In letters to the editor: Get your act together on safe parking, A.G. | Opinion

Arroyo Grande safe parking

Safe parking for persons who shelter in their vehicles provides a sense of stability that often becomes the foundation for that person taking the next step toward permanent housing. A group of safe parking advocates has been meeting with Arroyo Grande city officials in search of a pathway toward a solution for four years. A pilot program at St. John’s Lutheran Church was temporarily approved. The program functioned successfully for 18 months until when the permit was not renewed.

Then, following two meetings of church leaders with city staff, it took exactly one year for the city to draft a safe parking ordinance, which was addressed at the City Council meeting this month. The ordinance is a city attempt to manage programs run by potential volunteer churches.

The city appears not to own the problem and even proposes to charge volunteer churches a fee for what they want to do to help the city. Imagine what it would be like if the interested parties would sit around a table, agree on what the problem is and then craft a workable solution. When that happens, safe parking will become a reality in South County.

Garry Schmidt, Arroyo Grande

Why Utah doesn’t want us

I’m not anyone of real importance or position but I am a homegrown Utahn. I’ll keep it short. Frankly, you and so many others who have written on what Gov. Spencer Cox meant by “Stay in California” are really grasping for an elegant and thoughtful, or economically driven agenda. There isn’t one.

I promise it really is as simple and divisively dark as we don’t want more overpaid, non-nationalist narcissistic Democrats and liberals to ruin the state. It is really that simple and unnuanced. They are already causing too many problems in Salt Lake City as it is. You see, the ones who come with businesses and money are tolerable, because they are often family oriented and quickly lose the ambition to change local politics. They bring gentrification and good buying power. Their children, however, are rotten to the core and are no substitute for their actual productive and profitable parents.

What Gov. Cox was too nice to say is, while Californians are great to stimulate your local coffers, they will eradicate and corrupt the culture that made your state awesome to begin with. They are the rotten apple in the bucket that will sour the rest.

Kevin Stevens, Utah

Avoid ‘harmburgers’

“You are what you eat,” the saying goes.

A recent Tribune article suggests that the phrase, “The climate is what you eat” may be equally true. Researchers at Columbia University found that our eating habits, if unchanged, will add almost 2 degrees Fahrenheit to the planet’s temperature by 2100. The production of beef contributes the most to the problem. Red meat contributes to climate change, not only due to cows’ emissions of methane, but also by destroying forests as they are converted to grazing land.

Fortunately, we now have substitutes for beef that are quite tasty. I was skeptical at first, but after I sampled a Beyond Meat burger at Carl’s Jr. and then an Impossible Burger at Burger King, I became a convert. These substitutes for “harmburgers” come pretty darn close to the real thing, and they are easy for my wife and me to use in our home cooking.

We’ve known for some time that regularly eating red meat can lead to diabetes, coronary disease, strokes and even colon cancer. Now we know that limiting beef can improve health, not only of our bodies, but also of our planet. I call that a win-win.

Dr. Don Gaede, San Luis Obispo

Can Forward Party make a difference?

There are enough people living in this country who would be very happy to live under both fascism and a dictatorship.

In my opinion, they are driven by a happy (unhappy?) combination of religious bigotry and blind ideology. Many of them occupy important positions in government, from the Supreme Court to the local school board.

The political party that should keep these individuals in check has been incapable of doing the job, perhaps because not enough of its members understand that politics is a blood sport and you do not take any prisoners. Or perhaps because they fear violence.

There is a new political party on the horizon called “Forward,” founded by a combination of moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats.

It is my sincere hope that this party will soon supply the third leg of what has been a two-legged stool and provide the stability our country needs to be successfully governed.

Fabrizio Griguoli, Shell Beach

Praise for ‘Mamma Mia!’

On March 10, I had the pleasure of attending the SLOHS production of “Mamma Mia.” With a cast of over 30 students, the show was entertaining, creative and quite professional. There was much talent on that stage, Bravo to everyone involved, and especially to director Noelle Eben, whose vision and hours of work paid off. Please go see it if you can; performances are scheduled for March 16, 17 and 18 at 7 p.m.

Robert Huttle, San Luis Obispo

A grocery store won’t work at Trilogy

My wife and I are retired commercial real estate agents, so we are familiar with commercial real estate. We are also longtime residents of Trilogy.

You asked the question, “How do we get a store?”. Let’s look at what criteria retailers classify as a “must.” First, they want high traffic volume. Other musts are maximum street frontage; parcel size that has room for expansion; and community population threshold. A grocery store or convenience store needs a 10,000 to 20,000 population base within its trade area. We already have Von’s, Grocery Outlet and JJ’s within a few miles. We know a lot of our neighbors frequently shop at Trader Joe’s also.

Developers love to build. Houses, offices, retail and all other types of businesses. If Shea or Woodlands Ventures before them had tenants willing to lease space, they would have built that center in a nanosecond. Unfortunately, they don’t have tenants. No tenants, no building. You mentioned our wine shop. In the beginning, the “marketplace” carried produce and other grocery items. (Actually, you can still buy milk and a few other goods, but it is vastly reduced from before.) However, no one bought these items, so they quit selling them. We had a weekend farmer’s market. Again, it didn’t get sufficient business so it went away.

Believe it or not, retailers, including grocery stores, are in the business of making money. They would fail in Trilogy.

My wife and I are even skeptical of the success of only 28,000 additional square feet of retail space. However, the condominiums will allow the developer to keep rents and common area charges down. While we know nothing about the hotel business, we have more faith in it being successful than we do for a grocery store.

Randy and Nancy Christensen, Nipomo