Claremont won’t be bullied by Golden State Water Company

Dear Editor:

Recently, Golden State Water Company escalated its efforts to wage a deceptive and misleading campaign against Claremont and its residents. 

The city of Claremont will not sit quietly by and allow Golden State’s attacks to go without a response. These baseless attacks are designed to confuse and intimidate the ratepayers in Claremont.

This week, Golden State sent a campaign mail piece to Claremont residents wrongly claiming they are working to “protect private property rights” and that the city is secretly working to “grab” the water system in Claremont. The fact remains that Golden State is working tirelessly to protect its water monopoly in Claremont.

As correctly reported in this and every media outlet in the area, the city has made an offer to purchase the Claremont water system, and with good reason.  Golden State is charging our residents some of the highest water rates in California and are seeking approval to raise our rates another 24.54 percent in 2013.

The vast majority of Californians receive their water from a municipal or other public agency provider. However, since Golden State is a profit-motivated investor-owned utility, the city’s residents are not entitled to a transparent and accountable process, where water rates are established locally and in compliance with the State’s open meeting laws.

Golden State has hired lobbyists, lawyers, former Claremont McKenna College employees and others to make biased and misleading statements on the company’s behalf. 

Indeed, Golden State and its allies have gone as far as to compare our offer to purchase the water system with the stealing of homes and churches in Claremont. Their attacks are shameful.

Golden State wants to keep its monopoly and to control the future of the water system in Claremont. As mayor, I will not sit idly by while a for-profit company plays politics with one of life’s most precious resources, our water.

The city council and I will continue to work on behalf of Claremont residents to ensure that our community has a voice when it comes to our water system.

As many of you have told us, Claremont ratepayers have taken a backseat to Golden State Water for far too long.

Larry Schroeder

Mayor of Claremont

Not a unique error

Dear Editor:

As much as I love the stories of Marilee Scaff and Monique Saigal, I am (not for the first time) disturbed by editorial mis-use of the word unique.

While Marilee and Monique have unusual and extraordinary life stories, they are not “unique” women—every woman, every person, is unique. The word means “one of a kind.” English teachers never die… Pedantically yours,

Julie Steinbach

Claremont

Current events at the Joslyn

Dear Editor:

I have been a participant and occasional leader of the “Current Events” discussion group for many years. This activity takes place in the Eucalyptus Room at the Joslyn Center on Thursday mornings from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Each week, I look forward to a stimulating and friendly discussion of a wide range of topics brought up in our media, local and international. The number of people participating each week varies from 5 to occasionally as many as 15.

One has only to show up. Each guest may simply listen or take a several-minute turn to bring up a topic they would like discussed. When I bring up a topic, I’m always amazed at the variety of interesting points of view that the group presents.

The ambiance for this discussion group is outstanding. I wish to thank the Joslyn Center folks for providing this opportunity for such a pleasant weekly experience. I encourage anyone to stop by.

Nancy Oostmeyer

Claremont

Presenting both sides

Dear Editor:

Wanted to publicly thank Scripps College for hosting Charles Krauthammer Thursday evening at the Garrison Theater. 

I’ve always believed that a college’s job is to teach students to think independently and to present both sides of an issue so they (the students) are able to make informed decisions.

With the heavy concentration of liberal professors in most colleges; in many instances, they present only one-side while diminishing the other. 

The students and adults were polite and excited to have a guest as special as “Charles.” Thank you!

Jim Chick

Claremont

Risking absolute freedom

Dear Editor:

Columnist and political commentator Charles Krauthammer was a guest speaker at Scripps College on Thursday night. Mr. Krauthammer is a coherent and polished advocate for the conservative point of view.

He clearly stated that we are undergoing a generationally-important argument on whether we are to have less government or whether or not the influence of government should increase in our daily lives in this era of American history.

Mr. Krauthammer argued that President Obama is seeking to have government grow in power and influence. He claimed that what we are dealing with is a choice between liberty and equality.

This is a false choice. Conservatives claim that they are fighting for liberty. Without liberty, you cannot have equality of rights and opportunity. He admitted these 2 concepts are not mutually exclusive.

In the conservative agenda and ideology of freedom from oppressive restrictions is a built-in tendency of economic inequality and the danger of a permanent and increasingly large divide between the wealthy and the rest of us.

The conservative argument for fewer and fewer restrictions is a re-packaged view of what amounts to a laissez- faire view of economics.

You would think that after the Great Depression, the Savings and Loan debacle, the bursting of the dot com bubble and most recently the Great Recession, we would have learned by now that government is necessary to reign in unfettered greed.

His blanket statement, that liberalism is bound to fail, fails to acknowledge that Europe has gone the way of austerity to their detriment. If you look at a chart, our unemployment has gone down while Europe’s has gone up and up.

We cannot have unlimited liberty, because man is flawed and needs laws to protect society from those who would come with the latest Ponzi scheme to enhance their wealth. There is no absolute freedom without hurting others.

If Republicans do not find a way to be more relevant their brand of conservatism will go the way of the dodo bird and the Tea Party will cause the death of the Republican Party.

Gar Byrum

Claremont