Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for July 6, 2024

Rich Nave left big impact on San Rafael community

We have lost a former member of the San Rafael City Council, Mr. Richard Nave. He died on June 12 at age 93. Nave always worked to make San Rafael a better place.

Both he and his wife, Dolly, were movers and shakers for San Rafael. As a member of the City Council, Nave was always working to improve his hometown. We have Dolly to thank for the B Street bocce ball courts, with active participation from Rich.

When Nave was on the City Council, I was on the San Rafael School Board. We frequently disagreed on a path forward. I always respected his presentation and his goals for our city. His views were much more conservative than mine and our discussions were tough, but we always were able to reach a compromise that benefited our city and our school system.

I really missed those discussions when he left the City Council. He loved his hometown. He did so much to make it a better place. My condolences to the Nave family and the city. We have lost a hardworking citizen.

— Gladys C. Gilliland, San Rafael

Novato should say yes to tax, no to Costco gas

The draft environmental impact report for the proposed Novato Costco gas station will be available for public review, tentatively in July or early August.

Our community, including my hometown, Novato, and Marin County, is directly affected by our reliance on fossil fuels. Burning gasoline and diesel for transportation pollutes our air and contributes significantly to our local heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions.

According to Novato’s 2021 emissions inventory, 63% of our community’s emissions are from transportation, with 74% coming from passenger cars. Our addiction to fossil fuel consumption alters the earth’s climate, and if we continue to heat the atmosphere, our planet will become increasingly uninhabitable.

Extreme climate events are already accelerating, causing widespread destruction, taking lives and resulting in significant economic burdens. It’s clear that we need to halt new fossil fuel projects and transition to all-electric transportation.

In 2022, Novato’s City Council approved an ordinance to ban new gas stations from being built, but this did not include the ones already proposed. The Costco gas station plan will be reconsidered after the report. The City Council must vote again.

We can show our support for Novato and a healthy climate policy by endorsing a minor tax increase, thus negating the need for the tax revenue from a Costco gas station to cover deficits. It is crucial that we step up, contribute and resist the construction of the largest gas station ever in Novato and Marin County. We are in a climate emergency. Our decisions have serious consequences.

If you have lung cancer, you stop smoking; if your plant is on fire, you stop pouring gasoline on it. Delaying lifesaving changes is dangerous and ill-advised; later, it will be too late.

— Silke Valentine, Novato

There is no reason not to support MC field lights

I am writing in response to the story published June 16 with the headline, “Kentfield board clears Marin Catholic field lights plan.”

The Planning Commission advanced the proposal, with some modifications, despite opposition from some Greenbrae residents. The opposition is based, among other reasons, on the idea that the lights will disrupt residents’ nighttimes, that wildlife will also be disrupted and there would be a decrease in property values.

Whereas the vast majority of the opponents will never even see the lights because they live east of Bon Air Road, I am one of the few people who will actually see them because I live on Corte Madera Creek facing the campus and the playing fields directly. Despite this, I am very much in favor of the MC proposal. I love seeing kids playing sports.

Keep in mind, MarinHealth Medical Center nearby has very bright lights 24/7, 365 days a year. They would shine directly into my bedroom but for blackout curtains. More importantly, I can personally state that any wildlife that comes out at night has long since adapted to this situation.

I’ve heard owls, coyotes, Canada geese and even turkeys roaming around at night the past few months. Most likely no wildlife will ever be bothered by the limited MC lights.

Those opposed who bring up a drop in property values are sharing a “red herring.” Not a single property in Hillview or Greenbrae has lost value due to the construction of the hospital with its bright lights. I challenge any opponent to produce undisputed facts showing a decrease in property values due to the hospital’s lights. There will be no decrease in value either if the MC application is approved.

Please approve this application forthwith.

— Ronald M. Arlas, Larkspur

Peace proclamation a bad idea in Fairfax

In the discussion of a Middle East peace proclamation for Fairfax, some people are confusing socialism with anarchy. The job at hand is what elected officials signed up to perform. Daily squandering of limited resources in search of “good trouble” breeds contempt.

After being steam-rolled at the Town Council meeting, local citizens are in no mood to be micromanaged. The council persistently slams what is “good for us” down our throats. It can feel like fascism.

Who on Earth is going to listen to this rambunctious, self-appointed, morality posse?

— Monte Summers, Fairfax

Store a week’s worth of water for emergencies

I am writing in response to the Los Angeles Times article reprinted in the IJ on June 24 with the headline, “Petition: FEMA should tag extreme heat, wildfires as ‘major disasters.’”

The article reported that some believe FEMA should expand disaster designations to include wildfire smoke and extreme heat. It reminded me about an essential step in household emergency preparedness: storing water supplies.

Every family should have a week’s worth of water stored in some survivable location. It is not necessary to buy new plastic water bottles, although those work. We have about 15 old gallon jugs of water in the garage which we replace annually, with a little disinfectant in them. Other sources of liquids are good too, including cans of soda or soup.

A household water supply inventory is a useful emergency preparedness step. Do you have the water your family and pets will need in an emergency?

— Kermit R. Kubitz, Larkspur

Report on obesity drugs creates questions of cost

This is a follow-up to the New York Times report republished in the IJ on June 26 with the headline, “Obesity drugs expose gaps in access.”

The obesity rate in the U.S. is 33.5%. Thus, 114 million Americans are obese. Obesity drugs cost around $1,000 a month or more. So, the yearly cost of treating U.S. obesity could be as high as $1.4 trillion. That represents one third of total U.S. health care spending at $4.5 trillion (17% of the Gross Domestic Product). The $1.4 trillion to treat obesity is over 40% greater than the cost of Medicare ($944 billion). Given that, obesity treatment is clearly unaffordable at scale. “Gaps in access” are inevitable.

So, what are the solutions to this issue? There are probably many. One of them is better U.S. drug price controls through regulation and/or negotiation. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a monthly dose of Ozempic costs $936 in the U.S., $169 in Japan, $147 in Canada, $103 in Germany, $93 in the UK, $87 in Australia and $83 in France. There is no reason why Americans should pay over six times as much as Canadians and around 10 times as much as Europeans or Australians.

The leading producer of these drugs is Novo Nordisk, a Danish company with a market capitalization of $646 billion. And this huge market cap is very much subsidized by U.S. taxpayers. It does not make any sense for Americans to overpay that much for a drug that profits a foreign Big Pharma.

— Gaetan Lion, Mill Valley