Letters: Homeowners insurance, part 2 | No Costco traffic apocalypse | El Pintado senior living | Wildlife protection and public health
December 22, 2024
Homeowners insurance, part 2
A couple months ago I wrote about the ongoing crisis regarding obtaining homeowners insurance in California. I found two reports on both NBC & Fox news last week very interesting as relates to this matter. Both gave major praise to Farmers Insurance Company for writing new homeowners policies in this area.
To be sure, Farmers is the only “major player” that I know that is still writing new policies; I replaced my “non renewed” policy with Liberty Mutual after 30 years of no claims, with a Farmers policy. Before we hand out the “Good Neighbor of the Year” award to Farmers, here are a few facts that the news media forgot to mention:
My new policy increased by over 30% above a 9% increase on the old policy. I found that depending on which Farmers location you deal with, the policy price can vary by more than $2,000. None can really be classified as a bargain.
But wait, there’s more! In order to qualify for a Farmers policy, you must: have a central control burglary/fire system in your home, install both an auto shutoff water and gas system, and verify through receipts from licensed contractors. As you might guess, none of this is cheap.
Not saying that these things do not represent a benefit; I’m just not sure they should be mandatory for people who are already overburdened. If this represents California’s answer to a serious problem, then we as homeowners are in trouble.
In the meantime folks, keep your eye out for that homeowners renewal policy, and good luck.
— Mitch Fidziura
No Costco traffic apocalypse
”Costco is finally here” — This was the cover story in the Pleasanton Weekly’s Dec. 6, 2024 edition.
The big-box store’s opening rightly deserved the coverage. Missing, however, was a forthright reporting of the traffic doomsday scenarios that the Costco naysayers promoted for years on end. Well guess what: Costco has opened and the traffic zombie apocalypse did not arrive.
The 10-year delay that preceded the Costco opening is another example of the short-sighted and anti-business bias that permeates Pleasanton city leadership.
If the city really wanted to backstop a possible budget deficit, you would have thought that getting Costco opened would have been a political priority. Instead, small vocal NIMBY groups successfully delayed the project for nearly a decade.
Bravo to Costco for persevering, and let’s hope our new city leadership show a little more, well, leadership.
— Harry Edwards
El Pintado senior living
I have been following the recent senior living development off of El Pintado Road. It came to my attention that the Town Council recently unanimously approved rezoning and special use permit development. However, it seemed to be passed despite some pretty valid concerns.
As a Danville resident of 24 years, I am quite familiar with the area. It seems that concerns regarding a variety of factors such as a questionable validity of a traffic study which many residents at a recent hearing disputed the findings of. They also seem to have overlooked the density concerns of adding 420 living units in an already crowded area with little regard for overflow parking.
The biggest concern that seems to have been overlooked is the safety issues of emergency vehicles accessing this area. For a senior living complex, it is quite likely that emergency vehicles will need to access this facility or neighboring residents.
When familiar with the traffic patterns of that area it is quite easy to see how an ambulance would struggle to access this area promptly. Adding 240 households that are not senior assisted living units, people that will likely drive, to the existing traffic jams seems to be a massive safety concern that hasn’t been adequately addressed.
Even though this development has already been approved and is likely past the point of return I would encourage some of these concerns to be voiced louder as they seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
— Kurt Steingraber
Wildlife protection and public health
California annually imports some two million non-native American bullfrogs and 300,000 freshwater turtles for human consumption, sold in “live markets” throughout the state.
All are diseased and/or parasitized, though it is illegal to import/sell such products. Released into local waters by various “do-gooders”, the exotics prey upon and displace our native species, while spreading all sorts of diseases and parasites, dangerous for wildlife and public alike.
The market animals are kept in horrendous conditions, routinely butchered while fully conscious. Worse, the majority of the bullfrogs carry a dreaded chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), causing the extinctions of 200-plus amphibian species worldwide in recent years.
Easy fix: Stop issuing the import permits! Our Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Fish & Game Commission have received more than 4,000 letters supporting a ban, from environmental and sporting organizations, animal welfare groups and the general public; former Resources Secretary Huey Johnson wrote twice, all to no avail. Legislation is in order.
The issues are many: environmental protection, public health and unacceptable animal cruelty. All legislators may be written c/o The State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814. Email pattern for all: [email protected]; [email protected]
— Eric Mills, coordinator, Action for Animals
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