SB 79 would greatly impact Marin towns

As a former member of the Sausalito City Council, I am deeply concerned about the impact of Senate Bill 79, which promotes dense housing near transit hubs. What will it do to our small town, as well as others across Marin County and the state? Sausalito’s charm and economy rely on its natural beauty and unique character — but it also faces serious challenges: fire risk, sea-level rise and unstable landfill zones.

Local communities understand these risks best. SB 79 imposes a “one size fits all” approach that takes away more local control. I think it actually prioritizes high-cost housing and does little to help working families or the unhoused. It is not the answer to the California housing crisis.

Lawmakers must write a bill that meets the state’s real needs — not one shaped by developers. We must protect California’s environment, economy and quality of life — and that begins with respecting local voices.

— Carolyn Ford, Sausalito

Dr. Bredesen’s programs are valuable to community

I am writing in response to the article by the New York Times republished in the IJ on May 31 with the headline “Marin researcher’s dementia treatment offers false hope, experts say.” I found the assertions about Dr. Dale Bredesen’s work and protocol for Alzheimer’s treatment to be unfair.

Dr. Bredesen is an esteemed colleague. He was the founding CEO of the Buck Institute here in our community. His contributions to the aging community of Marin over the years have been admirable. I have seen his current program for treating Alzheimer’s disease give many patients their lives and their brains back.

I have been a physician treating dementia for over 40 years. Many of us in the medical community agree that drugs for this condition offer no hope or much change in the tragic outcome of dementia. My additional frustration and sadness with the assertions in this article is for those who dismiss Dr. Bredesen’s work. They are missing what I consider to be a very vital lifeline and approach to reversing their cognitive changes associated with dementia or those of their loved ones.

— Dr. Lisa Kuhlman, San Rafael

Fairfax recall effort built on unfair assessments

The divisive movement to recall members of the Fairfax Town Council appears to be a backlash to a long-standing progressive majority. I believe there has been a well-organized and funded agenda that seeks to remove those progressive voices. It appears to be the same people that repealed rent control and replaced a young progressive with an older conservative last November.

The narrative on the street is that these elected officials are “out of touch.” Some falsely say the pair are solely responsible for seemingly every community frustration — from housing policy and the homelessness crisis to potholes and apparent imaginary scandals.

I’ve heard recall activists roaming Fairfax to tell a story that blames them for the out-of-scale Burlingame-like high-rise coming to School Street Plaza. What I think is missing from the real story is the “trickle down” from recent state laws that treat Fairfax exactly the same as Los Angeles.

The town was legally obligated to update the housing element and rezone — it wasn’t an individual agenda. If the town resisted the state mandates, I suspect it could have led to bankruptcy — or worse. There is misplaced anger at the council members. We should direct our energy at the Sacramento leadership that is apparently driven by developer lobbyists.

The recall usurps the election process. There is no graft or corruption — nothing has risen to the level of a recall and an election comes in 2026. This is an attempt to disenfranchise other voters.

I worry there is a gendered element too. I’ve never seen male council members face the vitriol that these two strong, capable women have endured. I think the hostility has been appalling.

I believe this recall is really an attempt to echo the national conservative power grab and purge progressives from Fairfax local government.

— Richard Appelbaum, Fairfax

Remove the bike lane, add shuttle for cyclists

I think there is a straightforward manner of dealing with the concern about the bicycle lane on the upper deck of the Richmond Bridge (“Demonstrators rally for Richmond-San Rafael Bridge lane,” May 15). Certainly, the traffic delays, congestion, wasted fuel, lost time and even emergency access are all terribly impacted by the bicycle lane for the convenience of a few who use it.

To enable bicyclists and pedestrians to cross the bridge safely while opening the lane to motor vehicles, we should have a bus which, during daylight hours, would cross the bridge each way every hour carrying bicycles, their owners and any pedestrians.

The bus could be funded by a fee for riders and/or a registration fee on all bicycles. A small license plate attached to each bicycle could enable identification of the occasional scofflaw bicyclists who may flagrantly and dangerously violate the traffic laws.

— Ernest B. Hook, San Rafael

County should not hire more executives

Given the uncertainties in the economy and concerns about future budget woes for Marin County, it boggles my mind to hear that the Board of Supervisors has approved the hiring of 17 new county “executive level” employees at a cost to taxpayers of $4.1 million a year (“Marin supervisors approve major expansion of executive’s staff,” May 30).

While many of us are tightening our belts to absorb the impact of rising costs of goods and services because of inflation and tariffs, the board appears to have turned a blind eye to reality when so many other critical needs can be better served with this money.

I think more executives will mean more bureaucracy. That’s the last thing county residents need.

— Steve Levine, Mill Valley

All of us must stand up, protect valued services

During these past few months, I have found the massive transformation of government services to be unbearable and very painful to watch. Human kindness and decency appear to have disappeared. What is happening here?

I think there is an obvious intent to strip the average American people of their daily needs. Suddenly, it appears to me that the average American must face serious and detrimental losses to survive. Medicaid, Medi-care, the Affordable Care Act and Social Security, along with veterans benefits, are under threat of being discarded or reduced. I see little concern whether the people that rely on these benefits will survive.

I think President Donald Trump’s apparent attack on all programs he considers part of a “diversity, equity and inclusion” movement is inhuman. We should remember that Americans are all products of previous generations coming from other countries. I personally have noted that many of my doctors are from other countries. They are highly educated.

I am so grateful to have these people in my life. If you discard and disallow most immigrants, we will be even more shorthanded than we already are in this country.

The people who are making these decisions appear to have no regard for all the people in the United States of America. We are those people. I urge everyone to step up and stand up for all that “we the people” have been blessed with in order to survive in our beautiful country.

— Jacqueline Louis, Greenbrae