Opinion

In his letter published in the Press Banner on July 16, Mr. Gelblum expressed an opinion, taking me to task, that board members must always practice what he terms a “fiduciary responsibility” to form a unified front to the public. In essence, telling me...

I am writing to state disappointment with the SC City Council for approving the massive Tesla-only charging station in Kings Village Shopping Center. Scotts Valley has exactly one other EV charge station which is at the Walgreens also in Kings Village. That one is rarely used because it is not a common brand and most people with EV cars do not have accounts with that company. There are many non-Tesla EV's driving around Scotts Valley and SLV. I see them all the time. To approve so much space for Tesla-only charging is disgraceful. They should have required that each charge station support any EV. If that is not technologically possible they should have required one conventional Level-2 charge station for every one or two Tesla chargers. I suggest replacing some of the dozen or so that were installed with chargers that can be used by a wider variety of consumers. Teslas can use convention charge stations, but non--Tesla EVs can NOT use these Tesla chargers. Did anyone in the planning department even look into the overall E=V charging situation in Scotts Valley before approving these? It seems not.

Dear Editor,I would like to thank and commend the Sheriffs Department for their enforcement in our community parks, particularly with respect to the drunk and disorderly behavior. (It's a community affair, Aug. 14th) I would also like to request that the Sheriff's enforce the "No Smoking" ordinance that exists for all of our county parks as well.Although a common occurrence, I am always stunned when people choose to light up in our parks and playgrounds and around children in particular. For kids, secondhand smoke causes ear infections, bronchitis and other respiratory infections. It also exacerbates asthma and increases chances of SIDS. In adults who have never smoked, secondhand smoke causes heart disease, lung cancer and stroke.According to the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure and even brief exposure can be harmful to our health.Our parks should be a safe and healthy environment. Smoking should not be tolerated anymore than drunk and disorderly conduct.Jennifer Gomez,Lompico