MPC projects

MPC is $190 million short of completing the Measure V projects as they were approved. The drastic changes are in the latest bond revision report, included in the Board agenda for Wednesday’s meeting at 4 p.m. at MPC LIbrary. As Marina is growing in the next decade, MPC wants to expand the Marina Education Center at $45 million, and they are cannibalizing other projects students need in structure repairs and improvements like the music building and Welcome Center with mental health components. The tax revenue from Marina’s growing population should fund the MEC as it is supposed to be. Were the voters aware that they were supporting this massive Marina expansion? Were they under the impression it was for repairing, upgrading, and renovating the Monterey campus structures? Has this Board been entirely genuine in how they have been handling the bond revenues? This revision should be widely and broadly publicized to the voters who approved Measure V before the Board acts on it.

-- Yoshimi Ishii, director, Student Representation Council, Associated Students Monterey Peninsula College

Busline construction

The bus-way Marina-Sand City borders on the criminal. Or at least wasteful. Except for a few lines during peak times, the bus is already the most wasteful, the most polluting and the most expensive way of transportation. Who has not seen during most hours on most lines buses with at the most a few passengers, frequently just one or only the driver.

How can an honest person claim that this is the best way to help the society and the climate change? If a car with one person in it is blameworthy how about a huge bus with just a driver?

Why doesn’t the MST use minivans (as is done in many countries) or regular taxis?

-- Jerry S Juskie, Salinas

Title IX

I read an article in the Herald on Sept. 17 about the expansion of the 1972 Title IX regulations against sexual harassment in the K-12 California Public Schools. This new regulation, which is currently on hold due to a Federal court injunction, expands the definition of sexual harassment to include LBGTQ and cross-gender identifying students. What could go wrong when this new regulation goes into effect? If Student A refers to Student B by the wrong pronoun, Student A has committed sexual harassment. If the teacher informs the parent of Student B about this sudden pronoun change (and the parent doesn’t know), can the teacher be fired? How about female students who don’t like sharing the shower room with transgender females with male genitalia in the PE shower room? Does this constitute discrimination? This expansion of Title IX will not improve public education. It will result in more chaos and lawsuits and counter lawsuits. It will be expensive and further diminish our public education system.

-- Carol Marquart, Pacific Grove

Wildfire risk

Last year I lost my Maui home in the Lahaina fire along with about 7,000 other people. Worse than that was the loss of lives of friends and associates which numbered about 103 people. Not counted was the number of individuals who were traumatized watching their friends burn up, trapped in cars whose exit plans were stopped by fallen trees and telephone polls.

As you know the wildfires are widespread and we all have plenty to worry about, One example would be Garland Park in Carmel Valley that is inundated with tree detrius. Prevention cries for a detrius cleanup. I have approached the park district to request a cleanup but they say they are underfunded. I presume that includes paying for the cleanup after a projected fire. They have been notified. I have even mentioned that nonfeasance to duty is perhaps criminally libel.

“Seeing, they see not, hearing they hear not, and neither do they understand.” Maybe they will listen to you, the readership.

-- Paul Laub, Carmel

Trailer fire

According to a recent Herald article, a second classic car was destroyed by fire in a trailer hauling the vehicle, becoming, with apologies to Elvis, “…a hunk, a hunk of burning love.” And, just like the first one, reports are that the fire’s origin was “not suspicious.” Well, I’m suspicious! Presumably, there was not a vagrant inside cooking on a campfire or an ongoing meth lab, so how is it that a trailer interior spontaneously combusts? Gee, I never had a problem moving stuff inside an inexpensive U-Haul van, but maybe I was just lucky. Perhaps rich people’s playthings are just more inflammatory, in a number of ways?

— Glenn Nolte, Carmel Valley