90th anniversary for small community on Tam

In 1935, neighbors living on top of Mount Tamalpais banded together to get Marin County officials to pave Panoramic Highway, the main road leading to Stinson Beach and Muir Woods National Park from Mill Valley. Their success led to several initiatives and projects to make life on rural Mount Tam safe and enjoyable. They continue today.

This year, the Muir Woods Park Community Association celebrates 90 years of fellowship, fire and weather safety, community activities and civic endeavors. Most of all, we feel connected to one another in unique ways, living in and among the natural landscape.

In the late 1940s, the association purchased land on a ridge with 360-degree views of the entire Bay Area, and volunteers built a clubhouse. Today, it is the center of our community. On Sundays, we have a volunteer-run café serving food prepared by neighbors. Friends and visitors to Mount Tam will pop in to enjoy the views, listen to music and enjoy homemade fare.

These days, “community” has become more than a catch phrase. Up on the mountain, our community has banded together in new ways, offering a place to talk, to plan and to work toward service.

I’ve lived on Mount Tam for over 40 years, and I’m so grateful to those who had the foresight 90 years ago to start an organization that embraces everyone. We’ll celebrate those pioneers with a Jamboree on July 26 with bluegrass bands, a barbecue and special guests. As president of the Muir Woods Park Community Association, I invite all to attend and celebrate. Learn more at MountTam.org

— Nancy Klasky Gribler, Muir Woods Park

Board contributed to meeting’s atmosphere

In his recently published commentary (“Disrespect of school board is unacceptable,” July 9), IJ political columnist Dick Spotswood was right to condemn disrespectful behavior at the recent Tamalpais Union High School District Board of Trustees meeting. But he overlooked a critical point — what I considered a tone of disrespect set by the board itself.

I think the meeting’s structure (limiting speakers to just one minute) and the chairing style of board President Cynthia Roenisch certainly contributed to an atmosphere of frustration that led to unacceptable rudeness. It seemed more performative than substantive, with little room for genuine dialogue or compromise.

Even with offers of outside financial support, three remained opposed. I think it suggested a lack of understanding about how deeply rooted systemic and implicit biases can shape decisions and how much intentional effort is required to counter them.

It is clear to me that The Hub program’s success was due in large part to the consultants’ expertise, networks and dedicated time. Expecting existing staff — already stretched — to replicate outcomes without that same capacity is unrealistic.

The turnout of hundreds in protest speaks volumes about the program’s impact and value. The program’s measurable success is clear to me, even if it was costly and served a specific population.

We all share a responsibility to support the success of every student, especially those who have long been underserved by the public education system. This may require greater investment, but it should be seen not as a burden. It should come as a commitment to equity and the future. It’s not a sunk cost; it’s a meaningful investment in our community’s future — with the promise of powerful returns in human potential, engaged citizenship, and a stronger, more inclusive society.

Instead of walking away, new Superintendent Courtney Goode and the board should reconsider and renew the contracts for Tenisha Tate-Austin and Paul Austin.

— Anne Devero-Rosenfeld, Mill Valley

New resolve after being frustrated by the Fourth

For many Americans, the Fourth of July has become a holiday of habit: barbecue smoke in the air, coolers packed with beer and lawn chairs staked out for fireworks. There’s nothing wrong with celebration, but this year, I was struck by how few seemed to reflect on what we were actually celebrating.

As I heard people trading tips on steak deals and fireworks shows, I felt a sense of dissonance — like we were celebrating something we no longer understand, or worse, take entirely for granted.

Because the truth is: The liberty and justice this holiday commemorates — once seen as permanent — could now be in real danger. For the first time in many of our lives, it appears the foundation of our democracy is eroding in plain sight. Checks and balances are strained. It seems the rule of law is treated as optional. And the presidency, once rooted in public service, has become a tool for division, self-protection and power.

The original Fourth of July wasn’t just a celebration — it was an act of defiance and a declaration against tyranny and unaccountable leadership. The fireworks we light are meant to echo revolution, not just dazzle the kids. The cookouts are meant to bring us together, not distract us from the work of citizenship.

Today, that same courage — to resist autocracy, defend democracy and call out injustice — is needed again. This isn’t about partisanship. It’s about principle. And principles — not parties, nor personalities — are what hold a nation together.

So, let’s talk to our children about what the Fourth truly means. Let’s ask hard questions of our leaders and ourselves. Let’s speak up when truth is distorted and freedom is threatened.

Because if we don’t reclaim the meaning of the Fourth, we may lose what it stands for entirely.

— Joseph Keon, Greenbrae

Important editorial topic deserves a rebuttal

I want to compliment the IJ board for the headline it used in the print edition when it republished the editorial from the Southern California News Group on July 3. It read, “Social Security, Medicare need to be protected.” At the California Alliance for Retired Americans, where I serve as vice president, we work to do just that.

However, I was disappointed that the SCNG board relied heavily on information from the CATO Institute in the editorial. I disagree with the statement that “individuals are best equipped to provide for their own retirement savings.” For the vast majority of Americans, that is not true.

Today, 401(k)s have taken major hits, but are also climbing to new heights. Most successful retirement plans seek more stable growth and security.

Pensions provide much better retirements because their returns are not skewed by that older investor’s need to become more conservative as they age. In fact, that was former President Franklin Roosevelt’s goal, the society would tax ourselves to provide secure retirements. It’s a good bargain.

What we owe the next generation of retirees is a system that can pay their hard-earned benefits. The demographic change most relevant to the depletion of funds mentioned in the editorial (which was predicted in the 1980s) is actually one that the commission did not recognize when they made 1983 reforms — income inequality. Corporations and executives stopped the flow of revenue toward regular working families, directing more revenue to profits, dividends and executive income. Where once the CEO earned 20 times the regular salary, now it’s 200 times.

I think the editorial missed this point: the latest tax cuts reward the ultra-rich. The Medicare and Social Security trust funds prove the same people are scamming the system. So, protect us. Tax the rich and balance the trust funds. Scrap the cap.

— Kris Organ, Fairfax