Letters to the Editor

Questions and answers about Napa fire response

The interruption of one of my favorite TV shows recently "Let's Make A Deal" for the "James Comey Show" has shown me that with all of the problems our country has, we've spent more time and taxpayer money on nothing that substantially helps American live a better life.

Do we really need fancy-pants toilets--almost half a million dollars? How many do we get for that price? And taking money for other projects to pay for this isn't right. Yet politicians seem to do this kind of thing all the time.

The "earth-friendly, organic" produce vendors at the Napa Farmers Market continue to use single-use plastic bags, with full knowledge that those are environmentally detrimental.

Lately, it seems like I pick up the newspaper and see that a new hotel is possibly coming to Napa. All these new hotels mean more visitors coming to the Napa Valley.

It is time for barbecues, fireworks, and/or enjoying yourself at Kennedy Park. Parties often include alcohol and can turn from festive to fatal if driving is involved. Before drinking, choosing a designated sober driver is a priority.

I live on Clay Street. Mr. Wolter's recent letter to the editor is dead on ("Dangerous conditions at Clay and Walnut," June 23). The speeding on Clay Street is excessive and dangerous to those residents who live here or in proximity.

I had the honor of attending the Memorial Service for L. Pierce Carson on June 26. Pierce was a friend from the time I was 21 years old, and started attending the Mondavi Summer Concert series. Pierce would arrive early to set up several large blankets in front of the stage. Every week for o…

The Senate bill to replace the Affordable Care act has been called the Better Care Reconciliation Act. According to the Congressional Budget Office, it would add 22 million Americans to the ranks of the uninsured by 2026 and would reduce the deficit by $321 billion over 10 years.

As our region works to protect community health in response to last week’s heat wave, we must brace ourselves for a potent new attack on public health as the United States Senate moves forward with repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This threat is real and will affect the lives of many…

The recent arrest of clinical director Kevin Thorpe has shocked and saddened all of us associated with Hanna Boys Center. Having dedicated ourselves to helping young men recover from difficult childhoods, it’s devastating to think that further harm may have been brought by the alleged action…

It was hot last week and my air conditioning was not working.

Perhaps you have been seeking God for a fresh vision for your life. You may have been asking for guidance and direction. Crying out to Him for understanding and wisdom. Waiting upon Him to answer your prayers, for months on end, and all you get is silence.

I don't think Dalton Piercey understands how bizarre and outlandish it is to accuse a millennial in Napa Valley of belonging to a decolonization movement.

My husband and I love walking the Estuary. We walk daily. We find it disturbing that some people think it is OK to let their untrained dogs chase after waterfowl.

In these days of turmoil and strife, there are things we can stop doing to make life better for ourselves and those around us. You will find a dozen items (plus a bonus) conveniently detailed in the list below.

I am an advocate for the community of individuals impacted by celiac disease/non-celiac gluten/wheat sensitivity. I write to urge you to stand with us to ensure the stability for chronic disease patients as the Senate considers healthcare reform. It is my hope that the Senate will preserve k…

I don't want to talk about any one development, but to express a concern for the future of this great community.

The timber industry and the Forest Service aggressively market the idea that reducing fuels through logging/thinning programs will result in a significant decrease in acreage burned, fire-fighting costs, and the number of high-severity fires.

On Thursday, the "Clown Prince of Hot Air" informed us by Twitter (currently the only way we know what he believes due the press briefing vacuum) that there were no tapes made of his meetings with James Comey.

After the glowing advance you gave Eleanor Coppola's new film "Paris Can Wait," it's disappointing that our local theater complex couldn't find a screen for the movie.

I find it counterproductive for the city of Saint Helena to continue to fight hotels and vacation rentals (in appropriate places.) Do the folks realize they are losing the Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) to other cities and the traffic is actually worse in our downtown? Folks go through our …

We live in the Willowcreek Town Houses and we exit our home at the corner of Clay and Walnut streets. In the past year, the traffic on Clay between Jefferson and California Boulevard has become much heavier.

Over the past several months, I've noticed a common thread in most letters to the editor from local Trump supporters. Like Trump himself, these letters attempt to demean anyone who doesn't agree with Trump.

Auction Napa Valley does it again. They make raising millions of dollars look effortless, and we know it is not.

The Women’s March provided actions steps to take during the first 100 days following the inauguration on Jan. 20. Writing postcards, setting up "huddle" meetings, contacting our representative in Congress are among some tasks set before us. Thus, were surprised to see a new action arrive in …

Budgets are on the minds of everyone these days. They include federal, state, and municipal, corporate and private. Private is your own and you can take charge based on your bank balance and your income. Corporations consider profit and increase prices to cover costs including compensation f…

Any attempt by the president to slash public services essential to the health and well-being of America’s working families to pay for these tax breaks must be stopped.

I want to let you know that I will no longer attend events at your venue in the future. The cancellation of Kathy Griffin was an example of a group cave-in bandwagon that you jumped on. Only, as far as I know, did Jim Carrey come out in support of the comedian's right to present an artistic …

So, let me get this straight. We are spending millions of dollars on the biking and hiking Vine Trail that, at the most, 200 people use on a weekday and where we have installed traffic lights to make those people "feel safe?"

I’d like to add a few thoughts to the article by Dick Meyer in the Register of June 10, "The Constitution Has An HR Problem" (meaning Human Resource). He says “There is no doubt that our system of constitutional government is in a period of distress, but there is considerable doubt about the…

Drive with me down First Street from Silverado Trail to Jefferson.

I wrote into the St. Helena Star a while ago to say I did not support the huge hotel complex on our beautiful library lot.

The Ladies of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 113, would like to thank all of the great people that helped make our poppy distribution a success. Thank you to the merchants that allowed us to distribute in front of their stores.

Napa County Library is a source of learning and hosts a variety of programs whether for children, about art, our natural world and its people, or of the people in our community. On June 6, the library hosted “Alphabet Soup,” a community forum that brought forth a greater understanding of our…

The editorial in Sunday's paper on June 18 by Sean Scully -- "Our Members of Congress" -- was exceptional. During this time when free speech is being attacked with viciousness, and members of Congress being shot while practicing for a charity baseball game, violence is something that should …

Since people are talking and complaining about Napa traffic patterns, signals and problems, let me add to the issue. The intersection of Soscol and Old Soscol is now dangerous.

Note from author: This piece was written prior to the attack on our American congressman last Wednesday and does in no way call for or condone violence. There is only one way to achieve political victory in this beautiful nation of ours and that is at the ballot box. With this said, I presen…

I'm writing in regard to the development of downtown Napa.

By now, you should have finished your income tax return and paid the second installment of your property tax bill. Time for some relief.

I hope that those in all areas of health care have awakened to the fact that we are now fighting a contagion that I call Trump Disease. It is widespread with a whole host of symptoms that range from unwarranted euphoria to deep depression.

May we just say, what a city. What a community.

I read with much empathy Ms. Archambault’s letter of disappointment at BottleRock for the less-than-stellar Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations.

How telling of the sad state of affairs it is that Napa County has budgeted one quarter of a million dollars for the annual salary of a new deputy counsel to handle the increased load of land-use issues ending on residents’ appeal hearings and the courts. By the time the employment of this p…

I read with astonishment the Saturday, May 27, 2017 guest column “Islamic Terror Hits the Most Innocent.”

As a business owner in Calistoga, I would like to address comments to Don Williams pertaining to his recent article “Maybe it’s time to cut the marketing purse strings” (May 27).

"Why am I not 50 points ahead, you might ask?" One of the worst campaign ads in modern political history. And Hillary and her faithful still can't figure it out.

So, there are more illegal immigrants (12,000) in Napa County than the total population of Calistoga and St. Helena combined. Oh, my.

Especially in these days of instant comment and analysis of every permutation and combination of presidential and congressional antics, it’s useful to step back, take a deep breath, and recognize that big things change – if they do at all – slowly.

Saturday was a beautiful day in Calistoga, with many residents and tourists crowding the sidewalks along Lincoln Street. But meanwhile, out at the art center, a dozen local artists were showing their work for five hours, but it was quite slow.

What’s a watershed? A watershed is an area of land that divides water that flows into other creeks, river, or oceans. It can also hold a lot of water that flows from rivers, storm drains, runoff, also just rain in general.

Thank you for this Sunday's editorial ("Make rules to fit reality."). Finally.

Let's put a red "stop light" on the signals at Wine Country and Salvador on Solano avenues.

My heart aches for the people--many of those- elderly--who have to put up with the noise from BottleRock. Why, oh, why can't the promoters move it out to the Kennedy Park area?

What a great article by Carol Cavagnaro in Monday's paper about the tunnels of Cu Chi. It was so well stated and accurate and brought back old memories for me (as a sergeant in the 25th Infantry Division there in 1967). Hopefully some of our readers took time to be informed.

Keeping it clear.

I am writing regarding Mr. James Conaway’s opinion piece “Land use, wine, and Trump” that appeared in my May 26 newspaper.

I’m writing about the housing project proposed for Old Sonoma Road. As a historian of change in Napa, once in a while I feel it is my duty to weigh in.

This is in response to the letter submitted by Don Williams titled "Maybe it's time to cut the marketing purse strings," (May 27).

Gridlock on Highway 29; Our city planners at it again.

Star Editor David Stoneberg’s story about Yolanda Irby, the homeless woman of St. Helena, was a masterful work of insight and journalism ("A human tragedy in plain sight," May 12).

I was excited to read your piece about Yolanda Irby ("A human tragedy in plain sight," May 12), as I thought it would provide insight into the life of a member of our community experiencing homelessness. I was glad to learn that local organizations such as UpValley Family Centers are aware o…

I was recently at the Vietnam Wall with my husband and children and my father, a Vietnam veteran. We came upon the new memorial statue to the women who served in that conflict. The statue depicts three female nurses tending to a badly wounded soldier. The one holding him represents Charity, …

I'm an eighth grader at River Charter Middle school and a group of us were doing a project about watersheds.  

Memorial Day is a day of memories and reflection. It’s a day to pay tribute to over 650,000 men and women who made the final, the ultimate sacrifice on fields of battle, and another 600,000 who lost their lives in the course of their military service, not in combat but nevertheless protectin…

Bottle Rock is OK as far as I'm concerned, but the noise does carry up to Alta Heights pretty loud. On Thursday, the test music was so loud I couldn't believe it. There was no possible way that we could hear our own music, even with doors and windows closed.

“I learned that it only takes one person to make a big difference, but when you have friends working by your side, you can accomplish anything."

War is not a game, and guns are not toys.

In response to Ellen Vinci’s article of May 5, titled “March was no mere hobby;” Linda Bolin got it right. Reference, “Find another hobby,” (April 25) and “It’s because a woman lost” (May 12).

I am a fifth grader at Mt. George Elementary School. For a class project, I was challenged to make our school a better place. I designed a program to encourage all students in grades 2-5 to participate in my reading program called Reading For a Smarter Tomorrow. This is the second round. We …

For a variety of reasons the city of Calistoga’s recent budgets are not bleak. Therein lies opportunity if we are bold enough to seize it.

Interesting changes have taken place in the tobacco industry, with a constant battle between Big Tobacco and tobacco control advocates over public health and the innovative electronic smoking devices commonly known as e-cigarettes and vapes.

Regarding "Why is this a Controversy,” by Jeraldeen Lee (May 20): The issue is not with Indian names per se but with their use including images for team sports. Moreover, communities in your former state of Minnesota struggled with allowing or banning the Indian mascot decades ago and removed them.

Thank you from the Napa Rotary Club, The Pathway Home Inc. and Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind for making Saturday, April 22 a huge 10th-year success. This year’s event was magical with perfect weather and even a few misty drops of rain very early that morning to keep our cyclists cool.

I was pleased to read the editorial by Sean Scully in the Register on May 14. It is refreshing to see a media personality write a very objective article on a couple of highly emotionally charged issues – the Civil War, and the local mascot issues - and take a sincere look at both sides of th…

Napa Valley is recognized the world over for its award-winning wines, but little is known about its low-income, mostly agricultural, communities where the need is great; especially for year-round student academic support and enrichment opportunities.

In frontier days, farmers and other residents together thought that their children's education was very important. So important that in hiring teachers for their children, they included convenient country residence for the teachers.

Thank you Dr. Nemko and the Napa County Office of Education board of trustees for your professionalism, integrity and diligence in following the process to review appeals. I appreciate you, Dr. Nemko, for reaching out to the community through you letter to the editor on May 10 explaining you…

While recently watching President Trump leave for the Middle East, an idea came to me. As soon as we hear that Air Force One is headed back to the U.S., let's lock the doors, turn out the lights, and all be really, really quiet and maybe he will just go away.

I am deeply saddened by the loss of my longtime friend Pierce Carson.

I hate to keep adding to the "Comey firing" flap of the past few days. Your story from the recent Register contained the concerning statement of Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) suggesting 45 nominate the snubbed Merrick Garland, Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, ignored by Mitch McConnell for 10 months.

As the chair of the Napa Board of Advocates for Planned Parenthood Northern California, I'd like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Napa community for their generous support of Planned Parenthood on Friday, May 5.

It was a shock to read of Pierce Carson's death. Somehow it seemed he would always be with us -- preserving and adding to the Napa Valley's collective memory. When his articles became fewer and farther between, it was a delight to come across one, akin to unearthing buried treasure. His read…

Dalton Piercey’s recent letter baffles me ("Assimilation is the true enemy," May 19).

It was good to hear that the Napa Airport Commission deadlocked on the Palmaz heliport issue. Hopefully, this will give everyone more time to step back and reflect on the irrevocable harm such an installation will have on our community.

I am a member and elder of the Wintu Tribe of Northern California. My Indian grandmother, Arnie Greer Brookins, came to Napa over 110 years ago. My Indian father, Delbert Greer Brookins, was born in Napa 100 years ago; I was born in Napa 75 years ago. All of my family, grandparents, aunts, u…

My wife and I grew up and graduated from Napa High School, where I enjoyed running track and playing football. Later in life, I became a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion’s mobility counter mobility platoon.

Everyone in the Napa Valley knows about the Napa Valley Performing Arts Center at Lincoln Theater. What they may not know, is that they are truly committed to enriching our community.

I think that we've spent enough time trying to pretend the school district hasn't already made up their minds about the Indian mascot. I think it's time to start considering the replacement.

In 1945, my dad, Ken Johnson, began teaching history and English at Napa High School. He was also a football, basketball and baseball coach from 1946-1954. Dad was Dean of Boys and Assistant Principal at Napa High School.

Wow. The city of Napa offered its citizens $0.50 per square foot to replace lawns and the fairgrounds installs over 5 acres of new sod? Really?

Ensuring compliance is essential to the Napa County Planning, Building, and Environmental Services department, but our work is more than enforcing the law. Protecting the public’s health and safety is our mission and drives us every day.