Luxury to one is excess to another

I was struck by stories in two sections of the Feb. 25 Times. The first was “Napa Medieval,” the fanciful castle-winery in the Napa area featured in the Travel section, and the second was “Bel-Air Home Has Two Lanes, No Waiting,” Home of the Week.

Any thinking, caring human being must register upon reading about these two huge developments, the extraordinary expense and scope of the projects and what that amount of money could do if even some of it was invested in a greater good. As long as a significant number of people are without decent shelter, adequate food, clean water and opportunity for basic healthcare, it is shocking to see the excesses on which people with wealth choose to spend their money.

I just can’t comprehend a house with 20 bathrooms in 34,000-plus square feet or a winery that could hold 50 average-sized homes. While even one person anywhere in the world is suffering unnecessarily, it is a travesty to continue building ever-bigger monuments to peoples’ egos.

CAROL PALLADINI

Santa Barbara