| | Published July 3rd, 2013
| Letters to the Editor
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Editor:
In regard to Mr. John Silbermans' letter to the editor (June 19), I share his feelings. There is nothing wrong with town homes. My objection to "Plan Bay Area" as applied to Orinda is the apparent requirement for government financed low income housing. If people choose to move into or build town homes priced by the free market, I have no problem. If housing in Orinda is provided by the government I strongly object! People who are provided government housing almost always turn it into slums. They have not invested in their homes and rarely care. Look at Oakland and San Francisco + other cities.
Free market value, based on supply and demand is the only thing that should set prices on homes. When the government interferes by setting prices, the people always loose. I hope never to see any "subsidized housing" in Orinda, Moraga or Lafayette.
Sincerely,
Henry R. Pinney
Orinda
Editor:
As a long time hiker, camper and outdoors person I was shocked to read Cathy Dausman's headline stating that Lyme Disease is not likely in California. Lyme Disease is present and making people ill and even killing them in California. The reported numbers may be small but that is in part because of denial of the disease and wrong diagnosis.
In my street alone two young people have been infected with Lyme disease, then not diagnosed correctly as even some doctors say there is no Lyme Disease in California. A diagnosis eventually made at the Mayo Clinic may not count in Contra Costa County records. These unfortunate young people were not treated in a timely fashion, and later, when the disease was correctly diagnosed had already suffered irreversible damage from the disease. I knew another person who died of the disease after years of deteriorating health and extreme pain.
The California Lyme Disease Association www.lymedisease.org is a good source of information. Many of their members are former park rangers suffering from Lyme Disease. The association reports on many labs missing nearly half the positive cases, and provides information on additional testing. A number of doctors in California also have the erroneous belief that Lyme disease exists only on the east coast, so be persistent if you continue to feel ill after a tick bite, and are told that you cannot have Lyme Disease.
The Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District provides useful information about ticks and Lyme Disease. Most of our local parks also post notices warning about ticks and Lyme Disease. When you hike, or even garden, in much of our county, wear long pants tucked into your socks, then when you shower check your body carefully for ticks. I speak from personal experience about the ticks, but fortunately have never contracted the disease.
Whereas the chances of contracting Lyme disease may be small, the disease itself is extremely serious if not quickly diagnosed and treated. Prevention is usually the best course.
Alison Hill
Lafayette
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA