Um, No on 'E'

If you are going to expose corrupt propositions, how can you ignore Measure E? This would raise the sales tax in Rohnert Park, with all of it going to fund the Millionaire Boys Club, better known as the Rohnert Park Police Department. Seventy percent of the RP budget goes to the police. But they are not satisfied with that; they want it all. A cop in RP can retire at age 50 with 90 percent of his salary. It costs the city $142,000 a year for one sergeant. The high cost is driving RP into bankruptcy. So instead of cutting salaries and benefits for the cops to reduce the deficit, the city wants the taxpayers to cough up even more money to fund the local millionaires. It is time to pull the plug on out-of-control police spending. Vote no on E!

sam zuech

Rohnert Park

Eye Candy R Us

I'm a loyal reader of your weekly, and my motivation to pick up a copy increased after viewing the last issue ("Not So Easy Rider," May 12). The article written by the depressed single mother was enjoyable and informative, but the real eye candy was the zipped-down front shirt. Kudos to the photographer and the model. I will go so far as to say she'll be getting some inquiries into her availability for dating, since she mentioned in the article her age and marital status. If the end result is her depression going away, I'm a supporter of her method to overcome life's disappointments.

John Flynn

Napa County

REdefining terrorism

As I watched footage of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico this morning, I felt a tremendous sense of grief and horror. This is only the most recent environmental catastrophe we have caused. I think "Do no harm" is a better bottom line than profit. If we can't clean up a mess, then we have no business creating one. Corporations seem willing to take any risk, anyplace, anytime. But it's suicidal. And Superfund sites reflect the ability of corporations to avoid responsibility. Will BP really pay the full cost of what they've done? The cleanup, the lost revenues, the health impacts? And how do you quantify the damage to fisheries and the environment? Residents and anyone involved in the cleanup are likely to suffer health problems from the oil and fumes for years. Think 9-11 Ground Zero.

I would like to see those who run the companies involved and the agencies charged with regulating them held accountable. And not just with slaps on the wrist or fines they can easily pay and write off. Let's get real. If terrorists caused this kind of damage, they'd be facing life imprisonment at least. And this looks like terrorism to me.

Moss Henry

Santa Rosa

Free the Slaves

Here is the obvious solution to the "illegal immigrant" problem. Bring home the National Guard troops from Afghanistan and Iraq and station them along the border between Mexico and the United States. Instead of searching for terrorists abroad, they would be able to stop Mexican drug smugglers who are our real enemies. The drug trade fills our prisons and terrorizes our cities with gang members. If we deployed the National Guard at home, instead of abroad, we'd save enough money to provide drug treatment and rehabilitation for drug addicts. The demand for drugs would decline.

The downside of all of this would be that without illegal immigrants coming into our county, the crops would rot in the fields with no one to harvest them. Maybe it's time to free the slaves, as Lincoln did during the Civil War. Pay a decent wage and provide medical benefits for farmworkers. Provide amnesty and citizenship for all "illegals."

Joyce Keller

Santa Cruz

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