Letters to the Editor, Oct. 2: Prop. 13 defunds schools

Readers weigh in on property taxes, a controversial movie and more|

Howard Jarvis and me

EDITOR: My household just received a long fundraising letter in disguise from Jon Coupal urging me to send a petition to state Sen. McGuire and Assemblymember Curry to reject any legislation to weaken Prop. 13.

This long letter consisted mostly of "information" designed to scare people into believing that overturning Prop. 13 is imminent. This man is President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

For a start, in 1978 Mr. Jarvis was the President of the L.A. County Apartment Owners Association; it's a lobby. That is significant because, since commercial properties tend to trade at a lower rate than residential properties, this proposition has essentially tilted the burden of funding our schools from companies to individuals. At the same time, it has virtually defunded our schools and almost bankrupted all the redevelopment agencies in our state.

In the late 1970s, California had one of the best public school systems in the U.S. Today we join Louisiana (No. 50 in wealth) West Virginia (No. 46 in wealth) and Maine (No. 35 in wealth) as states that have no elementary or secondary schools in the top 50 such schools in the nation. All but these four states have at least one school in the top 50.

Mr. Coupal carries on Mr. Jarvis's policy of presenting half-truths when he tells us in his letter that his group is entirely funded by "individuals like you." The HJTA has a PAC. Are we to believe that all contributions come only from people like you and me?

Bill D'Allaird

Sonoma

Nothing cute about ‘Cuties’

EDITOR: Regarding “Cuties” backlash: Does your film critic really think viewers will bypass the titillating sequences to hunker down on a “thought-provoking” storyline (“Cuties Get by in an Ugly World,” Sept. 18)?

Kirk Michael’s derisive screed against Sen. Ted Cruz is an attack on Cruz, the father of two daughters, ages 10 and 12. The critic needs to consider what would be a father’s gut reaction when he sees 11-year-old girls coached by adults to perform lewd poses and acts. When he sees children’s souls being stolen.

Another father put it this way: “There is no more important treasure to defend than our children.”

How does your critic respond to a tweet by former presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard – “Child porn ‘Cuties’ will whet the appetite of pedophiles and help fuel the child sex trafficking trade.”

A caveat reiterated by Nancy Pelosi’s daughter, Christine. As a former attorney in San Francisco’s Child Abuse/Sexual Assault unit, she condemned “hypersexualizing girls to the delight of pedophiles I once prosecuted. Take it down, Netflix.”'

June England

Sonoma

Ultimate Sonoma experience: Train Town

EDITOR: OK, we all get it. Very tough to configure an ongoing representation for Sonoma that makes sense.

Here’s one: Train Town.

Look, they are somewhat “historic” (I'm almost 70 and a third-generation-plus) to Sonoma... What was done at Train Town is “epic.”

Ya'll promote it or not, but it solves a lot of features that can be a Sonoma experience.

Just like in the olden days when we did adobe bricks as kid [I know you remember such] and brought it locally home. Enter that plea... let the things that we have little semblance toward filter to those that do.

Just a thought.

Rik Granucci

Sonoma

No more years

President Trump after knowing about the severity of the coronavirus in January, instead of waging a war against the virus he has waged a war against the efficacy of the agencies that could help contain it. With four more years of Donald Trump, there will be no light at the end of the tunnel, there will be only darkness.

David Sheppard

Sonoma

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