A Wider Problem
In the article about San Rafael Director of Homeless Planning and Outreach Andrew Hening (Conversation, July), the focus appears to be on the problems of downtown San Rafael. There is no mention of the problems the homeless have created in the neighborhoods surrounded by open space, problems that go mostly unnoticed by the general public. For years, residents have had to endure home invasions, robberies, confrontations, littering and disrespect of the open space by the homeless. I have observed many people leaving the San Rafael Transit Center with backpacks and hiking directly to the surrounding hills to find a campsite hidden in the brush. Reporting that to the police seems fruitless, because by the time they arrive the campers have disappeared into the brush and trees. Motor homes and campers frequently park on neighborhood streets near schools close to Highway 101, leaving trash for others to clean up after they’re gone. -HOWARD LEVENSON, SAN RAFAEL
A Good Game
Congratulations on the great article “Dangerous Game” in your September issue. I hope it will be on the web soon so that I can share it with my friends. Well done. Thanks very much. -RODERICK MILES, PASTOR, GRACE CHURCH OF MARIN
Commercial Question
Here is a question that I just posed to Zero Waste Marin that may be of interest to Jim Wood in regard to his POV column “Talking Trash” (March). If the goal is to have zero waste in Marin by 2025, what is being done to deal with commercial waste, which has to be one of the biggest sources of refuse? I work for a business in Mill Valley. There is no commercial recycling service. We throw out tons of stuff — in particular, plastics and compostable matter. When I ask why, the simple answer is that Mill Valley does not have recycling for businesses. Why is this? What a contradiction with your point of view. We can talk all we want about how to get people to recycle their home waste, but if the commercial side is not required to do its part, the goal will never be achieved. -JANET BAIR, VIA EMAIL
