Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for April 26, 2025

Mill Valley should offer e-bike safety course to all

Kudos to the cops: Mill Valley’s new rules requiring helmets and prohibiting kids under 16 years old from operating throttle-controlled e-bikes is a giant step in the right direction (“Mill Valley tightens e-bike rules for youths,” April 23).

The safety course (the one that scofflaws must take if they wish to defray the $25 fine for their e-bike offenses) is an even bigger step for public safety. Since young students share the road with cars, I hope the Mill Valley Police Department can also offer this course to all enrolled at Mill Valley Middle School so every student under 16 can learn about the rules of the road.

— Denize Springer, Mill Valley

Thanks to woman who gave the gift of kindness

On an early afternoon, I carried some things up to my condo. After I had put things away, I noticed that I could not find my wallet. I looked all over the house and was struck with panic.

Just as I came downstairs, my doorbell rang. When I opened my door, a woman asked if she had the right address and showed me my wallet and my ID card.

I was stunned. I told her that it was my wallet and thanked her for finding it. She smiled and gave it to me. I thanked her as she left.

It was later that I realized how fortunate I was to have her find me. What a wonderful gift she had just given me. The gift was not the wallet; it was her kindness and her compassion. This was a person of thoughtfulness and character, which renewed my awareness of the goodness of others.

I wish I had expressed my thankfulness in a better way. However, for those who heard her tell this story, please let her know that I was honored by her gift of kindness.

— The Rev. Skip Fotch, Greenbrae

Tree-lined roads need more safety measures

I am writing out of deep concern about the number of fatal car accidents in the San Geronimo Valley. In recent memory, I can think of at least a dozen people who have died on the valley’s roads — I consider that to be a shocking number for such a small and close-knit community. Too many of these tragedies involve vehicles striking roadside trees.

The roads through the valley are beautiful, but many are hazardous: narrow, winding and lined with large trees with little or no buffer. These conditions, coupled with modern pressures — like distraction from smartphones, the constant urgency to be somewhere or the psychological effects of social media — may be pushing drivers into unsafe behaviors.

We need a conversation about traffic safety in our unincorporated areas. It’s time for the Transportation Authority of Marin and county officials to investigate this pattern and consider measures like guardrails, better signage and especially public safety campaigns.

Most importantly, we need to recognize that these crashes are not isolated events—they represent a pattern, and patterns can be changed.

San Geronimo Valley has lost too many lives already.

— Jo Carson, Fairfax

Reject Fairfax recall; vote yes on Measure E

Some behind the attempted recall of Fairfax Town Council members Lisel Blash and Stephanie Hellman are also campaigning against Ross Valley School District Measure E, and helped spearhead the opposition to November’s Measure J, which would have provided much needed funds to repair Fairfax’s roads.

In what I consider to be a stunning display of hypocrisy, one of the recall leaders, who signed the ballot argument against Measure J, recently appeared on local TV railing about our bad roads. That’s typical of the arguments. Here are my responses to some issues where recall supporters say the council members made mistakes:

• The homeless encampment: The council’s anti-camping ordinance was paused by ongoing litigation, not council inaction.

• The Park Road paving project: Fairfax is required by law to accept the lowest qualified bidder.

• The potential six-story development: Nobody I know — Blash and Hellman included — supports such an out-of-scale project.

“Broken public trust” is cited. At every council meeting those in support of the recall appear to act like bullies. There is a Groucho Marx song that includes the lyrics, “Whatever it is, I’m against it.” That’s them, minus the humor.

Well I’m against terrible roads, mediocre schools and misguided, disingenuous recalls. I urge you to join me in declining to sign the recall petitions and voting yes on Measure E.

— Michael Rosenthal, Fairfax

Thinning remote forests is not the best approach

For years, we’ve trusted land management agencies as guardians of our forests. But as climate change accelerates and pressure mounts, we must look closely at what’s being done in our name with our tax dollars.

Under terms like “fuel reduction” and “forest health,” agencies are aggressively thinning forests, removing understory, bulldozing fire lines and using herbicides — even in some of our most biodiverse public and private lands. These actions are no longer rare. They’re becoming standard, including across cherished areas of Mount Tamalpais. On a recent hike, the forest felt eerily silent — wildlife and birdsong were missing.

Wildfire is a growing threat, but it is clear to me that thinning doesn’t stop the most destructive, wind-driven fires — and some reports posit that “managed” forests can burn more intensely. In some cases, I think we’ve confused action with impact. The forests aren’t failing — the climate is.

Meanwhile, proven lifesaving strategies — home hardening, ember-proofing and evacuation route improvements — remain underfunded. We must prioritize support for residents, especially low-income households, to create defensible space, particularly within Zone 0 (the first 5 feet around structures).

We can no longer accept outdated practices simply because they’re framed with mentions of biologists, tribal consultation or ecological care. I think the evidence is clear: Thinning remote wildlands doesn’t stop catastrophic fire. If we care about forest integrity, community safety and a livable climate, wildfire funding must reflect what works — not industry-driven narratives.

It’s time to challenge the agencies we once saw as environmental champions — not out of blame, but out of deep concern for what’s at stake. Accountability is not opposition. It’s progress. Our future depends on it.

— Jinesse Reynolds, San Anselmo

Consequences of actions by Trump hard to fathom

On the cusp of this administration’s first 100 days, I’ve staggered between grief and panic watching what I consider to be the annihilation of our democracy under President Donald Trump.

On the international stage, we appear to have fallen from a caring and generous humanitarian to a heartless, tightfisted predator. To our allies, it seems we’ve become a selfish, greedy and thoroughly untrustworthy partner enthralled with despots. According to reports, some foreign tourists and students are shunning our country because the U.S. is perceived as unwelcoming.

At home, the economic whiplash, political chaos and brazen corruption and lawlessness have spawned an environment hostile to long-term spending and investment. On the heels of the market meltdown, an unnecessary recession now seems inevitable, made infinitely worse by the gutting of government support services by the new Department of Government Efficiency.

From a certain perspective, one might say it appears this is all due to anger over diversity, equity and inclusion programs, transgender athletes and the price of eggs. We could not look any more ridiculous to the rest of the world.

— John Redfield Brooks, Fairfax