Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for June 22, 2025

‘Walk and Roll’ event a push for safer San Pedro

Our family is fortunate to experience firsthand what a special school Glenwood Elementary in San Rafael is but it wasn’t until recently that I realized how incredible our community truly is.

On June 11, Octavia Monelli, a parent of two Glenwood students, organized a school-wide “Walk and Roll” event in partnership with the Glenwood School Foundation and Walk-Bike San Rafael, as well as the San Rafael police and fire departments. The goal was to raise awareness to the need for a continuous bike lane on Point San Pedro Road, as well as for flashing lights at the Knight Drive crosswalk. For many of us, bicycling to school means riding on that four-lane road with cars traveling 40 to 50 mph.

My husband, son and I, along with more than 100 others from the Glenwood, Loch Lomond and Peacock neighborhoods, congregated at Victor Jones Park on bike, foot and scooters at 8 a.m.

Upon arrival, we were greeted with music, flags and smiles. There was a palpable sense of community spirit among us all. Most couldn’t believe how many people showed up. It was such a beautiful way to start the day. Walking and rolling together as a community, we advocated for change and safety in a fun, peaceful and wholesome manner. It was comforting and inspiring, especially in these turbulent times.

My family has so much gratitude for all who participated, especially for Monelli, who spearheaded this event. Showing the children of our community how to leverage the power of our peaceful voices was invaluable. Having fun as a community before school while advocating to make it safer to get to and from campus was such a gift.

Thank you to all who participated. I hope all will join us in advocating for the bike safety we seek.

— Emily-Jane Hoffman, San Rafael

Ridership an important part of SMART discussion

I think anytime someone calls the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit train project a “great success,” it should be noted that it has not reached its ridership goal, small as it is, even though it has stopped charging several groups of riders.

That’s like a business owner talking about how much merchandise is being sold without mentioning that a lot of it is being stolen.

I think that every time the financial future of the service is mentioned in the IJ, it should be accompanied by the actual taxpayer-subsidized price per ride. That’s the kind of information taxpayers deserve.

The SMART train concept has been a boondoggle since it was developed. It’s still a boondoggle now and, if the next ballot measure to extend the tax is passed, it’ll be a boondoggle 30 years into the future, regardless of how much infrastructure they build.

— Jean Digulla, Mendocino

Noem’s statements had the ring of propaganda

I found the statements from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during the press conference on June 12 where Sen. Alex Padilla of California was removed and detained for interrupting to ask questions to be notable.

“We are not going away,” she said. “We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country.”

I find the level of propaganda in that statement to be staggering. While I believe the administration flouts many rules of law, tramples individual rights and threatens anyone who has not sworn fealty to a sense of patriotism I consider to be perverted, brave citizens are standing up for due process and rational immigration approaches.

President Donald Trump’s administration appears to be actively resisting any meaningful reforms to our immigration policy. Then it acts as though it is going to save us from some menacing threat by immigrants and our own state leaders.

As many students of history have already pointed out, it has taken Trump less than six months to implement what I think is an authoritarian regime. I can only hope that the actions of millions of true patriots can save us from this frightening reality and bring us to a point where meaningful change can occur.

When the figureheads of national departments are spouting this vitriol and millions of people believe it, it’s difficult to believe we can get there. But I will keep the faith and stand up for democracy, decency and freedom in the real sense of the word.

— Stephanie O’Brien, Woodacre