At age 83, left out in the cold by local hospitals

I am a retired community college teacher, (Monterey Peninsula College) and find that I need a new primary care physician. Neither Dignity Health, (Dominican) nor Palo Alto Medical Care (Sutter Health) will accept new patients with my insurance. Dominican will not accept my Medicare and Sutter Health will not accept my Anthem Medicare advantage PPO.

I have tried calling every provider that I can and even if Medicare states they will take new patients I am told a firm no. I tried Sutter, and Dignity Health with no results. I have spoken to the Santa Cruz Council on Aging who suggested I call Jimmy Panetta’s office. I have called his office, and hope to hear from him.

My only recourse at this point is to go to an urgent care facility or an emergency room, but I still need someone to prescribe my medications.

I am 83 years old and I never dreamed I would be left out in the cold by the primary hospitals in my area. This seems outrageous to me.

— Jane P. Miller, Aptos

Op ed on MPAs raised legitimate questions

Supervisor Justin Cummings provided a thoughtful and well-researched Guest Commentary (March 14) about why a new marine protected area (MPA) offshore Pleasure Point is not needed for fisheries or for kelp protection.

I was deeply involved in the Marine Life Protection Act process that created the 29 MPAs that are now in place in our region. At that time there was great debate about the purpose and effectiveness of this network, including many of the questions Supervisor Cummings raised about the Pleasure Point MPA proposal.

MPAs can be a useful tool if they have specific, measurable and achievable, goals … which is not the case with the Pleasure Point proposal.

— Steve Scheiblauer, Soquel

LTE disparaging water chief was ‘delusional’

You know, some people have nothing to say but loud complaints and vicious character assassination. On March 14 one such person wrote to the Sentinel, disparaging Ron Duncan on his retirement from Soquel Water District. I know Ron, and he is a person of immense talent and impeccable integrity. He has worked so hard for the benefit of the district’s water users that his friends and family didn’t get to see him very often. Good luck finding a replacement that can live up to his accomplishments. The only similarity between Ron and the letter writer’s commentary is nowhere to be found, except in her mind.

Thanks Ron. You don’t have to listen to the delusional.

— Don Wilson, Aptos

Etheridge concert was ‘show of a lifetime’

Thursday night Melissa Etheridge sang her heart out in Santa Cruz. She started on time, played for two hours, guitar soloed, played harmonica, and for a finale, the drums.

Thank you to everyone working at Kaiser Permanente Arena to make everything run so smoothly, and for giving us room to dance. You helped make it the show of a lifetime.

— Victoria T. Wilson, Santa Cruz

Art adorning buses brings gratitude for living in SC

A big thank you to the person responsible for the spectacular nature photographs adorning the exterior of our new buses. I’ve lived in Santa Cruz 48 years and this is one of the best things I’ve seen happen here. Every time I view one of these buses, it brings a smile to my face and reminds me how fortunate I am to live in Santa Cruz.

— Alan Savat, Santa Cruz

Follow example of Harbor High Climate Justice Club

So wonderful to hear these students learning about the spread of plastic waste in our community (Sentinel, March 15) and adjacent waters, and the dangers to sea life. We enjoy a special proximity to the Monterey Bay and ocean, and many of us are avid walkers - in good weather and bad. The opportunity to pick up trash is abundant. One way to make it easy is to bring along your empty plastic bread bags and fill them up with trash on your walk. This includes picking up dog waste bags that some dog walkers may think are biodegradable and so “pave” the trails with them.

I look forward to more studies of plastic waste “hot spots” and how we can address them from both a policy and a practical standpoint.

— Katherine Harasz, Capitola