Letters to the Editor

Editor:

I recently had a remodel done, which required me to move out completely for three months. I had neighbors who were so helpful in many ways. Dennis and Donna Wang completely made this move doable. In the end, at 73, I could not have done it without their help. They did so much to help me get packed up and moved out, right up to helping get things back in the house when we moved back, even hanging pictures on the wall.

Neighbors like this are a true blessing!

Karen Roeder Mutual 6 Editor:

Opportunity is knocking for GRF representatives, Mutual directors and shareholders with the upcoming program, Solar Energy Systems—Cut Electricity Costs, at 2 p.m. on March 6 in Clubhouse 4.

GRF allocations for electricity rise each year, most recently from $404,331 in 2023 to $467,500 in 2024 and then $520,000 this year 2025. Mutuals typically have a similar pattern of increases, although proportionately smaller. Mutual 1 has had notable increases during these years, from $72,010 in 2023 to $80,000 in 2024, and then $82,800 this year. Take a look at the pattern in your Mutual.

With a 4-0 vote, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved SoCal Edison’s request to have customers cover $1.6 billion in settlement costs to pay victims of the 2017 Thomas Fire, which authorities determined was caused by the company’s power lines. Electrical bills in California are already among the nation’s highest and soon could be skyrocketing even further. This is a reminder of the high financial costs that come with increasingly frequent natural disasters as the planet warms.

Each board of directors and GRF representative received an invitation to attend the program on March 6, which is sponsored by the Seniors For Peace Club in Leisure World.

Solar energy systems have the potential to ease the burden on shareholders when used to offset Mutual and personal utility costs. Additionally, solar energy systems can provide an added level of independence and safety that shareholders might value in light of potential grid failures and wild fires.

I encourage everyone to attend.

Jeff Mulqueen Mutual 1 Editor:

GRF Recreation, with the support of Gasper Monteer Realty Group, created a wonderful atmosphere for this year’s Valentine’s Day Dance. The decorations and lighting were attractive; the food was tasty; and the music by Stone Soul was, as usual, lively and perfect. Thank you for an evening filled with enjoyment and laughter.

Kalena Hayden Mutual 3 Editor:

A letter to the editor (Feb.13) complains of “unelected bureaucrats controlling the White House” and “having Joe Biden pardon his family,” which except for the antecedents sounds much like the Trump administration.

It is one thing to want to protect one’s family but quite another to pardon legally convicted felons, convicted by the law of murderous assaults on police officers. And I would take unelected bureaucrats any day over unelected billionaires such as Elon Musk who is using “your (my) tax money” to affect “regime change” in America.

Your untruthful president is without a doubt using his minions to overthrow our democracy and replace it with fascism.

Liz Cvikel Mutual 9 Editor:

If you are disappointed that Elon Musk appears to have taken on the role of president, accessing your private information in the government payroll system and is currently requesting access to your IRS records, call or write your congressman and express your concerns or join a protest.

Do not sit silently and do nothing while Donald Trump is busy on the golf course, Superbowl and the Daytona 500. This is a mass invasion of our privacy. Let your voice be heard.

Marianne Bartel Mutual 14 Editor:

Let’s be clear, what truly makes America great is the United States Constitution and rule of law. That is being ignored and thwarted by Republicans.

A child falls off a bike. He skins his knee; that’s an issue that needs to be dealt with. He breaks a leg; that is an emergency that requires a cooperative effort to remedy. He has a severe concussion; that is an emergency that requires all hands on deck.

The Republicans are taking every issue that constitutes a skinned knee or broken leg and, instead of cooperating to find ways to improve the situation, they are declaring it an “emergency.”

Instead of putting in the hard work of remedying our imperfections, they are prescribing euthanasia.

Departments that provide essential services that make a functioning government and a working society are being dismantled or “euthanized.” When we replace knowledgeable civil servants with leaders who are unqualified, and who will do anything they are told to do by a power-hungry, vengeful leader, our democracy will fall apart. Eliminating the departments that keep us safe and provide a safety net is a recipe for chaos.

Elizabeth Winslow Mutual 8 Editor:

Hats off and a giant thank you to Community Church and the Theater Club for the Cancer Survivors’ Luncheon on Feb. 14. This event uniquely signaled to us cancer survivors that others really care that we survived this dreaded disease.

Community Church members prepared and served the food, including a special dessert that could be eaten with a spoon because spoons were purchased instead of forks (a little inside event trivia is always fun to learn about). Seven Theater Club members serenaded us. One Community Church and Theater Club member, who is also a storyteller, told us a doggie story. All of us sang a song together. And in closing, every attendee received a rose.

Yes, a giant thank you to Community Church and the Theater Club.

Debbi Fudge Mutual 1 Editor:

Proposed thought for Leisure World qualified residents: Until our memories fade, it is near certain that knowledge is cumulative. It takes time at bat to gather a bunch. That’s how come some elders (but not all) are praised for their wisdom. Some are best left unchallenged for advice. So read no more.

However, I am driven to believe we need to be purposely observant.

Each observation leads to an understanding of additional factors, adding to our wisdom. For example, I find that retrieving an item dropped on the floor requires uncomfortable acrobatics.

That one observation demands I handle items less casually and not to handle anything unnecessarily and, when inclined to misadventure, don’t. Take a nap. Three for one.

Stan Verdi Mutual 2 Editor:

The America First Republican Club report in the Feb. 20 issue indicated the U.S. Constitution will be the topic for study this year. The last two paragraphs state how it is being used or ignored now, and how the country has ignored it.

One of the classes could explain how the National Rifle Association convinced us to ignore the opening phrase of the Second Amendment, “a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state. . . .,” thus making us a nation with more civilian deaths by guns than any (perhaps the total of all?) other country.

The second class could explore how to hire a gaggle of lawyers to find a “plausible loop hole” to take citizenship, guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, away from people of color. This Supreme Court has already demonstrated a tendency to decide cases politically if given a “plausible” cover.

Lee Hoyt Mutual 11 Editor:

Tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 28, from midnight to 11:59 p.m., let’s make some “good trouble” in the words of the late great Rep. John Lewis by supporting the Nationwide Economic Blackout. Tomorrow let’s take one small but collective action step to demonstrate our anger, our sadness and our dismay at the actions of the Trump administration to date.

Tomorrow let’s rally the power of the purse and speak with our wallets. Tomorrow do not make any purchases in person or online.

Do not buy food or gas or anything else all day and night.

If you need emergency supplies or essentials, please support local small businesses. If the economy is disrupted for just one day, it sends a powerful message.

If the corporations don’t listen, the next blackout will be longer. This movement started in response to corporations who folded under pressure to disband their DEI initiatives.

But the protest is about more than that. At the heart of the message for the Targets and Amazons of the world is the importance of standing their ground for what they believe in, despite the threats and consequences. Authoritarians cannot take what one refuses to give away.

Tomorrow demonstrate the power of one.

Barbara Gardner Mutual 8