Interesting first-person experience about visiting San Quentin, but I am still waiting to hear about the “Meaning of Freedom,” (Feature, Feb. 19) that was offered in the article’s sub-headline.
I was really hoping to hear the perspective of Jarvis Jay Masters, the death row inmate with whom the author purports to be friends of two decades. This was a decent first installment, but I am hoping for a second piece that will truly reveal the Meaning of Freedom to the folks on Death Row at S.Q.
Alex Horvath
Via Pacificsun.com
SMART Tax
The “No” on Measure I information I’ve seen in the media gives an incomplete picture of the need for continued funding for the SMART train as an integral part of the North Bay transportation system.
Discussion of funding SMART must address the role of greenhouse gasses produced by our transportation system in contributing to the climate crisis. Although the State of California has done well in reducing carbon emissions in our electricity grid, transportation is a part of our economy in which we are making poor progress in reducing greenhouse gasses.
Granted, there has been mismanagement at SMART, and those problems should be rooted out, but voting “No” on I is throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Even though it does not serve me in Sonoma Valley, I realize that SMART is a crucial element in a climate-smart regional transportation infrastructure.
We must develop a transportation system that does not require us to get into private CO2-spewing automobiles to get around, and SMART is an essential first step. Please vote “Yes” on I in March.
Matt Metzler
Sonoma
