Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for Nov. 23, 2025

Veterinarians can put donated pacemakers to good use

I enjoyed the full-page graphic and article by Kurt Snibbe of the Southern California News Group republished in the IJ on Nov. 11 with the headline “Ultimate donation: California, the most populous state, has one of the nation’s lowest organ donor percentages.”

For those who have them, another thing worth donating is a pacemaker to veterinarians. Our King Charles spaniel, who had a coronary problem, was able to live an extra three years, thanks to a kind donor.

— Xavier de la Prade, Petaluma

Make sure drivers can see you when walking at night

It’s that time of year: It is getting dark earlier, which makes it harder to see people walking.

So, if you are walking a dark-colored dog in all dark clothing, do not expect to be seen by passing or turning cars. Nobody wants to hit you or your dog, or your kid in a stroller for that matter.

Would it be so hard to wear something reflective? Or maybe use a flashlight? Thanks.

— AR Danielson, San Rafael

Spotswood’s assessment of recall failure missed mark

In Dick Spotswood’s recent commentary (“Marin voters spoke loudly on Election Day,” Nov. 16), he wrote that “In Fairfax, as in New York City with the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor, Tuesday was a good day for Democratic socialists and their allies.” He also claimed the Marin Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America strongly opposed the recalls of Fairfax Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman.

This is not the first time Spotswood has implied recall opponents are allied with “Democratic socialists.” I consider it to be an attempt at “red-baiting.” I think Fairfax and the nation would be better off without those surface-level attempts to discredit people.

As a member of the community, it is my understanding that a grassroots coalition to resist the recalls formed. It was made up of a diverse group of residents who rallied, walked neighborhoods, worked at information tables during farmers markets, wrote letters and postcards, made phone calls and posted on social media.

Neighbors with no prior history in local politics stepped up. We also had strong support from the Marin Democratic Party, the North Bay Labor Council, Marin Professional Firefighters, Trade Unions, state Sen. Mike McGuire, Assemblymember Damon Connolly, all members of the Marin County Board of Supervisors and many other community leaders.

I find Spotswood’s fixation with Marin DSA perplexing. It is my understanding that the Marin chapter has just 16 Fairfax members — about 0.2% of voters. It is clear to me that most members of the “no on recall” group are traditional Democrats like me.

As of Nov. 14, more than 55% of Fairfax voted no. Turnout was over 75% and the victory was decisive. So it appears it had very little to do with 16 Marin DSA members. It was powered by neighbors who worked tirelessly to defeat these recalls. Suggesting otherwise dismisses their commitment.

I believe that Spotswood’s remarks echo a troubling White House-style narrative, where even moderates are labeled “far-left radicals” — a tactic meant to distract from facts. Fairfax voters saw through misinformation and rejected it unequivocally.

— Barbara Coler, Fairfax Town Council

Data centers are counteractive to society sustainability goals

After reading Josh T. Smith’s Another View commentary on the Opinion page of the Marin IJ (“Data centers are actually economic foundations,” Nov. 18), I felt the need to respond. I think Smith diminishes concerns about the high energy and water consumption of these data centers.

It appears to me that we are faced with setbacks to sustainability due to the need for more data centers to provide our demand for artificial intelligence. Smith states that whatever the data centers use will be offset by the added value they will provide. He further states that somehow there will be a good-faith effort by these cloud-centric companies to become sustainable.

I challenge this concept. I don’t think it will just all work itself out. I believe there should be regulations to have upfront fees to offset energy and water usage before the construction of these data centers can begin. I think all AI users should have to “pay the meter” for their time on the app to help offset our society’s sustainability goals.

— Howard Ortman, Sleepy Hollow