Dear Editor,
From: Cheryl Waltemate
Morro Bay
I have been reading the SLO Coast Journal for a while now. Reading this is so enjoyable because everything is 'local.' I plan on retiring in the area and want to 'know’ and 'feel’ my new surroundings and what better way to do it than this!
This time my enjoyment was reading the "Observations of a Country Squire" and thought it delightful. I am looking forward to reading more of George Zidbeck’s episodes around his abode. I could almost feel myself sitting there on George’s deck watching all of this.
What a wonderful retirement in 3 more years!
From: Sandra Beebe
Morro Bay
I have frequently heard we are driving tourists away because we have dog leash laws on our beaches here. However, perhaps we are driving tourists away because we don't enforce them.
As we often do, my husband and I were volunteering at Montana de Oro last week. Two couples approached us with questions about the trails there. They said they were from Minnesota and plan to stay the entire month of February in Morro Bay. However, they mentioned several times they were confronted by off-leash dogs everywhere they went - even in no dog areas. This made them question another visit to our treasure of a town.
A few days later we were parked by the Heron Rookery in Morro Bay. This is a no-dog area in order to preserve the bird habitat. Two couples came out of the area, which is fenced and signed to not enter. Each couple had an off-leash dog with them. I assumed they were tourists who did not know the rules and had not read them. I glanced over to their car to see where they were from.They had a Morro Bay Beautiful license plate holder on their car, so these were probably locals assaulting the valuable but dying resource of the rookery.
For those many dog owners who keep their dogs on leash I thank you all on behalf of the residents, the tourists, and the other critters who reside or visit here.
Photo by Marlin Harms: Night Painting
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From: Linda Stedjee
Re: As Seen From My Couch
I love your latest column. I got a kick out of your swipe at Barta, and your commentary on Council decisions is right on the money.
Give 'em hell!
Linda Stedjee
From Elizabeth Bettenhausen
Cambria
Jack McCurdy's "Cambria Desal Wells Derailed" gives an excellent analysis of the situation here in Cambria. It's refreshing to hear accurate and positive words about the people who have been working so hard for years to give a persistent voice to justice for the environment.
McCurdy's analysis of the interaction between the Army Corps of Engineers and the Coastal Commission discloses a crucial stage in NEPA reviews too. The Army Corps wrote its procedure for compliance with NEPA back in 1988. Vagueness is its strong point. The commitment of the Coastal Commission to protection of the coast's well-being challenges the mechanical engineering viewpoint of the Corps.
Thank you, Jack McCurdy and SLO Coast Journal, for this to-the-point, lucid report.
P.S. I took this photo during the big storms last month. It shows Santa Rosa Creek beach, where the Army Corps and CCSD want to insert at least ten wells.
Photo by Howard Ignatius: Dredging
Operations by Moonlight #2
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