Readers’ comments: March 20, 2026

It would be nice to have been invited
Dear editor:
How disappointing that the ribbon cutting for Larkin Place [“All fanfare and smiles as Larkin Place opens,” March 13] was a private event. It would have been meaningful to have included more of the local community.
As a Claremont resident who was supportive of the building of Larkin Place I would have liked the opportunity to participate and to see the inside of the building.
Ina Haugen
Claremont

A most remarkable eighth grader
Dear editor:
I wholeheartedly agree with Nancy Jones’ comment [“Eighth grader’s letter inspires hope”] about Peregrine Hodge’s letter [“Comfort zones are overrated”] in the March 6 Courier. As the primary caretaker for my 93-year-old mom, I know firsthand how a simple smile and friendly gesture from a young child can bring a lot of joy to an elderly person. Peregrine seems to have the maturity level of someone twice her age. When I was a student at El Roble, assisting the elderly was not only the last thing on my mind, but it never even entered my mind. I was fully focused on making the flag football team and trying to muster up the courage to ask Laurie Keiser to dance with me at the Friday night dance in the auditorium. I succeeded in the former, but failed in the latter. I hope to one day bump into Peregrine to shake her hand and express my appreciation for her service. Good on ya, Peregrine.
Alex Pilz
Claremont

Actually, editor ‘just getting started’
Dear editor:
[Re: “Ten years in: tired, grateful, and not hopeless,” March 13]
Well, Mick, 10 years and counting …
And you’re only 62 (as we say with a hint of amazement in this retirement community). That means we get several more years of your wonderful cornucopia of comments on life in Claremont and elsewhere.
… if the river [of red ink] don’t rise and drown us all.
One of my favorite poems, by Stevie Smith, has the phrase, “Not Waving but Drowning.” A bit of black humor, I suppose. But also a reminder — not there yet!
Carry on. I love what you have done and look forward to coming years. You’re just getting started!
Dick Johnson
Claremont

Kudos, Courier
Dear editor:
This is my paean to the Courier.
In previous letters to the editor of this exceptional newspaper I have noted that I am from a newspaper family, the members of which have worked for the Washington Post, the Dallas Mirror, the old Los Angeles Herald Express, the Honolulu Post, the South Bay Daily Breeze and many others.
Each week I eagerly open the Courier to be greeted by words crafted so expertly by Editor Mick Rhodes and Publisher Peter Weinberger.
I receive immense enjoyment from reading the Courier, which informs me as a resident of Claremont with such well-crafted articles.
I look forward to reading my weekly Courier for many more years.
Don Fisher
Claremont

CUSD employees need help
Dear editor:
I am an 18-year Claremont homeowner and CUSD teacher.
The cost of living has risen more than 10% in the last 3 years. Health care increases will reduce a first year teacher’s take home pay by 5%. During this time only a 1% salary increase has been provided.
The school district is considering extending a bond. The city is considering a tax increase. The county will have a tax increase on the ballot. Global events continue to push costs higher. For some employees, rent increases are outpacing inflation.
What’s next?
Many educators are losing sleep over financial decisions rather than lesson plans.
The “bat signal” is on: CUSD employees need help.
David Sawhill
Claremont

We have a job to do
Dear editor:
Here is an opinion piece in prose-poem form:

Mandate

Awesome power, he boasts
Most dominant military
in all the world

Mob-boss Trump speaks truth for once
Planes, drones, bombs
sleek, shiny

One hundred sixty-eight
little school girls now dead
One hundred sixty eight

And many more
Civilians just living their lives
and our soldiers

Pride goes before the fall, they say
But look who has fallen
See the tiny body bags

Who else must fall
as one travesty follows another
and another?

We know who else
and we know
we have a job to do

The mob boss
would-be king
must be unseated

Garish gold and white oval office
his throne of sorts
dismantled

We have a job to do
lawfully
democratically

and soon

Richard Bunce
Pomona

Re: the chicken or the egg
Dear editor:
Regarding “Regarding ‘God, religion, science, and certainty, etc.,” [Readers’ comments, March 6], the dilemma in trying to decipher the origin of the universe, religion invokes faith — just believe and accept  things as they are. The faith approach stifles inquiry unlike science. The scientific approach is continuous inquiry in the quest for knowledge.
Opanyi Nasiali 
Claremont