PUBLIC FORUM A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL.Re ``LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) fails exit exam'' (Aug. 17): With all the hand-wringing and finger-pointing going on in response to the STAR test results, perhaps a better idea might be to look at a success story and figure out why the numbers at this school are as high as they are. Castlebay Lane Elementary in Northridge is not a Highly Gifted Magnet The Highly Gifted Magnet (HGM) is one of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Gifted and Talented programs, restricted to students who meet the criterion of 99.9% on an intellectual assessment that meets the eligibility requirements of the district which is an IQ of 145 or , or an SAS (1) (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, www.sas.com) A software company that specializes in data warehousing and decision support software based on the SAS System. Founded in 1976, SAS is one of the world's largest privately held software companies. See SAS System. school, but nearly 90 percent of the students are proficient in their language arts language arts pl.n. The subjects, including reading, spelling, and composition, aimed at developing reading and writing skills, usually taught in elementary and secondary school. and 75 percent are proficient in math. Should we not examine why this school (along with several other such schools) does so well? I wonder what could be the answer. Perhaps only the best teachers work there. Or perhaps it's the socioeconomic demographic. How about the level of parental involvement? It would seem to me worthy of examination. - Prentiss Moore Sherman Oaks Act of nature? Re ``Smart housing will result in less traffic'' (Their Opinions, Aug. 20): James Hahn For the Iowa politician, see . James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He was the Deputy City Attorney (1975-1979), City Controller (1981-1985), City Attorney (1985-2001) and Mayor of Los Angeles, California and Steve Soboroff Steve Soboroff (born August 31, 1948) is a real estate developer and president of Playa Vista. Mr. Soboroff is the Chairperson of the Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. warn that the equivalent of ``the entire city of Chicago'' will be moving to Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , and go on to spin silly visions of ``smart housing.'' What is striking is that they treat the influx as inevitable, like an act of nature. Since Chicagoans are unlikely to desert their city and move here, one wonders where this inevitable flood will originate. Could it possibly be ... Mexico? Could all those people who need ``smart housing'' be illegal aliens? Hahn and Soboroff aren't saying. Our city and county's health care system is rapidly being destroyed by the overwhelming wave of illegal aliens using the emergency rooms, and our ``leaders'' speak of ``smart housing.'' How about some smart deportations, boys, and double-quick? - James F. Glass Chatsworth It's not right Citizens Organized for Smart Transit members oppose the construction of the Orange Line busway because it goes through their neighborhoods. The busway, when completed, will reduce overall street traffic on east/west arterial roads. It will provide the first real alternative for commuters traveling between Woodland Hills and Studio City with direct connection to the MTA's Red Line subway to downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or . COST can seek monetary reparations reparations, payments or other compensation offered as an indemnity for loss or damage. Although the term is used to cover payments made to Holocaust survivors and to Japanese Americans interned during World War II in so-called relocation camps (and used as well to for damages to or diminution in value diminution in value n. in the event of a breach of contract, the decrease in value of property due to the failure to construct something exactly as specified in the contract. of its members' property caused by construction and the presence of the busway itself. The Orange Line will benefit hundreds of thousands of Valley residents seeking an alternative to driving to work and school on the overcrowded o·ver·crowd v. o·ver·crowd·ed, o·ver·crowd·ing, o·ver·crowds v.tr. To cause to be excessively crowded: a system of consolidation that only overcrowded the classrooms. 101 and surface streets. It is not right for one group of homeowners to hold up the Orange Line construction any longer. - Sean McCarthy Chairman, governmental affairs Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerce Slime and slander The pro-Bush ad ``Swift Boat Swift Boat is another term for a Fast Patrol Craft. Swift Boat Veterans For Truth is the original name of the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth. Swiftboating Veterans for Truth'' faithfully repeats the mantra that Kerry and his six swift boat crew members somehow convinced their superiors to award them undeserved un·de·served adj. Not merited; unjustifiable or unfair. un  de·serv medals, that they were never under fire, and that their wounds were
self-inflicted.
This propaganda is from a disaffected group of Republican vets who were never on Kerry's boat or under his command. Why are we ignoring the fact that Bush avoided serving in Vietnam and cost the taxpayers over $1 million to be trained as a pilot, and now chooses to slime and slander Kerry's courageous service? - Angela Bradshaw 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. Just defending Re ``Political hypocrisy'' (Your Opinions, Aug. 19): John Kerry hasn't denounced his billionaire buddy George Soros' Web site's attack ads comparing President Bush to Hitler, but Bonnie Chermak asserts that President Bush's failure to ``rapidly denounce'' the ``Swift Boat Veterans for Truth'' ad is disgraceful. Last time I checked, the Constitution still protects our freedom of speech in this country. That's the same freedom that allowed Kerry to accuse his fellow sailors of war crimes - an accusation he has stood by for more than 30 years. It is these swift boat veterans who were attacked by Kerry, not the other way around. - Ann E. Hamilton Simi Valley Same ol' song The so-called ``Swift Boat Veterans for Truth'' commercial attacking John Kerry is just a replay of the campaign waged against John McCain in South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. in 2000. A new year ... a slightly different story ... the same old smear. - Emy Blackwell Granada Hills Not saying hypocrisy Future ex-presidential candidate John Forbes Kerry personally questions the president's character and National Guard duty. Future ex-vice presidential candidate John Edwards contends the president is a liar and a deceiver. Sen. Tom Harkin calls the vice president a coward. A group of Vietnam Veterans (Republicans and Democrats) offers a different view of Kerry's distorted account of his wartime experiences and every liberal within earshot ear·shot n. The range within which sound can be heard by the unaided ear; hearing distance: listened until the parade was out of earshot. is screaming dirty politics and demanding an apology and retraction In the law of Defamation, a formal recanting of the libelous or slanderous material. Retraction is not a defense to defamation, but under certain circumstances, it is admissible in Mitigation of Damages. Cross-references Libel and Slander. by the president. I would charge the left with hypocrisy, but I'd be accused of dirty politics. - Greg Herold Granada Hills Cynical and hypocritical It is cynical and hypocritical for the Bush campaign and the president himself to dodge the lies heaped on Sen. John Kerry's record as a veteran. The book out claiming that he didn't deserve his medals and lied to get them was written by people who did not serve with him. Sen. John McCain condemned the attack, Sen. John Warner was secretary of the Navy when Kerry served and authorized the medals, but George W. Bush, who did no real service, merely claims he didn't authorize the attack and nothing more. This merely continues the Republican method of lying and shaving the truth. - Gary J. Weinstein North Hollywood Not hedging John Kerry calls President Bush simplistic sim·plism n. The tendency to oversimplify an issue or a problem by ignoring complexities or complications. [French simplisme, from simple, simple, from Old French; see simple for clearly stating where he stands on even controversial issues. Some things require clarity - when you're the president you either push the button or you don't. You can't talk your way around it. Leadership requires a willingness to stop hedging, and I'm not sure Kerry has shown a willingness to cut the crap and give an answer to anything. - Stacey Boland Pasadena Time to step up Both sides are flinging charges around about their candidate's war service. Sen. John Kerry actually has men who saw him serve. Where's the men who served with Bush, or who saw him on duty when he wasn't just posing for photos? It's time for President Bush to step up to the plate and clear up the missing section of his National Guard service, especially now that so many National Guard personnel are being called up by his administration to go in harm's way. - Christine Shade North Hollywood On marriage Re ``Equal obligations'' (Your Opinions, Aug. 17): I remind Myrna Hill, and others who are for gay marriage, that marriage is not a civil right. Nor is it any other kind of right that is guaranteed by any state or federal document or law. Marriage is a traditional institution ordained or·dain tr.v. or·dained, or·dain·ing, or·dains 1. a. To invest with ministerial or priestly authority; confer holy orders on. b. To authorize as a rabbi. 2. by God and acknowledged by every society since man and woman were placed on this earth. Marriage between one man on one woman has been and will continue to be the adhesive fabric of every society. And please stop using the term ``homophobic,'' which is the fear of homosexuals. I don't fear, I just don't approve of, or condone, the lifestyle and act. The homosexual community uses this term to paint them as victims instead of people who have chosen to embrace the lifestyle. - Michael Walker Northridge No borders I hope you fools who think marriage is for man and woman only are happy. How you find contentment by hurting people you don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. stumps me. How do you close your eyes and sleep at night knowing you hurt people for falling in love? Love has no borders. Humans do. They invade other boundaries because it doesn't follow your laws. Excuse me for feeling, forgive me for being born gay and forgive me for wanting to tell the man I love, ``I do.'' - Garnet Murray Valley Village |
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