Letters 08-15-2016

Aug. 12, 2016

Parking Column Exactly Wrong

[Express columnist] Tom Kachadurian, a Peninsula Township resident, complains that he has to pay too much for parking in downtown TC so he simply parks in one of the neighborhoods and then walks from there to enjoy one of the free city parks. Last year the city’s taxpayers subsidized the parking system to the tune of about $120,000. Next year’s projected subsidy is over $500,000. Evidently, Mr. Kachadurian believes that along with the park he enjoys at the expense of the city’s residents he should also get his parking further paid for by us.

Mr, Kachadurian’s argument that the city is doing itself a disservice by charging too much for parking is likewise pretty thin. It is pretty difficult to find a space to park on the street downtown during business hours. Likewise, vacancies within the downtown properties are almost nil. Downtown is clearly booming. Mr. Kachadurian has the parking situation downtown exactly backwards. The city should be looking at raising parking rates, not lowering them, to better reflect the demand for parking, and to raise revenue so the city’s residents can stop subsidizing the downtown merchants and business owners.

Mike Grant, Traverse City

Sad Goodbye

It is sad to hear that long-time 13th Circuit ADR Clerk and Deputy Court Administrator Julie Arends is resigning. She has done an outstanding job for Grand Traverse County. As Chair of the Grand Traverse-Leelanau- Antrim Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, I worked extensively with Ms Arends. She was a loyal and dedicated professional employee of Grand Traverse County. She will be missed.

Lee Hornberger, Traverse City

Cherryland Solar Policy Bad News

Cherryland Electric Cooperative (CEC) has established a new policy on the valuation of residential solar energy production that will effectively stop all new installations of solar within their service area. The policy becomes effective on November 1 and could be copied by other Michigan utilities, further preventing any additional solar projects by homeowners throughout the state.

CEC is using flawed logic and misinformation to promote their new policy as fair and "market based."

The policy is anti-renewable energy, specifically aimed at solar power. CEC is neglecting to tell its members that existing residential solar installations within their territory are privately financed and cost their non-solar customers virtually nothing, while providing their neighbors on the CEC grid clean, carbon emission-free energy.

CEC created this policy without member input despite the fact that the public overwhelmingly supports solar power as a viable clean energy alternative. Why wouldn’t Michigan utilities also embrace this support, rather than introducing challenges to its implementation?

The policy can be reversed and tabled by CEC, setting an example for other Michigan utilities to follow. Please let your utility know how you feel.

Philip Loud, Northport

Tuttle Was Right About Trump

I agree with columnist Stephen Tuttle that "Donald Trump is the least informed, thinnest skinned and most temperamentally unsuited of any potential president in memory."

Like a salesman I once knew said, "I can baffle them with bulls---." Trump is big on catchy sayings and slogans but, short on substance. He is the "ultimate con job."

Hopefully Americans will realize Trump’s lies and "dump the Trump!"

John Hewett, Traverse City

Voter Verification Necessary

The letter from a few issues back claiming that Republicans are trying to suppress the vote is so full of hyperbolic misrepresentation that I must respond. I have no idea what the writer is talking about when he says that the Supreme Court "knocked the teeth out of the Voting Rights Act." It did nothing of the sort, unless you like no controls or verification on voting. But wait, that’s exactly what Democrats want; they practically invented vote fraud and election stealing. Remember Tammany Hall? Cook County? The Jim Crow South?

There is nothing wrong, let alone unconstitutional, about requiring potential voters to prove who they are, and government-issued photo ID is the best and easiest way to do it. Courts are wrong to keep claiming that such requirements unduly burden some downtrodden minority or ethnic group. I’ll bet those downtrodden have no trouble producing ID to buy liquor, get on an airplane, or apply for government benefits.

Cutting early voting and restricting absentee voting are good ideas; they reduce the chance for fraud or just plain error. So does prohibiting same-day registration; anybody so irresponsible as to wait until election day to register should not be voting anyway.

I defy the writer to name one polling place closed by Republicans to suppress some group’s vote, and prove that the putative suppression worked to win an election.

Banning straight-ticket voting might make people think, instead of just mindlessly pulling the lever. Isn’t that a good idea, thinking before voting?

True vote suppression is the winnertake-all electoral vote count. If the States apportioned their electoral votes according to House district results, except for the two for Senators, each person’s vote would be reflected better.

Charles Knapp, Maple City

Three WRC Leaders

I had the honor of serving on the Board of the Women’s Resource Center for the Grand Traverse region for 11 years, first with executive director Mary Lee Lord, then with Jo Bullis. Juliette Schultz and I served together before my term expired.

Mary Lee, Jo, and Juliette are all remarkable women in their own right, and each has brought something different to the table. Understandably, with each shift in leadership, change occurred. This was partly due to different leadership styles, partly mandated by changing funding sources, and partly due to fresh perspectives that a change at the top brings.

Mary Lee, Jo and Juliette share a deep commitment to serving victims of domestic violence. But they each went about it in their own way. Mary Lee’s background was in nursing and social services. She focused on the counseling and housing needed by these most vulnerable. As an attorney, Jo’s focus was on law enforcement and breaking down barriers to enforcement of domestic violence laws. Juliette’s background is in communication and business, and with the board’s encouragement, she has been shoring up the agency’s finances and creating a solid support base by effectively communicating the agency’s message. The time is right for a leader with Juliette’s skill set: The agency has a strong mission, but without assurances of future funding, the mission could not continue. Juliette has built on the strong foundation laid by Mary Lee and Jo and exceeded expectations. The proof? A financially strong agency that continues its focus on ending the cycle of domestic violence.

Rachel Brochert Roe, Traverse City

No To Tuttle, Clinton

[Columnist] Tuttle’s liberal bias is well known among Express readers. I have gone to fact check and noted it’s liberal bias, too. He week after week pounces on Trump and glosses over the escapades of Hillaryious Clinton. Let’s check the facts.

Don’t forget Benghazi or her famous taco bowl remark about Mexicans or her 33,000 e-mails which have endangered national security. I know it is election season and Mr. Tuttle must keep up his rhetoric to appease his fans, but don’t you think equal time should be given Mr. Trump? Stephen Tuttle’s shtick is as fresh as outdated chicken and is just as dangerous. Really Steve, you need some fresh material. Be a commentator, not a common tater!

David Guillen, Traverse City

Cooperate With Solar

I accept the reality of man-made climate change. I believe dramatic changes are necessary to avert serious damage to our planet, and feel compelled to do what I can to reduce my contribution to our dependence on fossil fuels. Due to these concerns, our household purchased a rooftop solar system. These systems are costly, and to its credit, our federal government recognizes the importance of solar by providing a tax credit to households that install rooftop systems.

Yet there is considerable nationwide controversy among utility companies surrounding residential solar. Some utility providers believe residential solar customers do not pay their fair share, a belief not borne out by calculations that incorporate actual costs of energy produced from nonrenewable sources, which must include the human and environmental damage caused by burning fossil fuels.

The net metering policy to be implemented by Cherryland Electric Cooperative on November 1, 2016 illustrates this mistaken belief by effectively penalizing residential solar customers. I understand it is complex to determine how to fairly compensate residential solar power producers in a rapidly changing energy environment. I know utilities have long-term contracts and commitments that make it difficult to adopt new technologies. However, when a utility procures energy for which they incurred no infrastructure costs, as in the case of household rooftop solar, it seems shortsighted to penalize those who have opted to become more environmentally responsible by purchasing such a system. There are better solutions if we all work together. Let’s put "cooperative" back into the co-op system!

Janis Rygwelski M.D., Northport

Join The International (Fair) Solar Movement

I am a resident of Leelanau County and Melbourne, Australia and a Cherryland customer. As a grandfather, I want my eight grandchildren to live on a planet with "normal" weather. As a responsible citizen, I want to do my part to alleviate climate change.

CO2 emissions are major contributors to atmospheric pollution. Internationally, utilities are beginning a transition to distributed power generation. In South Australia, 40 percent is already generated by renewable energy. Distributed energy production not only enables utilities to close coal plants but also to benefit from lower cost energy sourced close to their customers.

Consumer-owned solar installations save utilities money because capital costs are paid by the consumer. Not as much power is lost because it is produced close to the customer.

Cherryland wants to penalize home solar power producers by paying them at the rate they pay for wholesale power produced by centralized coal plants. This is inequitable because this power is cheap due to high government subsidies, governmentguaranteed returns on investments and capital costs which have long been paid for. Home solar owners seek a fair price for their power production equivalent to the utility’s rate of return. This is 8 to 9 cents a kilowatt hour, not the 4 cents Cherryland is proposing.

If Cherryland persists with its low net metering proposal, it will not only discourage homeowner adoption of renewable energy but also contribute to our future climate change impact.

Peter Wolcott, Northport

Good Samaritan 

Friends and family members drove to your beautiful "city on the bays" the first Saturday of July (as we’ve done for several years) to view the Blue Angels and the evening fireworks. Between these two events, we usually find a place to eat and sit down to enjoy a meal. This year we chose the Cracker Barrel and were not disappointed. As we stood in line to pay, we were behind a casually dressed, middle-aged gentleman in a t-shirt, shorts, and baseball cap. We could not help but overhear his conversation with the cashier as he insisted on paying for the meals of several veterans he had met during his meal. We were impressed by this unassuming gentleman who went out of his way to honor those patriots he had only just met after. Could it be something in your water that compels people to extend generosity to strangers? Random acts of kindness tend to unite us. He is, indeed, an inspiration to us all.

James Koshmider, Cadillac