Wounded Heart

I was raised in the “Valley of Hearts Delight,” now known as Silicon Valley, where every neighbor had at least one or two fruit trees in their yard (cherry, fig, apricot, plum, peach) and on your way to and from school you could pluck whatever seasonal fruit hung over the fence. In that short, sweet, time in my life the bar for flavor from my fruits and vegetables was formed. So imagine the frustration and disappointment the last several years searching for ripe, flavorful produce.

One of the pleasures in my life is to find those tastes and smells in the local produce or on trips to faraway places (a warm, sweet, peach in Rhoades, Greece, a banana fully ripened on the tree in Bali, Indonesia) and you were instantly reminded of the real thing. Just this summer I hit the jackpot at our local Monterey Farmers Market with local Bleinham Apricots. I ate them warm and plain from the box, I made tarts and pies and shared the joy; I had found diamonds!

These seasons are so short and life as well, that a few years ago I bought an acre in Carmel Valley and have been expanding on the former vegetable garden. I’m planting fruit trees (fig, peach, nectarine, olives) nurturing and guarding them from insects and gophers. A wonderful crop of tomatoes, fava beans, chard, lettuce, onions, squash and herbs have sustained my need for flavor. I think your editors should give Mark Anderson [“Miles to Go Before I Eat,” Nov. 29-Dec. 5] a weekly column where he informs us about local farmers (where to buy) and local restaurateurs who sell and serve the very best our area has to offer. Who knows what healthy, wonderful things will come from it! Thank you for the terrific effort and excellent article! – Suzanne Boddington | Carmel Valley

Spurred Into Action

I was a part oforganizing the candlelightvigil in memory of Mehdi Shahbazi, the man who died last month while on a liquid fast standing up to money and power for his deep beliefs. I want to thank all whohelped organize,those who attended, and those responsible for thegreat news coverage.

But the purpose of my letter is to publicly apologize to Mehdi, and to his family for not stepping up and doing more while Mehdi was alive. I knew about his fight and I understood the injustice and unfairness of it all, yet I did nothing. I want to publicly vow to begin nowto do all I can, no matter what it takes, tofurther Medhi’s cause of exposingbig oil and corporations andto carry on in his memory.

Thank you, Mehdi, for showing us what true courage is.And for helping us see that we must do the unthinkable to save our families, our community and our world. – Sandee Scott | Pacific Grove

Who’s For Gpu6?

North County’s public interests were well represented by Supervisors Lou Calcagno and Dave Potter during the Dec. 11 review of General Plan Update Five (GPU5). On the agenda were changes to allow further subdivision development on lots of record in water-starved North County – recommendations submitted after a unanimous vote by the Board of Supervisors Nov. 6 establishing the “final” version of GPU5.

Calcagno and Potter recognized that each supervisor must make a decision when sufficient public input from concerned parties allows them to make an informed decision. Despite considerable pressure from developers (some wearing three-piece suits and others in bib overalls) these two supervisors held to their convictions and the desires of the voters in their districts. Calcagno and Potter voted that after eight years, the final version of GPU5 included sufficient compromises to proceed into [environmental impact report] review. These supervisors realized that opportunities to modify policy wording can occur when the EIR analysis arrives and even after a general plan is approved.

The members of the Prunedale Neighbors Group thank Calcagno and Potter for helping move the long-running feud to update the county’s general plan closer to a solution. – Ed Mitchell | Prunedale

Unsolicited Advice

Former anti-war presidential candidate Wesley Clark entered the early Democratic primaries in 2004. He is a former congressional fellow on former U.S. Senator Charles Percy’s staff, White House fellow, commander of NATO, Rhodes scholar, and congressman. Should he endorse Union candidate John Edwards for the White House, then Edwards should consider him for vice president. – Bruce Arthur Perry | Marina