Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for Dec. 26, 2020

Most vulnerable need vaccine before politicians

My husband and I are vulnerable senior citizens when it comes to COVID-19. We are trying to be as careful as possible. It has taken a big toll.

We are very outraged that members of Congress are receiving the vaccine ahead of more vulnerable populations. We are even more outraged that members of Congress who have failed to take precautions and who have denied science are receiving the vaccine well ahead of others (Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham, for example). And how does a so-called progressive like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez get a vaccine before her more vulnerable populations?

We find that some of our leaders are completely tone-deaf whether it comes to the issue of vaccine distribution or legislation to provide relief to ordinary Americans. So sad.

— Maureen McQuaid, Greenbrae

Trust supports fight against human trafficking

The entire Team of Wisdom International: Help2Others group wishes to extend our gratitude to the Allensby Charity Trust for awarding us one of their community grants to help us continue our important work on the prevention of human trafficking.

The Allensby trustees award annual grants to a variety of organizations. As founder, president and CEO, I can say we are very proud to be among those who have been so honored. Their recipients are all nonprofits working to make Marin a better place.

You might ask, “but trafficking in Marin?” Yes. Our county is a hub, and the San Francisco Bay Area is a hot spot according to the FBI. To help protect our Marin community against this crime, WI-H2O works hard with schools, clubs and county offices conducting trainings on human trafficking prevention and recognition, while also organizing larger events open to the community.

For the third year running, the foresight and support of the Allensby Charity Trust allows WI-H2O to continue protecting Marin’s children and communities through our carefully designed educational programs, as well as through our dependable network of collaborators from anti-human trafficking coalitions across the Bay Area.

Thank you to the Allensby Charity trustees.

— Laurel Botsford, Sausalito

Holiday lights especially appreciated this year

A huge thank you to all of you who took the effort to put up Christmas lights this year. Your homes and businesses looked great and brightened up this challenging holiday season. Your lights were enjoyed by many.

— Louise Koenig, Novato

Get creative to help small businesses survive

I am writing in regard to a recent commentary by Marin IJ Lifestyles Editor Vicki Larson (“Is it the end of Marin’s Main Streets?” Dec. 22). Larson is so right about Amazon and the big box stores.

She is also right about “tony boutiques” and $200 jeans on our little town Main Street. Do the owners of the boutiques really need our patronage? Do their workers earn much more than minimum wage?

I would like to save the coffee shops, the barber shops, hair and nail shops, family owned and operated restaurants and the wine shop (of course). I want to save businesses where the owners and workers work hard and provide services and goods that are really useful to the community.

These (or any) kinds of businesses create “gathering places” and hold together our communities and make downtown Main Streets so lovable.

Take beautiful San Anselmo, for example. There are so many empty storefronts. The businesses are here today and gone a few months later. This has been going on for decades and it is not just the flooding issue that is the problem.

How about more housing in downtown? We should convert or repurpose some of the shops to living spaces.

Town officials should charge the owners of these empty buildings a “tax” when they are not rented at the high prices they are asking. We are all aware that the malls all over America are dying.

Former President Bill Clinton was fond of saying that we need to keep reinventing ourselves. I think he was right.

— Nancy Oswald, San Anselmo

Sensitive Santa program a success amid pandemic

The Sensitive Santa program was brought to Marin five years ago through a collaboration between Colleen Arnold, owner of Arnold Advocacy, Shana Kenney of All Children Academics and the Matrix Parent Network.

The goal was to design a holiday event specially tailored for children with special needs. Historically, Santa meetups have been overwhelming for those with autism, sensory processing disorders and other disabilities given the long lines, crowds and loud activities.

Like so many events this year, Arnold and the team had to re-imagine what their Sensitive Santa event would look like, bypassing in-person Santa photos. With much creativity and stringent COVID-19 precautions, they pulled it off. By sheer miracle, the Dec. 5 event had the best turnout yet.

With a magical Santa and sleigh by Hackney Horse and Carriage donated by Hennessey Funds, this year’s Sensitive Santa event featured a special Santa parade, professional, distanced photos by famed Marin photographer Mimi Carroll and a special gift for every child who attended the event as donated by Brand X Stunts. The event also featured an optional donation. Donating families were entered into a pool of abundant raffle prices, including a free week at Spectrum Surf Camp.

The event raised more than $3,500, directly benefiting the Matrix Parent Network. Matrix continues to make progress in its ability to provide services and support to families in need and will be unveiling a new program entitled, “the whole family care initiative” in 2021. For more information, go to ArnoldAdvocacy.com.

— Karsson Hevia, San Rafael

Helping military members plan for college, careers

A new veterans’ organization — with pending nonprofit status — has been formed by two Redwood High School alumni, one of which is an Army veteran and another is an active-duty soldier from Lodi.

The organization is named Boots to Books. It is composed of soldiers, veterans, students and graduates across multiple industries that collaborate to offer free career planning and college admissions assistance to veterans. Although there are certain programs aimed at placing veterans into college, our goal is to provide a comprehensive free service covering all facets of transition until they are hired.

Why did we start this organization? When I transitioned out of the Army in October 2020, I noticed a disconnect between the military-mandated transition programs and the actual admissions and job search process. This prompted me to begin creating Boots to Books.

If you would like more information or to see how you can help, visit boots2books.com or email director@boots2books.com.

— Peter Cline, Nicasio

Stop asking taxpayers to defend bad cops

As an American, I know most police officers are good people simply trying to serve their communities. As a taxpayer I also understand that my money funds police jobs in my community. That’s why it hurts when I see stories of bad cops abusing their power and mistreating the citizens they’re supposed to protect.

What’s worse is my taxpayer dollars are used to defend these bad cops when they get sued for misconduct.

During the past 20 years, the city of Chicago has spent hundreds of millions on police misconduct cases. And Chicago isn’t an outlier in this regard. Cities all across the country are using taxpayer dollars to defend bad cops due to a glitch in our legal system called qualified immunity.

It forces taxpayers to pay for bad cops, who clearly abused power, to dodge legal consequences. I’d rather spend my money exclusively on good cops.

— Stephen Keese, Fairfax