Highway 1 work won’t increase speed of vehicles

This comment pertains to the Auxiliary Lane Project on Highway 1 from State Park Drive to Freedom Boulevard.

Table 2-19 on p. 104 of the draft EIR notes that average speed (mph) of vehicles during the northbound a.m. commute will decrease (rather than increase) compared to the no build option and will continue to decrease as we reach year 2045!

Why are we planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a project giving us no congestion relief? Can you explain this?

It appears that the money would be better spent on something else.

— Debbie Bulger, Santa Cruz

Harm Reduction hardly collecting all syringes

A recent letter writer in support of the Harm Reduction Program’s new state grant application supplied misinformation when he stated that “they (HRCSCC) collect more used syringes than they give out.” In the HRCSCC’s most recent annual report, they self-reported distributing 545,500 syringes and collecting only 310,300 syringes, a difference of 235,200 syringes.

Where do you suppose the other 235,200 syringes ended up? This annual report is contained in the official HRCSCC application to the state.

Harm reduction is an idea I support; however, the county already has a harm reduction program that has much greater oversight, trained personnel, and accountability to the public for its valid concerns, plus referral to substance abuse treatment and health care, with testing for HIV and other communicable diseases.

— Carol Polhamus, Santa Cruz

Finds ‘greed’ in Seaside Co. pay settlement

How much is enough? $30 to park. $8 to ride the Giant Dipper. $9 for a corndog. Congratulations to the Seaside Co. I am absolutely appalled at your absolute greed. Over 100 years in business, owned by the same family and you can’t figure out how to pay your employees? Shame on you.

— Todd Hager, Santa Cruz

Obvious reasons to oppose local cannabis parlors

Everything I ever wanted to know about Supervisor Manu Koenig was contained in the public statement he made while supporting a proposal to allow the establishment of local cannabis parlors and the onsite use of cannabis at local retailers. When the proposal was raised as a way to boost the profitability of local cannabis retailers, Supervisor Koenig supported the proposal by claiming the lack of venues (outside of one’s personal residence) where cannabis can be consumed “limits the unique ways the flower can be enjoyed and suppresses its appeal to visiting tourists.”

Apparently, Supervisor Koenig envisions the day where Santa Cruz becomes a tourist destination for people seeking to experience the uniqueness of the flower in one of the many cannabis parlors he would support being established throughout the county.

I’m obviously opposed to adding places where people can consume mind-altering substances before walking our streets or driving on our roads, and I would like our county to remain popular for its beaches, climate and surrounding hills.

Let’s keep the guardrails in place.

— Owen Hendricks, Santa Cruz

Anti-abortion laws and the case for free choice

As a Catholic I believe man was created with “free will.” I also know that for over 1,500 years the Catholic Church taught that life begins after 112 days in the womb (16 weeks). The Jewish religion’s belief, as well as others, is that life begins with the first breath taken. A 19th century Catholic pope, pressured because women were pushing for greater power, claimed that life begins at conception and lit the fire to the abortion issue, though it took about 60 years in this country to be accepted.

I‘ve known women who have had abortions, but don’t feel I could counsel anyone in that direction; however, I believe in free choice, but free choice is not pro-abortion.

Free will allows people to make ethical choices, and I have always believed that the Roe v. Wade decision made possible ethical choices. Anti-abortion laws remove this opportunity for moral decision-making while at the same time abusing the First Amendment’s right to freedom of religion by forcing one religion’s belief on all.

— Mike Melville, Santa Cruz