LETTER TO THE EDITOR BY JOAN COOPER IN RESPONSE TO RECENT RUSTAD CARTOON
PT member and leader of Friends of Shollenberger Park Joan Cooper’s LTE concerning Rustad cartoon was published on Petaluma 360
Cartoon is Divisive
Published: Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 10:19 p.m.
Editor: Cartoonist Steve Rustad’s suspension was all too short for his offenses. His latest cartoon on the city and community groups suing the county to protect Petaluma’s investment in the Petaluma Wetlands and Shollenberger Park is more of the same misinformed and divisive Steve.
Fact: Building an asphalt plant next to the river and wetlands and degrading Shollenberger Park is not a positive addition to the mix at Haystack. Shollenberger is a free, accessible and healthy destination for working people, teens and young families and everyone who perhaps cannot afford health clubs or golf courses, but value exercise.
Fact: The opposition to Dutra is made up of a mix of all ages and economic levels — folks trying to make ends meet, health professionals who understand the health implications of a pollution source like Dutra, retirees and runners who need fresh air, all regular park users.
Fact: People against Dutra are also pro-business. We want to attract businesses that don’t produce excessive toxins and traffic jams and more asthma for our children to suffer. We want to create real employment opportunities, more than the seven to 10 promised jobs from Dutra’s fully automated factory.
Fact: Automation means fewer humans working, so employees of the established asphalt plants in Sonoma, you may say goodbye to your jobs, if Dutra gets in. (And Argus editors, when are you going to stop insulting women in your Rustad cartoons, portraying them as sexual objects?)
Joan Cooper, Petaluma