Letters to the Editor, May 24, 2023


Compost opt-out needed

Dear City Leaders,

Arcata residents who compost their own kitchen waste need an opt-out option!

As one of many Arcata residents with organic garden beds and on-site food production, we compost and use 100 percent of our kitchen waste, lawn clippings and fall leaf drop. Many of us have purchased and use compost bins made available from the City of Arcata.

From a carbon footprint standpoint, onsite composting and use of that compost to enrich on-site soil productivity is the best option!

Please, please, please give us an opt-out option so folks like me are not paying for another Recology service that we will not use!

I’m willing to have my compost bin inspected and verified by the city if need be!

In addition, I already pay for and utilize Recology’s green waste bin for large quantities of hedge trim material that we generate on our property.

I also utilize my ability to drop green waste at no additional charge at the old West End Road and new Wes Green greenwaste composting faculty now in Blue Lake.

For people like myself, the existing “system” is working!

Again; please, please, please give us an opt-out option so folks like me are not paying for another Recology service that we will not use!

Please tell me this can happen, I’d very much appreciate your replies!

Glen Colwell
Arcata

A broken medical system

Lately in the news we’ve seen the creeping disintegration of local medical services — Redwood Memorial’s obstetrics department closed, a Eureka pediatric clinic closed, major drug stores closed, Six Rivers Clinic in Willow Creek closing soon and so on. And across the nation our hospitals are failing us.

Large corporate entities are making health care a commodity for private sale, often in the guise of being not-for-profit. Our largest local, St. Joseph Hospital, is now subsumed by the monolith, Providence. Here’s what Providence CEO Rodney Hoffman says: “Non-profit hospitals is a misnomer. There are only tax-exempt hospitals.”

That means the billions of dollars monster corporations amass go for capital investment, to buy and bankrupt smaller, especially rural hospitals (heads up, Mad River Hospital!), in order to exercise muscular negotiations with the health insurance industry and justify ever higher pricing. Clearly, health care should be understood as a public good and not a business proposition.

To help understand this alarming trend, our group, the Humboldt Chapters of Health Care for All and Physicians for a National Health Program, is hosting a new film documentary, American Hospitals; Healing a Broken System. American Hospitals examines the economic structure of the hospital industry that overburdens its workforce, charges outrageous fees and collects billions of dollars in accumulated cash – while 100 million Americans suffer from medical debt.

A one-time-only screening, the film shows at the Minor Theater, 1001 H St., Sunday, May 28 at noon. To see the trailer and reserve seats for a suggested donation, go to minortheater.com. A Q&A session will follow. For more info: healthcareforallhumboldt@gmail.com.

Patty Harvey, co-chair
HCA/PNHP-Humboldt
Willow Creek