Letters

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Written by: Mel Aust

Published: 07 January 2011

The Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District would like to formally thank Congressman Mike Thompson for his support in our pursuit to construct a solar project to power our water reclamation plant.

As you have reported we have received a combination federal grant and loan to build the project that will fix our energy rates for the next 30 years and is estimated to save the community $750,000.

Since Congressman Thompson’s press release, our office has received numerous inquiries from Lake County businesses that are interested in building the project.

We are encouraged and excited that the solar project may help stimulate the local community and maintain Lake County jobs.

Likewise, we’re proud to be a part of a project that will eliminate the majority of energy demand for our most demanding system and will greatly reduce our carbon footprint.

We have received wonderful feedback from many of our customers and community support for this project, and we look forward with great anticipation.

Thank you, Congressman Thompson, for your outspoken support of this project.

Mel Aust is general manager of the Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District in Hidden Valle Lake, Calif.

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Written by: Alan Hughes

Published: 28 December 2010

I have known Wendie McRae for 20 years. I was her and her husband's neighbor for 17 years and now live in Santa Rosa.

Wendie is THE most honest person I have ever met in my 47 years. She is the most kind and giving person you will ever come across.

She is the kind of person that will go out of her way to help someone. The idea that she could do such a thing is utterly unbelievable.

When the facts come out and the truth be known it will be obvious that Wendie was falsely accused.

Alan Hughes lives in Santa Rosa, Calif.

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Written by: James Evans

Published: 25 December 2010

Most state boards and commissions meet periodically. Board and commission members are paid per meeting.

Many members are experts in their field and their service on the boards or commissions is valuable to the operation of the state. It is far cheaper to pay these people for minimal part-time work than to create full agencies with full time highly paid experts to do the same work.

Most if not all of these boards and commissions are necessary to implement the state laws or to gather information for the state. The state would not function well without them. Most boards and commissions have a small full-time paid staff that take direction from the board.

 

I'm not an expert but I have served on a voluntary board and I can attest that it is work and of value.

 

The only other alternative I can think of to replace boards and commissions would to be to have the legislature make all those decisions which would require a massive increase of legislative staff including high paid experts and the legislature still would not be able to conduct all that business.

 

These boards and commissions are a necessary part of the state governance architecture. They were created by Democratic and Republican legislation. Complaining about them by the Northern Division of the California Federation of Republican Women is just more hypocrisy.

 

Obviously some boards, commissions, agencies, departments, centers, authorities, bureaus, centers and councils are more useful than others and some may have outlived their usefulness. Some may exist only on paper and not do anything or be allocated a budget line item.

Yes there are a lot of them and their cost to the state is in the millions of dollars, but a blanket condemnation of all of them is wrong.

For the most part they are the cost of running the state. Hopefully the new governor will go through the list and eliminate or reduce the budgets for them as needed.

James Evans lives in Clearlake Oaks, Calif.