Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for Aug. 17, 2023

We are writing to express our excitement and support for the upcoming career technical education program at Terra Linda High School (“Marin educators reach milestone on career training school,” Aug. 8).

There is a demand for skilled workers in the construction and manufacturing industries. For many years, training for the trades in our public schools has taken a back seat to college prep courses.

Many high school shop classes have been eliminated and students have been offered few opportunities to work with their hands. So we are pleased that the Marin County Office of Education and San Rafael City Schools District will be working to fill that need.

In a similar vein, we have developed the pre-apprenticeship furniture repair program in partnership with the nonprofit Make It Home to address a practical need within the furniture industry. Make It Home is dedicated to saving furnishings from landfills and sharing them with our neighbors who are in need of essential household items.

Our program is aimed toward teens and young adults (16 and older) who may have little or no experience in a workplace. It provides students a chance to explore a fulfilling and hands-on career path. For that reason, we include training in “soft skills” such as punctuality, communication and attention to detail.

We also welcome adults who may be in need of trade skills for their current work or for those who are interested in starting a career in the trades.

Both our pre-apprenticeship program and the career training education program will provide support for many individuals in our community looking for rewarding hands-on occupations. These programs can provide an avenue for them to gain basic experience so they can be considered for future employment.

— Geo Monley, Mill Valley, and Pierina dell’Avo, San Rafael

In her recently published letter to the editor, Nicole Tai says recycling/repurposing glass and metal containers will be better for us and reduce tons of waste that now goes to landfills. She appears to assert that the plastic-packaging industry should be abolished.

Tai urges us to return to a time “60 years ago,” before plastic packaging, when we washed and reused glass bottles and metal cans. However, current Food and Drug Administration regulations require both the washing and refilling of food and beverage containers be done in a regulated food processing facility to assure food safety.

I don’t believe any central station bottle washing plant could clean all the different containers used to package totally different products. Furthermore, doing so would require an enormous amount of water. Where in California (certainly not Marin County) would such a supply of surplus potable water be available to wash and sanitize all those dirty bottles and jars?

As to “refill shops,” there are myriad products sold in different types and sizes of containers (everything from motor oil to cosmetics). Consumers are offered an enormous array of products, with competing brands having different formulations of ingredients. I think it would be too complicated to decide which products and brands would be made available for refilling locally.

Additionally, I think it would be difficult to guarantee that the product being refilled is, in fact, the genuine article. There are reasons why manufacturers label their products at point of production with specific information, mandated by federal regulations to buyers against fraud and abuse.

Simple solutions to complex problems generally can’t work. And far from being a “failed industry” plastic packaging is lightweight, durable and requires less energy to produce than glass or metal bottles and cans.

— Robert Miltner, Larkspur

In his recent letter to the editor, Tim Peterson wrote: “Democrats have a history of lying to the American people to stay in power.” However, I seem to recall some Republicans.

Richard Nixon lied about Vietnam and Watergate. Ronald Reagan lied about the Iran-Contra affair. George H. W. Bush lied about rival George Dukakis. George W. Bush lied about the Iraq War, weapons of mass destruction and John Kerry. Donald Trump, of course, appears to have lied about almost everything. If Peterson is relying on Fox News, he should know that it recently paid about $750 million for lying.

Juries will decide Trump’s fate. If the Department of Justice proves its allegations, Trump should spend the rest of his life where I think he belongs: in prison.

— Rob Peterson, Larkspur