›› LETTERS Sheriff-coroner scheme DOA The Marin Chapter of the California Grand Jurors’ Association urges the Marin County Board of Supervisors to abandon its plan to merge the County Coroner’s and Sheriff’s offices. The 2008-2009 Marin County Grand Jury recommended against the merger, raising serious concerns about the likelihood of decreased services and suggesting that, instead of saving money, it might eventually cost more. The sheriff contends that incorporating the coroner’s office functions in his can save hundreds of thousands of dollars. But he has often said that while the supervisors decide how much his office can spend, he decides how to spend it. Once the budget of the coroner’s office is moved into the sheriff’s, he will determine where the money goes. We also are concerned that, for the second time recently, the Board of Supervisors seeks to eliminate an elected county office, again decreasing the checks and balances that have helped assure Marin County residents that their government is functioning correctly. The actions of law enforcement officers can have severe effects on the lives of citizens, through use of force and denial of services to those in custody. When a person dies in the custody of law enforcement officers, questions of objectivity may arise. An independent coroner acts as a safeguard against abuses of authority, protecting both the public and the sheriff. We also worry about a merger resulting in a decreased level of appropriate training. An elected Marin County Coroner concerned with deaths in Marin has, over the
years, shined a light on important societal problems from suicide and elder abuse to early deaths caused by drugs and alcohol. We doubt such issues will be given the same public ventilation by an office whose primary concern is law enforcement. The current coroner, who is planning to retire, and the previous one adamantly oppose the merger. We wholeheartedly agree with them. Catherine D. McKown, President Marin Chapter, California Grand Jurors’ Association
Mall perplexed When I read Samantha Campos’s article on the new Northgate [“Deck the Mall,” Nov. 27] it seemed as if we were viewing two different places. Where she saw a “mini park” I see a huge parking lot where most of the lovely shade-producing trees have been cut down to make room for more cars. She wrote of a “promenade” when I experienced a long hallway that felt like a cattle chute—where I felt numbed by noise blasting from speakers, and in the corridors there were large globes of artificially colored candies and gum to tempt children and drive health-conscious parents crazy. Maybe she read the developer’s brochure? The list of shops seems to be aimed at children and youth, while many people in the Terra Linda and Marinwood areas are midlife and older adults. The food choices are all fast food and the only cafe is inside the mall. We could really use a quality restaurant and a cafe that is amenable to socializing and not just takeout. The only choice now is to get into cars and onto 101 to downtown San Rafael or Novato. A manager at the new Northgate said the architect wanted the mall to resemble a “reclaimed warehouse.” The space fits that description perfectly. While malls are here to
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San Anselmo Vision is One Exclusive Community! The potential public-private funded San Anselnmo Vision won’t allow access to its website. I logged in, got an e-mail confirmation with NO way to create a password AND thus... Tiger Woods Well Marinites, what do you think about Tiger and his harum? At first I just wanted him to shut up and repair his marriage. I felt it was none of our business... Grand jury’s clean energy sticker shock The Marin County Civil Grand Jury calls the business plan for “community choice aggregation” too costly and questions “the decision to put the county into the business of...
Your soapbox is waiting at ›› pacificsun.com stay, they don’t have to be ugly and dehumanizing. Both the Town Center in Corte Madera and Pacheco Plaza have a mix of fastand slow-food restaurants and a welcoming design. It appears that no one coordinates the businesses in all three Northgates; if there were some coordination oversight, would we have two Starbucks, four pharmacies and Walgreens on the way, and no alternative to Safeway? Samantha wrote that Al Boro joked about increased sales tax revenue at the grand opening and that Chuck Davis of Macerich said, “It only gets better from here.” It’s nice to know that the city and the developer benefit from this enterprise, but so far it doesn’t seem to benefit the people who live here. Barbara Rozen, San Rafael
He’s the Will Shortz of Marin Thought I would let you know that I have been addicted to Howard Rachelson’s Trivia Cafe in the Pac Sun for some time now. I appreciate that he creates a list of questions each week that are challenging but not so hard that I get frustrated and give up; i.e., like the Saturday and Sunday NY Times crossword puzzles! In the new year, I plan to attend one of Howard’s trivia game nights at the Broken Drum. Gwen Mascy, San Rafael
We don’t remember David Attenborough mentioning any of this... The big scandal isn’t that Tiger Woods was discovered to be a fully functioning human male animal with a taste for A prime example of the male strange and homo sapien, as he is found in new sex part- the wild. ners—but that the public thinks he should be ashamed and apologize. Wake up folks...that’s what makes men men. They are a different animal than the female of the species and never mind that his wife is a 10-1/2...she’s not “new and different” to him. Smart men pay the higher priced hookers and the wife doesn’t ever find out. He’s just not sophisticated enough yet. I
hope the wife figures out that she can leave him and get billions and find another man to “cheat” on her. Or she can keep her marriage intact, not screw up the children... and tell everyone to go ‘f ’ themselves. Marcia Blackman, San Rafael
Or worse, if one of the four calling Byrds was David Crosby... I note recently that 2009’s cost to deliver all the gifts offered in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” rose only slightly to $87,403. But what if the “partridge in a pear tree” was David Cassidy? Craig Whatley, San Rafael
Be sure to send him by Marrakesh express mail...
We wonder if Pacific Sunwear ever receives non sequiturs from Craig Whatley... I would like to know why your company is practicing deceptive pricing and sales tactics. I went to your store in the Fashion Outlet Mall at the Nevada-California state line for the Black Friday sale and found merchandise that was marked with sales tags that had a higher price on them than the original sticker price, then the store offered a “sale” discount off the raised price. I plan to report this practice to the proper authorities. Sandra Halsey, Nevada
Great, now we’ve outed Peter... Thank you for publishing my letter [“Sometimes Girls Dance Together,” Dec. 4] about your controversial (gasp) “Someday My Princess Will Come” cover from Oct. 23. Touchy subject. Thanks for giving it the attention it deserves. But whoever put my letter in the Sun added a word, calling Peter Pan a fairy “godmother.” Time to brush up on your Disney characters. In the illustration you ran, Peter is wearing Tinker Bell’s wings. He is a fairy, period. Arisa Victor, Greenbrae
Put your stamp on the letters to the editor at ›› pacificsun.com DECEMBER 11 – DECEMBER 17, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 7