Letters to the Argus-Courier Editor July 22, 2021

Sickened by headline

EDITOR: Actions have their consequences. I read the Argus Courier headline “City Council ousts alleged racist” (July 15, 2021) with horror. The words calumny, slander, vilification, and defamation were my first thoughts and followed immediately by asking myself what about the targeted person?

It appears that the Ad Hoc "Advisory" Committee has re-framed itself as assertive of specific actions that the city council must take – or else. But the vituperative nature of the Argus-Courier headline and article targeting a specific member of the committee as a “racist” has clearly doubled down on the “or else” part of the committee’s message.

This whole affair leaves me with a sickening feeling that what has happened has irretrievably destroyed the openness within the community to discuss, let alone solve, social issues.

Richard Brawn

Petaluma

Dear Petaluma City Council:

EDITOR: It was no surprise that you removed Stefan Perez from the Ad Hoc Community Advisory Committee on July 12, 2021. But what is surprising is your disregard and disrespect for Mr. Perez’s First Amendment rights. Stefan Perez is a citizen of Petaluma, who is also a Native American from this part of California, and you have blatantly denied him his most hallowed right to freedom of speech. I thought there would be a few more council members, other than councilman Healy, who would dissent on this mockery of a vote. But no, the majority of you proved yourselves to be the lap dogs of Indivisible Petaluma. You preferred to listen to the likes of Amber Lucas, one of the women charged for the recent pig’s blood vandalism in Santa Rosa, who had the audacity to demand Mr. Perez’s removal from the committee, as the evidence against her repulsive actions mounts daily. This is all I need to know about your value to this city.

Many of you are up for re-election in 2022. I will make it my job to convince everyone I know to not vote for you. And let’s face it, you aren’t running the city, Indivisible Petaluma is.

Jennifer Hewitt

Petaluma

Put the bathtub art project up for a vote

EDITOR: In response to a letter posted last week, I would like to express my opinion on this issue. First of all, not only is this bathtub artist not a Picasso, but the only creative part of his so-called art is placing them on stilts. They are plain old bathtubs!!! Seriously! Think about it. My real point, however, is that, because there is so much controversy, the citizens of Petaluma need to vote on this issue. And, not just in an online poll, but at the next city election, and before not one more cent is paid on this expensive project. If we put it to a vote, the arguing can stop....hopefully.

Linda Howard

Petaluma

The real problem with leaf blowers

EDITOR: The recent debate about leaf blowers has centered around noise and pollution. While opinions about these aspects of leaf blowers may vary, as opinions often do, another aspect has yet to be discussed. What happens to the debris and detritus that is blown by the leaf blowers? As a boy growing up in the Midwest, I earned pocket money by mowing lawns in the summer, shoveling snow in the winter, and raking leaves in the fall. The leaves I raked where disposed of properly. Never did I rake them onto a neighbor’s property or onto the street. When people use leaf blowers, they don’t clean up the mess, they just blow it along to make their problems someone else’s. This to me is this real issue with leaf blowers.

Oliver Steinfels

Petaluma