Yesterday’s (11/24/08) edition of THE MOUNAIN DEMOCRAT had two interesting contrasts. The first was two articles showing the incredible generosity of our community. There were two articles describing the Thanksgiving Day meal programs at St. Patrick’s in Placerville and the Camino-Pollock Pines Community Center. These are free meals given to anyone desiring a meal. After seeing these articles, I could do nothing but feel proud to live in this great county. We have much to be thankful for and feeding those in need on the biggest secular feast day in the United States where many families gather together shows the big hearts of our communities.

In the same issue there was an article about a hot air balloon business in Coloma that was forced to close by the county. It mentioned that some neighbors complained about the balloons. When I saw hot balloons in Napa and in Park City, Utah, I saw a truly majestic sight. Hot air balloons are not eye sores. It turned out that the county shut this business down because of the complaints. The paper implied that county officials made up a reason to shut down the business even though the business was approved by the Planning Commission and other county officials two years ago. This made me ashamed to live in El Dorado County. Giiiive me a break. This is not the first time the county has been hostile to business. I can’t help but believe that El Dorado County is getting a reputation as being a place that is business unfriendly.

We do have a great community here, in spite of the county officials. I pray that those officials will love their neighbors as themselves and use a little common sense.