Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for Feb. 23, 2025

Push to reopen post office in Bolinas could fall apart

As a Stinson Beach Post Office Box holder since 1980 (including 13 years in Bolinas receiving mail delivered on the Mesa), I look forward to the reopening of the Bolinas Post Office (“Bolinas post office lease impasse near potential resolution,” Feb. 14). However, though I know Stinson and Bolinas need a reprieve from our mashed-up “postal blues,” I remain skeptical it will happen.

I’ve always been proud I worked for the Cabinet-level United States Post Office Department in Missouri during 1969 before I was “privatized” out of a job when Congress created our current postal system the following year. I keep a close eye on the Stinson Beach office and the additional stress of not having an office in Bolinas. Many have predicted that the U.S. Postal Service will be overwhelmed and become increasingly dysfunctional. It appears to be coming true.

Bolinas is not unique. Many post offices nationwide are plagued with lost and delayed deliveries. Also, there are many frustrated rural post offices closed and facing the same lack of consideration for a promised reopening.

I think what the Trump administration calls “privatization” is actually deregulation and that won’t help the USPS. The proposed regional transportation optimization plan, which would replace “inefficient rural post offices serving declining, aging populations” with regional hubs, is a real threat. I suspect that plan would eliminate direct postal service to most of rural America, including Bolinas and Stinson.

Considering that, if marching orders are to cut expenditures, why would postal officials sign a lease?

With more than 40 years of experience dealing with Bolinas’ notorious xenophobic reputation, my level of apprehension is high. I hope I’m wrong, but until the lease is signed, I will remain skeptical the Bolinas Post Office will reopen.

— Elliott Kolker, Stinson Beach

Opportunities lost: Spilling reservoirs are a reminder

Ten months ago, the IJ printed my letter with the headline, “MMWD’s new plan looks too much like the old one.” Since then, it appears that nothing of substance has happened to take action on Marin’s serious need to increase our reservoir supply. The most recent proposal from Marin Municipal Water District officials is to build a pipeline to Sonoma County (“Marin water managers favor pipeline over reservoir expansion,” Jan. 26). However, I suspect that if Sonoma ever had a water shortage at the same time as Marin, we would likely lose access in our time of need.

Like they were 10 months ago, our reservoirs are once again full and the spillways are overflowing. That precious water is emptying downstream. I still think raising the spillways is a simple and cost-effective way of retaining potentially millions of gallons.

I am disappointed that the idea of modestly enlarging our reservoirs has been dismissed for encroaching on farmland. I don’t understand why dredging our reservoirs’ shorelines by 10 to 20 feet would negatively impact the farmers or the cows. I, for one, have not seen many cows walking along the edge of any of our reservoirs. I think a cost-effective, noninvasive expansion is the way to go.

MMWD officials need to stop talking and do more.

— Bruce W. Burtch, San Rafael

Cartoon about Democrats, Musk missed the mark

I’m not impressed with the political cartoon by Counterpoint Media’s Lisa Benson published in the IJ on Feb. 18. It depicts Elon Musk as a representative of the Department of Government Efficiency attempting to clean up governmental waste, while angry Democrats block access.

It implies that Democrats blindly resist the cleaning up of waste. That’s not what I believe is happening. They are objecting to the dismantling and/or defunding of the Department of Education, the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Emergency Management Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the National Park Service and more. Musk and his young team were not elected. Musk is simply a major donor to President Donald Trump, yet he appears to have unprecedented access to our sensitive personal and financial information.

Many Americans want to fund cancer research, the protection of our national parks, consumer fraud protection and the regulation of air traffic for our safety. I think Benson should redraw the cartoon to show Democrats protecting those important agencies.

— Ann Goheen, Novato