Rethink water subsidies
In 1986, Marc Reisner wrote
”
Cadillac Desert.
”
He explained that 80 percent of California water is used by
agriculture, and half of that is used to grow low-value crops like
cotton, rice and animal feed. These crops could easily be grown in
areas of high rainfall. This would free up 40 percent of California
water to keep our reservoirs full.
The easiest way to accomplish this would be to reduce
agricultural water subsidies. This has been resisted vigorously by
growers of both high and low-value crops. Perhaps it is time for
the growers of high-value crops to consider a smaller profit margin
in good years in order to avoid going out of business in times like
these.
Robert Gilchrist Huenemann
Hollister
Emerging from a lending nightmare
Four months ago my wife and I decided it was time to buy a house, for the very first time. Being a military veteran and having few resources at hand, we decided to use our VA benefits. We then enlisted the help of two very qualified, experienced, and dedicated local area business persons, Patrick Lampe of Realty World, Lampe Realty, Inc. and Linda Stamatopolous of All Reverse Mortgage. These two individuals worked tirelessly over the next few months assisting us through the process. Looking back, I wonder if they had known then what they know now, would they have done it anyway.
The problems we encountered didn’t come from the VA side of the house, nor did they come from any incompetency or slackness on the account of the two working for us. Linda has been in the mortgage business for 23 years and has handled numerous VA loans. Patrick has sold over 300 homes and according to both of them, neither one has ever encountered the problems we dealt with.
The problems came from the lender side of the house. There were misplaced documents and numerous requests for the same documents over and over again. I also believe the person(s) handling our package were functionally illiterate and incapable of understanding third-grade math. There was also prejudice against the military evident at times. Right up to the bitter end the people handling our package made our lives miserable. The company shall remain nameless.
There are many others who worked hard on this as well and we are grateful to them. To the folks at Nino Real Estate, I am truly sorry for the trouble this has caused you and am grateful for your long suffering as we worked our way through this. There are others in this community as well who were inconvenienced; to them we are deeply apologetic.
Linda has stated she will not ever do another loan again after this one. I sure hope she does; she is the best in the business. Patrick is worried his reputation may be tarnished, I hope it is not, because he did nothing wrong. The war is over and we won, but, what a battle it was! Thanks again Linda and Patrick!
Michael Yates, Msgt. USAF (ret.)
Hollister
Rethink water subsidies
In 1986, Marc Reisner wrote “Cadillac Desert.” He explained that 80 percent of California water is used by agriculture, and half of that is used to grow low-value crops like cotton, rice and animal feed. These crops could easily be grown in areas of high rainfall. This would free up 40 percent of California water to keep our reservoirs full.
The easiest way to accomplish this would be to reduce agricultural water subsidies. This has been resisted vigorously by growers of both high and low-value crops. Perhaps it is time for the growers of high-value crops to consider a smaller profit margin in good years in order to avoid going out of business in times like these.
Robert Gilchrist Huenemann
Hollister
