Letters to the editor

The Salinas Californian
Posted on April 30, 2007

No on Measures A, B; yes on C, D

The LandWatch Initiative threatens Monterey County's agricultural industry by forcing farmers and ranchers to conduct expensive, time-consuming, countywide elections every time they need to make changes to their property.

For instance, a farm operation wanting to install a spinach washing facility in south county would have to finance an election costing at least $500,000 to convince the people of Pebble Beach that it might be a good idea. The E. coli crisis has farmers upgrading their operations to meet new requirements to be mandated by the FDA. If the Initiative was in place, it would be economically infeasible to do this. The likely result of hamstringing our no. 1 industry is that growers will go some place else like the Central Valley to do business. LandWatch doesn't have a clue about our no. 1 industry. Its supporters are elitists who live comfortably in virtual isolation from the mainstream economics of Monterey County. Defeat the Initiative in June! Vote NO on Measure A.

Carla R. Martinez
Bradley