>> Fellow litter haters
Bravo! Somebody else has noticed the blight. I drive down to Tiburon and admire the roadside flowers and plantings and wonder what Mill Valley is thinking. Are we trying to hide that we are a great place to live? I am a 57-year-old who hates gardening and grew up in the Midwest, so I know very little about what to plant—but I can sweep and bag trash. I will volunteer to do something toward this effort. Thank you for your critical eye.
Mary Alice Kirincic, Mill Valley
Thank goodness someone else feels as outraged as I do about the amount of garbage on our Marin roads. It’s an embarrassment to our beautiful landscape. We had relatives visiting from Atlanta not long ago and both commented on the amount of trash they could see lining Highway 101 and along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. I see Caltrans’s large orange bags piled along the road about every two months and can’t believe that much trash can accumulate in such a short amount of time. I believe part of the problem is debris that flies out of the open trucks in our neighborhoods. How about some “NO LITTERING” signs? or “Keep Marin Clean and Beautiful”? What about having Caltrans cut down all the dead pine trees near Cost Plus Plaza and on behind Izzy’s? Unsightly! I’ve taken to carrying a plastic bag with me and picking up trash whenever I see it in parking lots and on my walks. If everyone did a little more to help, things would look better. Let’s clean up our own backyards. Thanks for printing your article. Hopefully your Marin readers will now be more aware of the problem.
Katie Jarman, Kentfield
Thanks for the POV on 101 litter. It is disturbing that while we live, work and play in one of the world’s most picturesque destinations, that picture increasingly includes weeds and litter. While we know where the weeds are coming from, your article leaves out a critical element—how is the trash getting into the picture? I want to believe that most motorists don’t knowingly litter. I do believe that primary contributors to this problem are open-bed pickup trucks. Plastic bags, food wrappers, lawn and garden clippings, all kinds of construction jetsam and flotsam carelessly left unsecured in the back of pickups easily takes flight. How do we make unknowing offending drivers more aware of their airborne littering ways? Maybe some of your readers can suggest solutions? If the views are valued, we can find a way to keep them pristine.
Michael Scippa, via e-mail
I want you to know that you are not alone, but, more important, how do we, as concerned citizens, fix the ongoing problem?
Rachel, Tiburon
>> Pet Grooming contact
Thank you very much for the recent spotlight on our new mobile pet grooming services in the Currents section of the October issue. We look forward to bringing our premier Aussie Pet Mobile dog and cat grooming services to the homes of our clients in Marin County. I would like to correct the phone number listed in the article. Prospective clients can reach Aussie Pet Mobile at 800.738.6624 or 415.686.4306.
Dave Ely, via e-mail
Letters to the editor may be edited for clarity and brevity. Send letters to Marin Magazine, One Harbor Drive, Suite 208, Sausalito, CA 94965. Or e-mail [email protected].
