Letters to the editor

Monterey County Herald
Posted on May 20, 2007

Lack of vision

Why did the writers of Measure A exclude the wine corridor from their initiative? It has a full EIR and was adopted by all five county supervisors.

The writers of Measure A have no vision for our future — they want to "preserve" the wine industry (and all agriculture), but have no idea how it was created. Our wineries need to establish a sense of place to show how our area is unique with its climate, methods and traditions.

This can be done with artisan wineries and tasting rooms that catch the imagination of visitors and the press.

Viticulture is the main reason farm ground increased by over 6,000 acres in our county over the last 25 years. Should we keep viable an industry that can do that? You bet!

And yet a modest request by farmers who planted new ag acres by the thousands was eliminated with a stroke of the pen.

The wine industry has been good for Monterey County and can continue to create more wealth, more skilled jobs and more farm ground with the addition of a few sensible policies. These policies were deleted from Measure A. Why? You know why. Vote no.

Scott Scheid
Salinas