`Almonds have ruined the Central Valley’ | Letters to the editor: Dec. 4, 2022
Almonds ruined the Central Valley
I’m so happy to hear Blue Diamond made $1.6 billion on top of a $45 million grant of U.S. taxpayer dollars. Sounds like they really needed it. Perhaps they can use some of that income to support the Central Valley community when it comes to their medical expenses for allergies, eye and respiratory issues due to the constant air pollution when they are harvesting.
The almond industry has ruined the Central Valley when it comes to air, drought, pesticides and water waste contamination. Money can’t buy clean air, nor can it restore pre-drought conditions. Money also can’t buy common sense.
Sustainable farming practices and focusing on feeding our own local community is the only way to save the Valley.
Kristin Harris, Oakdale
Ramp up renewable energy
When I think of the proposals for the Crows Landing Business Park, I can’t help wondering how expensive it will be to build, how much infrastructure (road improvements, water wells, gas and electricity) will be needed, and how much vehicle traffic it will generate. Then I think of all those acres with full sun exposure and our growing need to produce renewable energy. The perfect solution is to turn the former naval air base into a solar farm and if the wind is strong enough, a wind farm might also be installed. Sure, it will generate fewer jobs overall, but we must invest in our local energy needs and wean ourselves away from dependence on fossil fuels. I recently saw videos of China’s renewable energy developments which include hundreds of acres of wind and solar. Can’t we do that, too?
Anita Young, Modesto
Trump derelict on COVID
It has been clear since the election that the Republican “plan” for the next four years is to continue promoting the Big Lie and support the Big Liar.
The Democrats under Biden have passed major legislation that helped the American people weather the financial burden imposed by COVID and finally address infrastructure and climate change. Now that the GOP controls the House, it seems we will be blessed by investigations of every sort and kind, including a deep dive into the inner workings of the mystical Deep State, and, courtesy of crazies like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, a peek into Hunter Biden’s laptop.
The crazies promise an investigation into the Covid pandemic but thus far there has not been a whisper of Trump’s dereliction of duty as president when he told the people that we had nothing to worry about. It will just “disappear,” he said again and again while thousands of Americans died. He made fun of wearing masks, suggested we take ridiculous drugs like bleach and refused, always, to take the pandemic seriously. “It’s just like the flu,” he told us as hospitals were overcrowded with the dead and dying.
When will his potential responsibility for those thousands of deaths be investigated?
Paul Neumann, Modesto
Trump will kill the GOP
How enlightening to see orange face #45 announce his presidential bid in 2024, tightening the noose around the Republican party, who deserve it.
Alan Seliger, Turlock
Interfaith Thanksgiving warms hearts
For this particular writer, it’s the local event that puts the “thanks” in Thanksgiving like no other gathering. And, sadly, most area residents have yet to attend it. At the Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration, sponsored by the Stanislaus County Interfaith Council, our area’s rich diversity of faith traditions came together at Modesto’s Emanuel Lutheran Church, joined by such community leaders as Mayor Sue Zwahlen and former Gallo Center CEO Lynn Dickerson. In the course of 90 minutes, they offered prayers, sacred music and simple gifts of words describing how blessed we are to live in a society — and a city — that embraces diversity, that finds shared sentiments and beauty beneath our seemingly disparate expressions of faith, and brings home the truth that, despite all the dividers and naysayers, we are one.
For a quarter century, this annual celebration has taken place on the Monday evening prior to Thanksgiving day. The date is easy to remember, and easy to note on your 2023 calendar. If you missed this year’s Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration, please join your lesser-known neighbors next year, and discover more reasons for being grateful than you ever thought possible.
Mark Haskett, Modesto
Bravo, Prospect Theater
Friends recommended that we attend Prospect Theater Project’s presentation of “Now and Then,” a play by Sean Grennan. Our expectations were high and the performance managed to exceed them. The play was superb in every aspect. The four lead actors were phenomenal and did justice to the playwright’s brilliant, sensitive script, and support staff facilitated a flawless performance.
Andi McGhee, Modesto
