Saturday’s Letters to the Editor

North Coast rivers

EDITOR: The closure of California’s salmon fishing season this year is a grim reminder that many salmon stocks are crashing. On the Eel River, where salmon and steelhead are facing extinction, the single most important thing we can do to help them is remove two old, unsafe dams.

As your recent editorial makes clear, all major stakeholders involved in the decommissioning of the Potter Valley Project agree with this objective (“Keep tap open for North Coast rivers,” Aug. 13). We and other conservation groups also agree it’s feasible to continue water diversions to the Russian River watershed after the dams are gone. But the new project would cost tens of millions of dollars, and it has never been clear who will pay for it. Meanwhile the clock is running out on native fish, and PG&E wants the dams taken out as soon as possible.

There is no looming “water war” here. Water interests have had years to figure out how to make a continued diversion work. Their recent proposal sheds no new light on that. Meanwhile, the Eel’s salmon and steelhead are barely hanging on. We need to remove the dams as soon as federal regulators give the green light. A continued diversion may yet be possible, but we cannot hogtie the future of Eel River fishes to resolving that issue.

MATT CLIFFORD

California director of law and policy, Trout Unlimited

A decisive election

EDITOR: I understand the frustration felt by those not excited by the candidates (“Seeking an alternative,” Letters, Aug. 11). Donald Trump is portrayed as a narcissistic self-centered misogynist while Joe Biden is portrayed as a bumbling, incompetent old man. While the Trump description is accurate, I want to fight against the Biden representation.

Biden stepped forward when he saw what Trump was doing to the country, and his track record has been impressive. He has passed more bipartisan bills than anyone could have ever been hoped for and advanced the cause of climate change and he is rebuilding the economy COVID (and Trump) hamstrung — all by being a good negotiator. He surrounds himself with competent administrators, not sycophants. He is revealing just how much we need a functioning government.

Although I too pine for a younger candidate, it looks like we will be faced with Trump vs. Biden, and I can’t stress this enough: this is an election that will decide if we are going down the road of authoritarianism or democracy. It is not the time to whine about a third party. If you decide not to vote, you will be voting for Trump and authoritarianism. Please understand that.

GERRY LAZZARESCHI

Healdsburg

Allowing more time

EDITOR: The Aug. 16 article dealing with the impending bankruptcy of the Santa Rosa Diocese (“Last chance to pursue justice”), which also covered the California Legislature’s action to retroactively postpone the expiration of the statute of limitations to enable abuse claimants to file for financial compensation, raises for me a current comparable situation calling for equal application of justice.

In the five-year investigation of tax evasion in Hunter Biden’s tax reporting, it has been disclosed that the statute of limitations for felony charges on any unreported income from foreign sources in 2014-2016 was allowed to expire without charge. In an equal application of justice, why shouldn’t Congress pass legislation to retroactively postpone the tolling of the statute in this case? U.S. taxpayers have been victimized and are entitled to recovery.

JIM HABERKORN

Santa Rosa

Offensive décor

EDITOR: In the spirit of supporting a new restaurant in Healdsburg, I am writing to acknowledge reporter Heather Irwin’s reporting of the opening of Goodnight’s Prime Steak + Spirits (“Beef-centric, cowboy-

chic restaurant,” Aug. 20). She wrote extensively about the owners, chef, food, spirits and even the decor: “You might even notice the light fixtures outfitted with old Smith & Wesson rifles (I’m not sure how to feel about that).”

Well, I know how I feel. In light of the mass school shootings in America, I am outraged (as are other locals with whom I have spoken) that a new restaurant owner would insensitively allow any kind of guns, let alone four rifles, to be used in a chandelier in full view of the front entrance as part of the themed cowboy steak decor.

Tragically, one Healdsburg family lost their 9-year-old niece in the March 27 school shooting in Nashville. As we all know, these senseless shootings impact all our lives. I implore the restaurant’s owner to replace the offensive four-rifle chandelier.

BARBARA VAN WOLLNER

Healdsburg

You can send letters to the editor to [email protected].