> <p>EDITOR: I agree with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's proposal to extend the Bush tax cuts for the middle class but to allow tax cuts for the wealthiest to expire (“Geithner backs tax breaks for middle class,” Monday).</p><p>During economic downturns, increased pressure on the middle class could make a bad situation worse. But we also cannot afford the massive increase to the deficit that would be caused by extending tax cuts for the wealthy.</p><p>In recent weeks, you have reported on opposition to extending unemployment benefits. Republicans voted against the extension saying that it needed to be paid for. Yet Republicans are now pushing for an extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy with no offsets to pay for the enormous costs. Making the argument that tax cuts pay for themselves by stimulating the economy just does not square with opposing the unemployment benefits extension.</p><p>Unemployment benefits provide an even greater stimulus at a lower cost than do tax cuts. And the Reagan and Bush tax cuts certainly caused massive increases in the deficits. Apparently Republicans are more concerned with the plight of wealthy taxpayers than they are with the unemployed.</p><p>TERESITA HAAG</p><p>Sebastopol</p><h3>Comcast service</h3> <p>EDITOR: Every correspondence I receive from Comcast begins, “Dear Valued Customer.” When I see these words I know that it will not be good news for the customer.</p><p>What is interesting to me is that the Comcast rates keep going up and service is declining.</p><p>Specifically, Comcast closed its Petaluma and Sonoma stores this year. There was no announcement or letter, just a little blurb in small print on the bill. It was like Comcast was trying to sneak this by everyone like a thief in the night.</p><p>The company line was that these stores were underutilized. I can't speak for the Sonoma store, but the Petaluma store had a line any time I went in. Customers in Petaluma now have to drive to Rohnert Park, and customers in Sonoma have to drive to Napa. This is an inconvenience.</p><p>As of Saturday, Comcast closed its Novato store. Customers in Novato have to drive to San Rafael.</p><p>Putting it all together, let's see: higher rates, stores closed, inconvenience, poorer service and a multi-million dollar bid to acquire NBC/Universal. Hmmmm, see how “valued” the customer is?</p><p>GEORGE BERESCHIK</p><p>Petaluma</p>