Cambrian letters to the editor, Nov. 9, 2017

Reality check in order for CCSD

This is a wakeup call!

Does it take a bank’s loan refusal, on the grounds of insufficient CCSD funds, to convince some CCSD board members that they are spending way beyond this community’s means? Reality and prioritizing seem like obsolete concepts for a lot of people nowadays.

In the meantime, what about our aging and decaying infrastructure?

Our district is being ‘sustained’ on borrowed money, and its infrastructure is surviving on borrowed time.

Ball & Skein still going strong

We love our local paper and are delighted that people are reading it. Unfortunately, a recent headline has given many the impression that the Ball & Skein, Cambria’s only yarn shop since 1978, is closing. Far from it! We’re looking forward to celebrating 40 years of fiber fun all next year. We’ve heard it from enough people in town that we felt we should put the word out in our fabulous local paper.

We’re happy for Sharon Harvey and her well deserved decision to retire and close Flying Fuzzies, her wonderful needlepoint shop. We wish her all the best in her retirement! We’re also happy to be working with her to continue offering needlepoint, embroidery, and related services so that folks in the area can still get the products and service they’ve grown used to.

Thanks again for reading, and, as we say in the shop, Happy Stitching!

Stand up and stop complaining

Have we not all noticed how disenchanted the youth are?

A knee to protest how injust, unfair, awful life is in the United States. As multimillionaire youth complain most, with very little life experience, we see curiously it’s not just the youth but the older as well, all taking a knee.

Suggestion: Stop complaining for one day and dragging the majority of us down and stand up and get on with being something other than typical complainers that are so common.

Those typically taking a knee are those who can’t stay on their feet. Let’s all try to stop complaining as a good start to moving forward.

Ernie Watts put on a great show

The Oct. 15 concert at Painted Sky was one heck of a treat for the sellout audience. Ernie Watts was joined by Marshall Otwell on piano, Dylan Johnson on bass, Darrell Voss on drums as well as Charlie, on vibes, and Sandi Shoemake on vocals.

It was obvious to me that Ernie brought out the very best in the other artists. Having attended dozens of the Shoemakes’ Famous Jazz Artist Series over the last two decades, I cannot remember a better performance. Cambrians, if you enjoy jazz, don’t miss the next concert!

Protect morgtage tax deduction

There’s a reason homeownership is still considered the “American Dream.” A home is a place to create memories, a means for building wealth and a pathway to strength and stability in the communities we all call home.

Here in San Luis Obispo County, things are no different, and that’s something for lawmakers to remembers as Congress embarks on an effort for comprehensive tax reform.

Middle-class families have built wealth for centuries through homeownership and real estate investment. Homeownership allows families to protect themselves against rising rents and inflation, while offering an opportunity to build equity over time.

Homeowners aren’t the only ones who benefit. For every two homes sold, a job is created. In all, home sales support an average of more than 2.5 million private-sector jobs every year. At almost $3 trillion, real estate accounts for more than 16 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). At the state level, it accounts for more than 20 percent of the GDP.

That’s a big part of why, for more that a century, the American tax code has incentivized homeowners. Important tax incentives such as the mortgage interest deduction and the state and local tax deduction ensure all creditworthy families have a fighting chance at the American Dream. If those incentives went away, homebuyers would see their dream pushed further out of reach, while current homeowners would have the welcome mat pulled out from under them.

Comprehensive tax reform is a worthy goal, and lawmakers should be applauded for their ambitious approach. As Congress continues working through this process, however, the incentives that put homeownership within reach for millions of Americans deserve full support from both sides of the aisle.

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 9:32 AM with the headline "Cambrian letters to the editor, Nov. 9, 2017."