Readers’ comments: August 4, 2023

We should be concerned about lead from Cable Airport
Dear editor:
Residents of Claremont have long been concerned about the noise and safety of planes flying over the city from Cable Airport in Upland. Proposed housing projects situated under the usual takeoff flight paths have had to address those same concerns.
I wonder if some Claremonters, who take a romantic, nostalgic view of those older planes flying overhead might be more concerned for their children if they knew that those same piston-driven planes are spewing lead all over our environment. The main aviation fuel, Avgas 100 low-lead (100LL) still contains 0.56g/lead per liter of gas. Lead (“ethyl”) additive in regular gasoline was phased out in the US completely as of 1996 based on scientists discovering that even low levels of lead exposure lowered the IQ of children and also caused them to exhibit behavioral problems.
The city just experienced an expensive brouhaha school board election over the potential impact of alleged misbehaviors of hosts at a Christmas party involving high schoolers; do those same concerned individuals also give a hoot about airplanes from Cable Airport misting their children with lead on a daily basis? And shouldn’t we all?
David Ochroch
Claremont

Special election proponents wanted their say
Dear editor:
Pamela Hawks wrote a good letter in the July 28 edition of the Claremont Courier [“Readers’ comments,” July 28] though I do not completely agree with her on one issue: yes, some people may have wanted the special school board election because they are “disgruntled election losers.” But I believe most people wanted the special school board election because they wanted a say on who should fill out the rest of Steven Llanusa’s term.
Of course, a special election would not have been thought of or Hilary LaConte would not have been appointed by the school board to fill out the rest of Steven Llanusa’s term if the Christmas party went well.
Susan Winderman
Claremont

Celebrating Claremont’s progress in affordable housing
Dear editor:
Last week, Larkin Place cleared its final hurdle when it received state tax credit financing [“Jamboree secures final funding for Larkin Place,” July 28]. In the long journey to build more affordable housing in Claremont, this is a small but important step forward. Although a modest 33-unit apartment building won’t solve our housing crisis, it will nonetheless change the lives of the lucky few who will overcome the trauma and indignity of homelessness and call Larkin Place home. Importantly, this milestone is just one piece of a larger story of long overdue progress in our town that’s worth celebrating.
In May, the Claremont City Council approved stronger renter protections and a new rental assistance fund to help both renters and landlords in financial crisis. Though the new ordinance doesn’t go far enough to protect renter households from unreasonable rent increases, unfair evictions, and failures to meet landlord obligation, it is still a small step in the right direction.
A larger hurdle was cleared last month when the council approved Claremont’s new housing element, which goes farther than any previous plan to identify opportunity sites throughout Claremont to build more housing. Combined with Claremont’s stronger inclusionary housing rule and new state laws that reduce barriers to building more affordable housing, we can finally start to see a future where Claremont is doing our part to put and keep housing within reach for low-income households.
Can we do more? Absolutely, and Housing Claremont will continue to educate, advocate, and connect Claremont with opportunities to do so. We will also celebrate progress, however modest, that demonstrates our shared commitment to becoming a more inclusive, livable, and affordable community.
Ilsa Lund
Claremont
Ilsa Lund is the board president of Housing Claremont.

A morning parade makes sense
Dear editor:
Recently I know there has been some pressure to change the start time of Claremont’s Fourth of July parade. Some say the parade would be better if it was moved back to the afternoon rather than the morning. A drawback of this is the pancake breakfast will no longer be right before the parade. This means that less people will go to the pancake breakfast and the flag raising ceremony. This means less funding for the Kiwanis club. The Kiwanis club funds several organizations including my scout troop. They also participate in and set up lots of service projects and charities.
In addition to the pancake breakfast another main factor is the heat. Back when we did have the parade during the afternoon, we had several scouts get dehydrated and vomit because of the hot temperatures. Since we started doing the parade in the mornings, we have not had a single scout vomit.
The afternoon is also usually filled with family activities such as barbecues and pool parties. If the parade is moved to the afternoon that will mean that these activities will be curtailed because the fireworks show started almost directly after the parade ended in previous years.
In summary I think keeping the Fourth of July parade start time in the morning will improve the Independence Day experience for us as individuals and the city as a whole.
Emerson Mori
Claremont