PUBLIC FORUM : VALLEY SHOULD BACK CSUN MARKET CENTER.The community should support the University Market Center proposed by Blenda Wilson, president of Cal State Northridge. When the site of the proposed development was transferred to the university, the only restriction was that the land be used to support the university's educational purposes. The Market Center will provide on-site educational programs as well as job experience for students. It will further provide a long-term funding source to support academic programs. Gov. Pete Wilson's executive order encourages state agencies to cooperate with the private sector in managing under-used property for the benefit of the state and its people. The Market Center accomplishes just that purpose. Market studies indicate that there is demand in the area for additional up-scale retail outlets. In fact, the Market Center will not increase competition but will fill the gap for retail uses not currently provided in the vicinity. We are still recovering from the Northridge Earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. and the Valley needs the 300 full- and part-time jobs the project will provide. We further need the $1.25 million annual tax revenues the Market Center will produce. This is a project that the Valley's only university badly needs. The community needs to get behind Blenda Wilson and the university and support this quality development. - Gerald E. Curry Canoga Park Gunpowder gunpowder, explosive mixture; its most common formula, called "black powder," is a combination of saltpeter, sulfur, and carbon in the form of charcoal. Historically, the relative amounts of the components have varied. taggants unsafe This letter will hopefully clear up the misconceptions Misconceptions is an American sitcom television series for The WB Network for the 2005-2006 season that never aired. It features Jane Leeves, formerly of Frasier, and French Stewart, formerly of 3rd Rock From the Sun. Tom Braun expressed in his letter of Dec. 2 about gunpowder, taggants and the National Rifle Association National Rifle Association (NRA) Governing organization for the sport of shooting with rifles and pistols. It was founded in Britain in 1860. The U.S. organization, formed in 1871, has a membership of some four million. Both the British and the U.S. once and for all. The NRA NRA (National Rifle Association of America) organization that encourages sharpshooting and use of firearms for hunting. [Am. Pop. Culture: NCE, 1895] See : Hunting opposes taggants in gunpowder for safety reasons and Braun feels this is a smoke screen, because ``the gunpowder earmarked for bullets can easily be separated from gunpowder earmarked for explosives, before the taggants are added.'' Well, if this were done, there would be only one pile of gunpowder, because gunpowder is designed only for use in guns. A popular misconception is that gunpowder explodes in a gun. Not true. Gunpowder is designed as a propellant pro·pel·lant also pro·pel·lent n. 1. Something, such as an explosive charge or a rocket fuel, that propels or provides thrust. 2. , not an explosive. Gunpowder has a thing called a burn rate built in. Faster burn rates are used in pistols and slower ones for heavy bullets in big rifles. Taggants change the burn rate and it is these changes, which are unpredictable, that make taggants unsafe. Gunpowder is not used as an explosive. For shattering steel during demolition work a fast or ``high'' explosive, like PETN PETN Pentaerythrite Tetranitrate (explosive) might be used - not gunpowder. For mining or moving earth for road construction, a slow explosive like ANFO ANFO, ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. See explosive. might be used - not gunpowder. Gunpowder is for guns and taggants make gunpowder unsafe. I hope this information helps change Tom Braun's mind about taggants and the NRA. - Kenneth Foerster Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. Leaf blowers The main objection to leaf blowers is the way they are used - not to collect the leaves and grass clippings, but to blow them onto other properties or the city street. Very few bother to sweep them into piles and dispose of them in the city-furnished green barrels, to be converted to reusable mulch mulch, any material, usually organic, that is spread on the ground to protect the soil and the roots of plants from the effects of soil crusting, erosion, or freezing; it is also used to retard the growth of weeds. . I use an electric-powered unit that can be used as a blower or as a vacuum. Used as a vacuum, the debris is deposited into an attached canvas bag as mulch. Every home or building has electric power available. The electric units and extension cords do not cost as much as the objectionable gasoline units and are less costly to operate: the homeowners pay the electric bills; there are no gasoline fumes fumes odorous gases and other volatile materials; inhalation of irritating fumes causes coughing and, if sufficiently severe, irreversible pulmonary edema. ; there is no debris in our streets or adjacent yards and a minimum of noise from an electric-driven turbine blade that is enclosed in the unit. Let our Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. members stop overlooking the needs, wants or desires of their constituents and come up with sensible solutions to our problems. - John G. Leighton Van Nuys Playing the race card Re ``Taped fight could send rap mogul to prison, '' Daily News, Nov. 27: The judge after careful review of a videotape saw evidence that Marion ``Suge'' Knight kicked an individual several times during the course of a fight in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. . Knight was in violation of his probation, if I remember correctly from sitting in court and hearing the conditions of probation being read to defendants on numerous occasions. It is explained to the defendants that they are to obey all laws. There is no doubt in anyone's mind as to what is expected of them. They are to obey the law, plain and simple. For those individuals in the hallway to say it's a ``black and white thing'' and call Judge Stephen Czuleger a racist is wrong. These statements are a direct result of attorney Johnnie Cochran Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr.[1] (October 2, 1937 – March 29, 2005) was an African American lawyer best known for his role in the legal defense during the O. J. Simpson murder case. Jr. playing the race card in that now-infamous miscarriage of justice A legal proceeding resulting in a prejudicial out-come. A miscarriage of justice arises when the decision of a court is inconsistent with the substantive rights of a party. , the O.J. Simpson trial. - Sgt. Anthony D. Hollins L.A. County Sheriff's Department Palmdale Smog exemptions Yes, let's get the gross polluters. But I wonder why all government vehicles - trucks, cars, buses, vans, etc. - are exempt from smog testing? That is, they are exempt until that government vehicle is sold to a private citizen. Who are the mental giants who are going to bring this program into being? I would like to know so that I can remember them when they come up for election in the future. Let's really get ridiculous. Let's ban all fireplaces in private homes and/or require a smog device on the chimney. And of course you would need a fireplace permit with a fee attached, and a fireplace inspection every two years with a fee attached. Do not forget permit and inspection fees. We would also need a government agency to oversee the program. Let's call them fireplace police. - Harold Feldman Glendale Bilingual education bilingual education, the sanctioned use of more than one language in U.S. education. The Bilingual Education Act (1968), combined with a Supreme Court decision (1974) mandating help for students with limited English proficiency, requires instruction in the native Re ``LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) cites gains in English,'' Daily News, Dec. 3: Let's hope that the Board of Education will not spend money on consultants, as it did last year, to tell it why two-thirds of district schools failed to meet their English fluency goals. One need look no further than the district's much touted standards. These call for non-native English speakers to move out of the bilingual program within five years. This means that a 5-year-old who speaks no English will not study English until he or she is 10. Do we really need to spend money to find out why this approach doesn't work? - Douglas Lasken Woodland Hills Hillary defender rebutted In response to Martha Ezzard's column defending Hillary Rodham Rodham is an English surname which may refer to a number of persons or places. People Family of Hillary Rodham Clinton
Ezzard ignores the obvious. I am not a Hillary hater and I think of her as my first lady; she's the only one I have. But I wonder at the depth and honesty of an individual's thinking when they criticize those who find Hillary abrasive, as being ``threatened by a powerful woman.'' She points out that Hillary doesn't have the ``charm of Elizabeth Dole.'' Huh? Isn't Elizabeth Dole a powerful woman? People love her. I have never met or worked with Mrs. Clinton, so my perception is one that has been filtered through the media. However, Hillary Clinton comes across as self-righteous and arrogant, which is the attitude of someone not accustomed or comfortable with power. She seems to project the uncompromising assertion, ``I'm right, you're wrong, now get out of my way.'' This is not an endearing en·dear·ing adj. Inspiring affection or warm sympathy: the endearing charm of a little child. en·dear attitude. Just as one can vote for Proposition 209 without being a Ku Klux Klan Ku Klux Klan (k  ' klŭks klăn), designation mainly given to two distinct secret societies that played a part in American history, although other less important groups have also used member, Nazi or racist, one can love women, powerful and otherwise, and find Hillary Clinton less than perfect. - Gerald Rhoades Canoga Park New recycling idea seems familiar Since the new recycling program has been put into effect, I was wondering how much it cost the taxpayers to purchase, use, then discard the system that was to be the answer to all of the recycling problems last year. It seems only a short time ago that the City Council was ``selling'' us the idea of sorting our cans and bottles in the little yellow baskets and arresting anyone that tried to salvage the cans or wanted to make a few dollars from the recyclables in competition with the city. How much did this experiment cost and how much will the next one cost before they come up with the answer? Our taxes are high enough without having the council buy any more expensive ideas that are changed every year or so. Without all the hoopla hoop·la n. Informal 1. a. Boisterous, jovial commotion or excitement. b. Extravagant publicity: The new sedan was introduced to the public with much hoopla. 2. , this ``new'' idea sounds like the old idea of picking up trash, but with a bigger barrel. How about some accounting rather than just selling this grand ``new'' idea. How much was the extra cost to the taxpayers of picking up the yellow baskets last year? Recycling is important and vital to our city, but it doesn't take a computer programmer to figure out that it is more efficient to sort at one spot than to pick up three times at every home in the city. But then the City Council was never accused of excess intelligence. - Jerry Denbo Reseda I read with great interest Tuesday's front-page article about the new recycling containers. In our house, over 50 percent or more of our garbage is recycled. It will be great to have the larger blue containers. But the most interesting part of the article was the last sentence. I can't believe city officials won't be recycling our yellow bins. What poor planning. - Ann Valadez Sun Valley CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO It's bin fun: The city's abrupt change from asking all recyclables be sorted to a one-can-fits-all approach has some readers over a barrel. Michael Owen
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