Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for April 12, 2023

Supermarket employees like members of family

Against the backdrop of the great economic changes that the information and globalization ages have brought to local communities, I would like to call attention to a group of very special people that are sadly soon going to be gone from our town. I am writing about the affable and stalwart employees of the Lucky supermarket in downtown Larkspur (“Longtime Larkspur grocery store to close downtown,” April 3).

In the 15 years I have lived here, they have watched my son grow up and seen me and my family through good times and bad. In many ways, they have become members of our family. They have unfailingly been there for us with unflagging good cheer, even when faced with legions of far more pressing issues than asking me how my day is going or remembering what kind of bag I like.

Lucky will be sorely missed. It has earned a place in our hearts that I don’t suppose will be quickly filled by whatever business moves into that space next. I wish good fortune to all the employees and hope that none are too adversely affected by the closure. Farewell, bon voyage and best of luck.

— Dave Kanter, Larkspur

MMWD board misstepped with rate structure plan

When voters elected new members to the Marin Municipal Water District Board of Directors, there was the expectation that the newly elected board members would bring fresh ideas to the county’s equation between the water supply and demand. But, nay, the board had the audacity to make water rate hikes one of its first orders of business (“Marin Municipal Water District seeks rate hikes of up to 20%,” March 19).

As a Marin resident of 35 years, I am angered that the board, after insisting that residents reduce household water consumption and lawn irrigation, as well as water for car-washing and power-washing use, has the gall to punish residents with rate hikes because the ratepayers’ best efforts at conserving water were successful. It appears the board’s solution is for residents to pay more for the small amount of water they do use.

I read the tiered rate charts explaining the changes. It appears they will lead to astonishing increases.

It is not unreasonable for ratepayers in our sophisticated county to expect an affordable, dependable water supply. We should not pay for the board’s mismanagement of our water resources. It is a public insult to the voters who elected the directors.

— William J. Higgins, Mill Valley

Ratepayers should vote on new cost structure

The Marin Municipal Water District is asking for another rate hike (“Marin Municipal Water District seeks rate hikes of up to 20%,” March 19). While I applaud the new board members for tackling some very troublesome problems created by the previous board, the new fees pose a serious financial setback for many Marin families.

By now, I suspect all MMWD customers have the flyer showing the four-year rate proposal effective this July. The escalation could lead to households paying almost 60% more for water. Those with large families will likely get pushed into a more expensive tier. Additionally, the new “drought surcharges” have the potential to get extremely expensive when reservoir levels fall. Despite MMWD’s legitimate challenges, it’s unfair to impose huge financial burdens (some of which were caused by previous MMWD administrations’ mismanagement) on the ratepayers.

Thanks to Marin’s hefty fixed maintenance fees, the average Marin homeowner already pays some of the highest rates in the state. Other communities have figured it out and we should too.

I campaigned for both directors Ranjiv Khush and Matt Samson before they were elected to the MMWD board, knowing they would bring positive changes. But I strongly urge MMWD to consider more affordable alternatives and put all rate proposals to a vote on a ballot mailed to every ratepaying household, preferably on the front page of the next water bill.

A ballot mailed to all customers will assure everyone is informed and can weigh in. It’s the only fair way to be sure everyone has a voice.

— Patrick McGauley, San Rafael

Condoms should be distributed at schools

Once upon a time, I was one of many health professionals to volunteer as a “Dr. Condom” at San Francisco public schools. I did it for years on behalf of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society. We started the program after research showed how some bad infections were being spread among local teens, along with unintended pregnancies. Students picked condoms up, confidentially, along with health education materials — not only for sex education issues.

We never heard of any problems with the program — although one father humorously returned a big bag of unused condoms at the end of the school year, saying “These shouldn’t go to waste just because my son is a dreamer.” I referred some students to clinicians based on screening for other health concerns.

There is zero evidence that providing condoms increases sexual activity, but it does reduce risks of disease and pregnancy, along with increasing access to other health services and education. It’s a cheap solution. Providing condoms at school is a good and proven effort, even if it makes some older folks uncomfortable or even angry. The students just rolled their eyes at the “prudes,” as more than one called them, and thanked us for caring about their health and futures.

— Steve Heilig, Bolinas

Districts pay big money for superintendents

I believe that teachers, bless them, are among the hardest-working, but least well-compensated workers in our society. With that said, I would like to point out a difference between the Los Angeles Unified School District and the San Rafael City Schools District.

The population of Los Angeles is 3.89 million. There is just one superintendent of schools in LA. The superintendent of LAUSD is paid $350,000 per year in salary. There are approximately 565,000 students in the LA district. Therefore, the LA superintendent earns approximately 62 cents per student, per year.

The total population of Marin County is 250,000. There are 16 different school districts in Marin County.

A recent article about the new San Rafael superintendent (“San Rafael school district names new superintendent,” April 6) reports that new hire Carmen Ghysels will earn $280,000 a year in salary. There are about 7,000 students in the district. So my math shows that Ghysels will earn approximately $40 per student, per year, in salary.

I found that the median salary for Marin County school superintendents is $216,000. That means Marinites are paying about $3.46 million annually for their school superintendents.

— Rob Field, San Rafael

Transgender athletes discussion is worthy

An article by the Associated Press recently published in the Marin IJ (“Court says trans girl can run girls track in West Virginia,” April 7) reports that a 12-year-old transgender girl was allowed to continue to run for her school teams while the lawsuit on a state law is being settled.

According to the report, U.S. Supreme Court justices “refused to disturb an appeals court order that made it possible for the girl, Becky Pepper-Jackson, to continue playing on her school’s cross country teams, where she regularly finishes near the back of the pack.” I consider this to be proof that the art of critical thinking seems to be lost.

Instead of employing common sense, we read about decisions made quickly based on bias, fear, uncertainty and doubt rather than analyzing whether there is a problem in the first place — not to mention analyzing data to determine what the real problem is or what the best solution might be.

I think we should require sporting organizations to start tracking results to determine if being transgender (in either direction) causes unfair advantage or harm to others trying to earn awards and scholarships in sports. Another tactic might be to find out how the athletes themselves feel about it and give them a voice.

Once that consensus is determined, decision-makers could then make an informed decision.

— John Bischoff, San Rafael