Letters to the Editor 3/16

No terminal reason

I live in Avila Beach, fly about five times a year and do not use the San Luis Obispo airport. Most of my trips are five days or more and I will not pay $10 a day to park there when I can park for free at the Santa Maria airport. 

Those living in Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande, Nipomo, etc. are even closer to Santa Maria than I am and I doubt they enjoy being punished for using the San Luis Obispo airport. 

Our airport should be more inviting than driving to Santa Maria, where the airport is a facility for public convenience rather than a cash cow. Sure, I know we needed a new hangar, and we need ... blah, blah, blah. Looks like empire building to me. We need not build facilities just because we can get a loan.   

We are told that the San Luis Obispo airport needs a new terminal. It is not being used much, but if we build a new one, our supervisors can admire the new bronze plaque with their names on it. I can think of no other reason for a new terminal.

Lorenzo Lowe

Avila Beach

More opinion pages

I would like to see The Tribune expand to two opinion pages, one page for left-leaning readers and one for those on the right. Over time, I believe it will retain readership, expand sales and possibly win awards.

Almost every day I read your Voices page about readers’ likes or dislikes and whether or not your paper is too left or too right. Just balance it by putting all the left view commentaries and letters on the left hand page and all the right view commentaries and letters on the right hand page.

You recently did a survey with your readers about what they wanted on the opinion page. Use that survey to decide on the most requested left and right writers. This way, you could retain Victor Davis Hanson, Bill O’Reilly and Charles Krauthammer. I personally would also like to read Thomas Sowell on the right hand page and retain David Brooks, Leonard Pitts Jr. and Phil Dirkx on the left-hand page.

This change will give your readers, if they decide to read both pages, a balanced opinion. And if they decide to only read the right or left, a narrow opinion.

Dan Gannon

Morro Bay

Pick and choose

I love Tony Caruso’s idea (“Commandments,” March 9) about the government simply using the Ten Commandments to govern, except I’d like to maintain our freedom of religion and I’d rather it wasn’t illegal to do anything on the Sabbath.

I’d also rather the acceptance of owning male or female slaves didn’t make a comeback and I think it might be hard to crack down on a person feeling jealous over their neighbor’s house.

I don’t know if we can stop God from punishing children for the iniquity of their parents to the third and fourth generation, but it would be nice to ignore that part. However, I definitely like the parts about not murdering or stealing. Let’s use those.

Roger Bergman

Atascadero

Concern for safety

I  would like to thank the Board of Supervisors for their concern for the safety of the residents of this county by their recent vote to send a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to delay renewal of Diablo Canyon Power Plant’s operating license (“Board asks for delay in Diablo relicensing,” March 10).

I am always amazed at the statements that come from elected officials, but rarely surprised. I would also suggest that the Board of Supervisors excuse the payment of property taxes by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to the county until this matter is resolved. This seems only fair to PG&E as well as the county so that whoever “we” is has the time to do this right.

This would allow PG&E the ability to save this money and use it for any additional earthquake studies that “we” might need. Why not form a committee to study this also?

George E. Galvan

Atascadero

At our expense

Phil Dirkx’s March 5 column was very well written and his analogy of the autoimmune disease apt (“Water-rate dispute is like an illness”). 

There are many citizens of Paso Robles who are concerned and do not feel as if their city representatives are out to harm them. The water issue is very important, both in surviving here and keeping our properties values viable. 

The Concerned Citizens for Paso Robles seem to be pugnacious for sport’s sake only. They are wielding their power at our expense. Let’s get on with keeping our community working in these tough economic times.

Kent Cope

Paso Robles

Why so afraid?

Why are politicians in this country so afraid of single-payer health care? You would think that no other country has ever done this, whereas most European countries provide universal health care for all their citizens (the United Kingdom has offered it since 1946) and not one has gone back to the type of broken system that we now have in the United States.

Tomos Morris

Paso Robles

A new focus

The county Board of Supervisors chose wisely in removing the special speaking period for Los Osos sewer input from their weekly agendas, beginning March 9 (“Osos sewer critics lose regular slot,” March 6).

Those who are not happy with that plan have already provided substantial input all along the way and it is noted in the public record. The focus is now on the California Coastal Commission.

As such, let the county supervisors now focus more of their time trying to resolve the substantial budget and finance challenges facing the county.  

Lee Ferrero

Los Osos