Cambrian letters to the editor, Dec. 31, 2015

What could Cambria compromise mean?

Thank you for your Editor's Notes, “If I were Santa...” (Dec. 17). If Santa’s elves can’t get “a nice, big round table” done by this December, I’ll bet they’d be more than happy to work on it early in the new year.

Cambrians do have so many interests: “environmental, tourist, retail, arts, education and other.” Our passions engage religion, culture, recreation, financial security. We wonder about low income, domestic violence, racist slurs, species extinction.

Maybe Santa would moderate discussions at the round table, or someone else so kind and objective that similarities in differences could be readily, peacefully highlighted.

Here’s a theme for the gatherings around the table. What should community and compromise mean here in Cambria? The first session could focus on...?

Health issues and water quality

The recent Cambria Community Services District Water “Confidence” Report included information about how lead levels in Cambria drinking water exceed State Action Levels and Preliminary Health Goals, and Chrome VI (“hexavalent,” think Erin Brokovich and Hinkley, Calif.) levels in Cambria drinking water exceeds Preliminary Health Goals. Also, of significance is that both lead and Chrome VI are on the California Proposition 65 list of known carcinogens.

Until this recent report, I am unaware of Cambria drinking water being a health hazard, and it was not during my tenure as an elected board member in the late ’90s. Previously, any potential water quality issues were managed with treatment and blending to eliminate health hazards.

So instead of Cambrians receiving a notice from the district about the health risk of drinking Cambria drinking water and a plan to correct it, Cambrian ratepayers receive a notice of rate increase and no plan to correct. So apparently we are being asked to pay more for poorer quality water that carries a health risk.

I have chosen to protest the rate increase and hope to force better management of the Cambria CSD.

Praise for Macedo’s Culinary Corner

As a longtime subscriber to the The Cambrian and a part-time Cambrian, I have followed Consuelo Macedo’s Culinary Corner with anticipation. The tales she tells and the recipes she culls from local residents never fail to delight and nourish my enthusiasm for all that is culinary and anthropological. Her original story of the anasazi beans dates back many moons. As a food forager, I was challenged to replenish the “ancient ones” for her. Many more moons ...

Always on the lookout where beans in bulk were sold, I failed to find anasazi. OK, on with the search ... engine that is. With a few clicks and a clack or two, I found them online in Colorado. Greeting Consuelo at Cambria Historical Society events over the past year as Steve and I transitioned to “La Casita,” our small but comfortable cottage we had been weekending in for 30 years, I promised to share my bounty of beans with her. It finally happened last October.

Devouring the Culinary Corner in the Nov. 19 issue, I was thrilled that Consuelo mentioned the anasazi beans that “Nancy Allen, Cambrian” had gifted her. I had arrived!

After recently returning from a week in Cuba on a cultural exchange program, I am motivated to experiment with black beans, peppers, and spices Cubano style in my “one-butt” kitchen. Kudos to Consuelo and the Culinary Corner for inspiration.

And another thing, Consuelo, I’ve written up “The Brisket” recipe I promised you last October.

I won’t take a year to deliver it. It’s on the record.

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 9:23 AM with the headline "Cambrian letters to the editor, Dec. 31, 2015."