In letters to the editor: Beware of toxic plant ‘superbloom’ in SLO County | Opinion

Toxic plant ‘superbloom’

With the vaunted “superbloom” of wildflowers in our county, we should also beware that toxic plants have luxuriated in similar profusion.

As an outings leader for the Sierra Club, I’ve roamed the local roads recently and have become alarmed at the record growth of both poison hemlock and poison oak. Drive, for instance, along LOVR between SLO and Los Osos and you will notice dozens of stands of shoulder-high plants along the side, tipped with clusters of tiny flowers. That’s poison hemlock. Or take a walk along Poly Canyon Road and see the ample clusters of poison oak along the sides.

“Leaves of three, let it be” goes the saying. Just touching a leaf or branch of either plant can bring a painful rash. Ingestion may get you a quick trip to the ER. In my experience, at least nine of ten people cannot identify them. Please find out. A Google search is useful.

Joseph Morris, San Luis Obispo

Diablo extension is not a done deal

On May 4, The Tribune posted a video clip from the NRC meeting in SLO discussing the future of Diablo Canyon. Supervisor Peschong says, “…please join the California Energy Commission in support of continued safe operation of Diablo Canyon...”

This statement was echoed and magnified by many other speakers.

However, that agency’s actual words from their March 2023 final report are: “CEC staff recommends that the CEC determine that it is prudent to pursue extension of DCPP until the state can confirm that the necessary resources are on-line…” (emphasis added).

Furthermore, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office, aware this is not a “done deal” reported on May 8, “...the administration is not accounting for the availability of DCPP-provided energy past 2025 in its reliability planning and modeling for the next decade.”

Elected officials and civic leaders erroneously attributing the final blessing of this project to certain state regulatory agencies would be advised to read the details more carefully.

David Weisman, Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility

Support for Diablo

At the May 3, 2023, NRC hearing, there was strong community support for extending operations at Diablo Canyon. There were 44 in-person comments that stretched until 9:24 p.m. About 80% were positive, which is an increase from the poll showing 68% in support of extended operations in late August 2022.

The May 3 audience was far more civil than at past meetings. I recall hisses from plant opponents while plant supporters commented during local NRC Diablo Canyon hearings a decade ago.

Gene Nelson, Californians for Green Nuclear Power

‘White pride’ banner

Bravo! I can’t tell you how glad I was to see your response to the disgusting behavior of the people on the Vineyard Drive overpass. It is revolting to see the “Trump Won” and other radical and racist banners while being assaulted by sound pollution blaring from their boom-box.

I agree with your position on what they are doing. And yes, I too feel that they are cowards and certainly zealots who have bought into one of the most blatant and unsubstantiated lies of our time. Their version of “patriotism” has no place in our society.

Dennis Ivans, Paso Robles

Banner bullies

I was pleased to read the editorial written by The Tribune Editorial Board calling out the two masked sign carriers (“embrace white pride”) on the Templeton overpass. During the McCarthy era, the infamous senator and bully was asked “Have you no sense of decency?”

Obviously, he did not, and clearly neither do they.

Myra Lathrop, Paso Robles

Praise for Morro Bay High cafe

San Luis Coastal Unified School District is proud to celebrate the grand opening of the new Cafe at Morro Bay High School! Thanks to the generous support of our incredible community with Measure D, we were able to upgrade many facilities, including a brand new state-of-the-art kitchen, serving room and seating area.

Students are thrilled to enjoy this new space with a variety of menu choices, all free for students, thanks to universal free meals in California. Chef Cory Bidwell is leading the team at this new centralized production facility and brings years of local restaurant experience and culinary talent to the program.

We are proud to work with over 30 local farms and food businesses. We believe food should taste good and that excellence starts with good ingredients. We look forward to serving our students at Morro Bay High School.

We’re equally excited to open a new kitchen and dining space at SLO High in the fall, also thanks to Measure D. Check us out on Instagram @slcusdfood

Erin Primer, San Luis Obispo

Let them speak

I wholeheartedly agree with your closing statement regarding the drag show: Don’t like it, don’t go.

Too bad so many students at many of our universities don’t follow that sentiment when it comes to inviting speakers to their campuses who have opinions that differ from theirs. They could let them speak, and just not go.

George Hanna, Nipomo

For the record

I am writing to correct recent coverage in an article in your April 10 Cambrian and April 29 Tribune.

Correction: There has never been “a long-simmering feud between the San Simeon Boards members and the general manager.” The San Simeon Community Services District Board and staff through 2022, with the exception of a recent rogue director, have always worked as a solid team with full transparency to support the community.

Correction: The Fair Political Practices Commission, on my request for their counsel, sent me a formal reply stating that I MAY work on the California Coastal Commission’s mandated inward relocation of the San Simeon Waste Water Treatment Plant. The relocation is exactly what I have been working on with all involved agencies and contracting companies for the last one and a half years.

Your information came to you from a source who is consistently unreliable and in opposition to the San Simeon CSD and the general manager.

G. Kellas, San Simeon

GOP holds us hostage

When did the Republican Party become a terrorist organization?

You and I are being held hostage by the party that insists on taking money from the National Rifle Association.

Sen. Mitt Romney has taken over $13 million, followed by senators Richard Burr of North Carolina; Roy Burt, Missouri; Thom Tillis, North Carolina; Joni Ernst, Iowa; and Marco Rubio, Florida, to name a few who have taken millions of dollars from the NRA. Then there are congress members who also have accepted huge donations. Don’t take my word for it. Google it!

Democrats want common-sense gun reform, as do the majority of Americans from all parties, but most Republicans are on the take from the NRA.

You know as well as I that no one needs an AR-15 or any assault weapon outside of the military for use in combat. What we do need are background checks, waiting periods before purchase and licensure of anyone wearing a gun.

America is in trouble when the leading cause of death among young people is gun violence. Republicans say they are the pro-life party but they don’t care if your children are slaughtered in the classroom, at a movie theater or church or shopping mall. They refuse to do anything about this.

Call your congress member and senators and tell them you are fed up with living in a war zone.

Diane Griffin-Duenow, San Luis Obispo