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Letters

Buy locally grown food

Dear Editor,

With the opening of yet another Walmart, our grocery scene is becoming increasingly commercialized. Brand name supermarkets continue to grow at the expense of local businesses.

This is a problem that several council members in the May 18 article already acknowledge, and they should support the locavore movement by actively encouraging the community to buy locally grown food more often.

Locally grown food is fresher, which means it tastes better and is more nutritious. Seasonal variation allows us to enjoy tender asparagus in the spring and sweet, juicy peaches in the summer, naturally at their peak of flavor. Not only that, local produce is gentler on the environment, since it does not need to be shipped long distances across the country.

Pleasanton already has the foundations for local food in its vibrant farmers market. With the help of the council, more residents can turn toward locavore shopping. Buying groceries should be a community-building experience, not weekly drudgery.

Connie Zeng

Thanks for Holiday Fund

Dear Editor,

On behalf of all associated with Hope Hospice, the patients we serve and their grieving families, thank you to those who contributed to the Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund. It is a privilege to be among the nine organizations who received funds through the Holiday Fund. The generous community outpouring is evidence that we are fortunate to be members of a community that supports one another.

Although individual patients and families served by Hope Hospice won't necessarily be aware of your contributions, they can feel secure and safe knowing that our community cares about them at this critical time in their lives.

Hope Hospice's mission is to ensure that every end-of-life experience is patient-centered, based upon individual choice, and lightened by hope, comfort, and dignity, regardless of the ability to pay. We rely on contributions such as those raised by the Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund to fulfill our mission.

Janie Eddleman, RN

Acting Chief Executive Officer

Solar is way to go

Dear Editor,

We want to thank the city of Pleasanton and its Energy and Sustainability manager, Laura Ryan, for the generous solar electric homeowners rebate we recently received. A year ago, we were spending a fortune on PG&E electricity. At the Pleasanton Solar Expo last November, we discovered the price of solar panels has come down dramatically, and we could benefit from a total of four rebates (from federal, state, city and the installer, Solar Universe). These combined rebates paid for 50% of our system cost.

If you install at least three kilowatts, PG&E will put you on a Time Of Use Net Metering tariff, whereby you can sell surplus electricity during summer days at 30 cents per kilowatt hour, and power your home during the night for 10 cents per kilowatt hour. Battery storage is unnecessary -- the grid banks your surplus and consumption. We sized our five-kilowatt system large enough to power the house, swimming pool and 50 miles per day of future electric vehicle driving.

If you are wondering where to invest for retirement, going solar is a great alternative -- you know exactly what you're getting back. Over a 25-year lifespan, our micro-power-plant will prevent carbon emissions equal to the weight of a fully loaded 737-passenger jet. Solar electric ranks as one of the best purchases we've ever made. Thank you, Pleasanton.

Pierre and Sondra Bierre