TUHSD should reverse decision on contracts

I am writing in response to news reported in the IJ on June 5 with the headline “Tam Union trustees drop Black student support contracts.”

I taught at Tamalpais High School from 1993-2023. During those decades, I saw many interventions and programs attempting to improve learning outcomes for our Black students. None of those attempts had the level of positive impact that Tenisha Tate-Austin and Paul Austin had in just one year.

Much of this success has been based on relationships they built with Tam’s students. At the meeting, a member of the Tamalpais Union High School District Board of Trustees stated that the work could be replicated by others in the district. Relationships are not something that can be simply cloned by random staff members.

Actions speak louder than words. During my time with TUHSD, we said “Black lives matter.” By removing funding for this program, the actions say “no, not really.”

Fortunately, the board has an opportunity to correct this at Tuesday’s meeting. I urge it to please do so, because it matters to our students.

— Mary Wuerth, San Rafael

LGBTQ+ commentary was an uplifting read

I want to thank author Sam Waterstone for his uplifting Marin Voice commentary concerning his life story (“Queer moms instilled a superpower of LGBTQ+ advocacy,” June 5). It sounds like he has written a wonderful foreword to an informative book about our current culture.

— John Lister, Corte Madera

Tiburon should rethink plan for bayfront park

I think Tiburon’s planned “upgrade” for the treatment ponds adjacent to Blackie’s Pasture is anything but (“Tiburon advances bayfront park upgrade project,” June 4). Not nearly enough consideration was given to the wildlife that will be displaced. I suspect a lot of shrubbery will be eviscerated from Richardson Bay Lineal Park in this “enhancement.”

Michael Moon, a member of the Tiburon Parks, Open Space and Trails Commission is quoted in the article saying “Our approach here was really enhancement and not transformation.” But removing things that wildlife depend on, such as the ponds (yes, they were sanitation ponds at one time, but the birds have historically liked them also) is a bad call. The ponds could have been enhanced as a place for migrating waterfowl to rest and recharge (think hooded mergansers, mallards, scaup, ruddy ducks and other wintering birds).

It appears to me that most of the area will be paved. I consider that plan to be a complete and total misguided transformation.

I worry that adding walking trails along Greenwood Beach will give dog walkers easier access for their dogs to chase wading birds, such as curlews and godwits that frequent that area. I hope when the planned “nature-based playscape” is designed that it can use California natives (many of which are drought tolerant, beautiful and evolved).

Sadly, I don’t think there will be much left of the natural environment on the Tiburon Peninsula.

— Diane Lynch, Tiburon

Senate Bill 607 will help state’s wildfire resilience

I think Ashley Eagle-Gibbs’ recent letter calling Senate Bill 607 “dangerous” misses the mark. SB 607 is about improving the California Environmental Quality Act, not dismantling it. Her characterization of this bill simply doesn’t match what the bill actually does, or how it would help efforts already underway here in Marin to reduce wildfire risk.

Far from “gutting” environmental review, SB 607 streamlines CEQA for specific categories of housing and infrastructure projects, primarily in infill and urban areas where environmental impacts are lower and development makes the most sense.

Contrary to Eagle-Gibbs’ claims, SB 607 specifically states it will not lead to new ports, dams, airports, shopping centers, freeways or factories. It preserves the state’s bedrock environmental laws. Her suggesting otherwise is inaccurate.

SB 607 maintains California’s commitment to environmental protection by preserving core safeguards and excluding high-impact projects from its provisions. The bill seeks to balance the urgent need for housing and wildfire resilience with the state’s environmental objectives.

SB 607 would allow more environmentally sound fire protection work to move forward at lower cost, and with less red tape, without cutting corners on habitat protections.

This additional work will result in more defensible space projects being completed. More shaded fuel breaks. More efficient implementation of vegetation management plans. And better protection for our most at-risk communities.

SB 607 is a thoughtful and timely update that could make a real difference both in addressing California’s housing crisis and in advancing wildfire safety. This bill is something we should all support.

— Larry Minikes, San Rafael

Fairfax’s future is worth fighting for

Fairfax is moving toward a nexus that many town residents (including me) say represents an existential threat to the town’s identity. A recall push focused on Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman appears on a collision course with an application to the town for a 243 unit, seven-story, residential and commercial development downtown. The proposed complex would dominate the skyline, dwarfing Fairfax’s one- and two-story commercial storefronts.

Supporters of Blash and Hellman claim removing them from office won’t stop the development because state mandates have reduced local control over development. They say nothing can change that. Instead, they deflect blame to the political Goliath in Sacramento. But I think we need to fight to shape the scope, scale and visual impact created by this development. Aren’t they against it too?

Some of those who support the recall effort say Blash and Hellman have tunnel vision on more housing, saying they are ignoring “quality of life” issues. These legitimate concerns include traffic congestion, evacuation routes, esthetic cohesiveness and environmental impact.

Fighting is not a guarantee of success, but I think the town must act quickly. In an article published in the IJ June 2 with the headline “Fairfax receives appeal against 243-apartment project,” the attorney for the developer said he is confident the plan is exempt from all reviews, including environmental review. He believes it cannot be stopped.

If the Town Council does not fight, I think one reality is guaranteed: Fairfax’s identity will forever be altered by a seven-story fortress that will never be taken down.

This is worth fighting for and I don’t think Blash and Hellman are doing it.

— Jeff Morley, Fairfax

National debt increased after 2017 act passed

When the original Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed in 2017, then House Speaker Paul Ryan said “I don’t think TCJA will increase the deficit.” Since then, the national debt increased by $16 trillion, reflecting a 75% increase.

Today, we hear from current House Speaker Mike Johnson that the “big, beautiful bill” will actually result in a decline in the national debt despite the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimate that it will add $2.5 trillion over 10 years.

On top of that, it appears that millions would lose Medicaid benefits, other health care programs will be cut and the fundamental services (such as Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster recovery), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather forecasting, educational support and fundamental research in health, climate science and social sciences are being cut or eliminated.

It appears tax cuts will go to the wealthiest Americans. I think that will only increase economic inequities in our country. The American people were duped before and should remember the false promises of the past or we will be saddled with more debt in the future.

— Michael Josselyn, San Anselmo