Letters.Right Decision on Belmont Regarding your editorial, "Belmont Tarpaper tar·pa·per n. Heavy paper impregnated or coated with tar, used as a waterproof protective material in building. " (Jan. 31), the Belmont Learning Center This Belmont Learning Center contains information about a building currently under construction. It may contain information of a speculative nature, and the content may change dramatically as construction progresses and new information becomes available. is wrong for the students and for the taxpayers. It is unacceptable to build a school for 5,000 students. We need small neighborhood schools, not "factories" for our youth. The Belmont Learning Center was to be a gigantic, two-story structure with retail outlets on the first floor and classrooms on the upper level. This was planned to benefit vested interests vested interest n. 1. Law A right or title, as to present or future possession of an estate, that can be conveyed to another. 2. A fixed right granted to an employee under a pension plan. 3. -- not students! The Board of Education had no choice but to emphasize the health and safety of children, teachers and administrators and shut down the $200 million-plus bureaucratic Belmont boondoggle boon·dog·gle Informal n. 1. An unnecessary or wasteful project or activity. 2. a. A braided leather cord worn as a decoration especially by Boy Scouts. b. . Now, it is critical that taxpayers find out who is responsible for this fiscal and toxic fiasco. The first shoe has been wisely dropped. Now, it is imperative that the second shoe be dropped with a full Grand Jury investigation into this catastrophe. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the school district's investigator Don Mullinax, a former FBI agent, at least five state laws were violated by the school board regarding Belmont. District staff knew these laws were being violated, yet failed to inform the board. It is also vital that the Grand Jury explore how the property was acquired. While the district is pointing fingers, covering its backside and passing the buck in a way that leaves even Mullinax asking who is in charge of this project, the District Attorney, who is in charge of criminal investigations, has failed to aggressively pursue this fiasco. It is time to act! Our own Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved two motions requesting a full investigation. Now is the opportunity for the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. to focus on affordable, family-student-friendly neighborhood schools. MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH Michael Dennis Antonovich (born 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, the Antelope, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San Supervisor, Fifth District Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Sue the Environmentalists In regard to your story "Businesses Accuse Environmental Group of Blackmail" (Jan. 31): This has to be one of the most stupid laws ever. These judges and lawyers have way too much time on their hands. You have to be nuts to open a business here in L.A. Tell me, how does suing someone, then giving the money to a charity (I'll bet I'll Bet was an NBC game show that aired from March 29 1965 to September 24 1965, that was created by Ralph Andrews. The host of this program was Jack Narz. It was a precursor of It's Your Bet, which aired with four different hosts during its four year run: Hal March, Tom there is very little that gets to charity after the deduction for the legal expense) give me cleaner water or make the bay cleaner? I guess I missed that day of logic class. Since private citizens can sue, these companies should turn the tables and sue all the judges and everyone at BayKeeper. Crazy, Crazy, Crazy!!!! BOB GOOD Torrance Salespeople Posing as Journalists Regarding your Jan. 10 cover story on documercials ("All the News That's Not Really News"), TVA TVA: see Tennessee Valley Authority. Productions attempts to portray "Business World News" as legitimate journalism not only to its (limited) audience, as your story pointed out, but also in its solicitation of companies it hopes to feature. We have been "invited" to participate in an upcoming show nearly a half dozen times in the past two years. Each time, TVA solicitors have phoned our CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. or president directly, represented "Business World News" as a legitimate TV newsmagazine, and indicated they were looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. businesspeople to interview on their program. To further perpetuate the impression of a media query, TVA requests that companies submit background documents so they "can be considered for inclusion by our editors." The fact that there is a cost associated is mentioned last and only as if it were truly incidental: "We will need your assistance in defraying some of our production costs." While I am concerned about the confusion clearly wrought by commercials that pose as news, I am more unsettled by salespeople who present themselves as journalists. Local executives who may not have benefit of corporate communications counsel should be advised: Legitimate news organizations never ask for money. MARK H. LEAF Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most Director Pinkerton's Inc. Editor's Note: Jeffery Goddard, president of TVA Productions, responds as follows: It appears Mark Leaf is not familiar with TVA or has not seen our program. Pinkerton's Inc. was a repeat and satisfied TVA client from 1993-96 (under prior management). While TVA Productions tries not to make a habit of repeatedly contacting the same company to research its candidacy for a spotlight on "Business World News," the fact that Pinkerton's was invited to appear on the show more than once is merely a reflection that TVA Productions recognizes Pinkerton's Inc. as a successful industry leader. TVA's initial contact with a prospective featured company is not a sales call and is not made by salespeople, but rather by research coordinators whose job it is to determine whether the company meets "Business World News" feature criteria and shooting schedule. Moreover, contrary to Mr. Leaf's suggestion, companies do not pay to be featured on the show, only for the commercial use of a corporate video version of the broadcast Spotlight (i.e. video reprints, CD-ROMs, Internet streaming, tradeshow loop tapes, etc.). TVA 's research coordinators fully disclose these matters at the onset of discussions. |
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