In response to The Wisdom of the Pause in the December print edition.
Time to Let Nishimori Go
Denyelle is a liability for the town and community. There is plenty of evidence to support lawsuits that will cost the tax-paying community. I hope the town council is strong enough to let her go with the support of the Baker Tilly report.
~ Abel Patterson, Truckee, via Facebook
In response to the Shine On It’s the Truckee Way in the December print edition.
Mancuso Is in the Wrong
I like the part in the article where the person who built a massive multistory structure without any kind of permit somehow feels he is in the right and that town hall was the problem. Idiot!
~ Cherie Fritz-Cooper, Glenshire, via Facebook
In response to Town Planning in the Hot Seat in the December print edition.
Mancuso Has Helped Businesses
True that! And Mancuso has done more for business and created more business space available for this community than anyone ever has. Not only does he provide the space, but he keeps his properties well-kept and beautifully landscaped.
~ John Murrieta, Truckee, via Instagram
Town Council Is to Blame
In the 35 years we have lived in Truckee we have had many interactions with various town departments, some good, some, like the episodes described in the article, not so great. There seem to be some staff members who do not consider themselves accountable, who feel they can substitute their judgement and opinions for objective standards, regulations, and laws. For this I blame the town council.
The job of town staff is to look out for the interests of the town as a whole. The job of the town council is to look out for the interests of their constituents and to act as a check and a balance on the staff. Multiple councils have abrogated this responsibility. They have seen their job as handing out plaques and rubber-stamping staff recommendations. As an example, the STR regulation’s last clause, as passed by the town council, is that the town has no duty to enforce the regulation!
Part of the problem is that the council members are elected at-large, rather than by districts. In Sacramento, which has a town manager system with council members elected by district, if you have a problem with the city you can call your council member and, in my experience, get help. I believe Truckee should explore the idea of electing town council members by district so that residents have someone to contact who might be an advocate when town staff is not being responsive. Even if that never happens, council members need to reconsider their positions and start advocating for the citizens and acting as a check on the staff. Checks and balances is, after all, a basic principle of American government, but it is absent in Truckee.
~ Jack Kashtan, Truckee, via email
NTCA Should Give TOT Funds toward Wildfire Mitigation
I am a full-time resident in Supervisor Gustafson’s district. I am writing today to encourage the NTCA to allocate funds for wildfire mitigation. The TOT from Eastern Placer County brings in tens of millions of dollars, yet here we are with dead and dying trees all around us. Many locals can’t afford to cut trees, and many second-home owners don’t care to.
TOT dollars could easily go toward private home hardening as well as public land clearing, yet the NTCA uses the money for more building, more tourists, more, more, more. Please realize that if we end up having a fire like the fires in LA and thousands of homes here burn to the ground, the TOT money will dry up. It is in everyone’s best interest to spend time and money (of which we have plenty) to do wildfire mitigation in Eastern Placer.
~ Kristen Anderson, Tahoe City, via email
In response to Ubiquitous and Beautiful: The Ever-Present Wild Sunflowers Mule Ears and Arrowleaf Balsamroot in the October print edition.
Appreciate the Article on Wildflowers
Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the article and Eve’s descriptive writing style. I have been informing people about the distinct differences between the two plants for several years. Eve described those differences beautifully.
I agree with Eve that we are so fortunate to live in a place where we get to see so many variations of wildflowers. I have a wildflower app that has helped me identify over 250 different species just in my own neighborhood. Webber Lake and Lacey Meadow can be a gold mine for flowers in early summer.
~ Elizabeth Archer via email
