PUBLIC FORUM BUSWAY HALTED.Re ``Valley busway halted'' (Aug. 3): As a longtime Valley resident, I cannot understand the logic of Citizens Organized for Smart Transit and its opposition to the proposed Valley busway. As an outreach worker to the homeless, I remember walking the old abandoned railway line many times. I found that the tracks were a breeding ground for all types of criminal and anti-social behavior, including drug use, gang activity and prostitution. If I lived near the old tracks, I would stand and cheer the arrival of the busway; I would love the park-lined streets, the elimination of the blight, and the knowledge that something good was taking place. Let's hope that common sense overcomes the opposition posed by a selfish and narrow-minded group. - John Horn Granada Hills Gridlock Gridlock A government, business or institution's inability to function at a normal level due either to complex or conflicting procedures within the administrative framework or to impending change in the business. is symptom Re ``Working together'' (Editorial, Aug. 2): What a waste of time and ink this editorial was. City and county officials line their pockets with developer money and perquisites Fringe benefits or other incidental profits or benefits accompanying an office or position. The abbreviation perks is used in reference to extraordinary benefits afforded to business executives, such as country club memberships or the free use of automobiles. and return the favor by approving every road-clogging development that their political benefactors propose. Gridlock is the symptom, not the disease. The disease is overdevelopment Overdevelopment refers to a process by which natural resources are impacted by urbanization and/or road construction, at a rate significantly harmful to the ecosystem. Environmental activism is a frequent response to overdevelopment, as well as are many fields of academic study. and the entire conspiracy is protected by the smoke screen known as ``gridlock.'' Long ago I identified this itchy itch·y adj. Having or causing an itching sensation. feeling in my eyes In My Eyes was a Boston straight edge band that spearheaded the 1997 youth crew revival along with Ten Yard Fight, Bane, The Trust, Fastbreak and Floorpunch. The band and its members were a part of the hot bed that was the Boston music scene in the late 90's and early 2000's. as wool. Surely news editorialists must be able to see through the same wool. - Patrick Weir Chatsworth Doesn't add up Re ``City Council votes to buy two buildings'' (Briefly, Aug. 4): There must be a ``logical'' explanation for the City Council members to buy two office buildings for $125 million this year and not buy them last year for $92 million. A third-grade student would call this ``fuzzy'' math thinking. - Dante F. Rochetti West Hills Where rights stop Re ``Fat activists fed up, fighting back'' (Aug. 3): Southwest Airlines This article is about the American airline. For the former Japanese airline, see Japan Transocean Air. For the British airline, see Air Southwest. Southwest Airlines Co. refused to give in to the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance protest of its policy of requiring people who don't fit in one airline seat to buy two. NAAFA NAAFA National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance sees Southwest's policy as discriminatory and a violation of large people's rights. I've been threatened with lawsuits under the ADA Ada, city, United States Ada (ā`ə), city (1990 pop. 15,820), seat of Pontotoc co., S central Okla.; inc. 1904. It is a large cattle market and the center of a rich oil and ranch area. by some huge passengers because I refused to let them raise the armrest and invade my seat. I paid for my seat, I need all of it and there is no reason why I should have to share any of it. I'm all for people having the same rights as I have but as far as NAAFA's ``rights'' on airplanes, they stop at the armrest. - John R. Schlank Granada Hills Just profiling When a gang shooting occurs, the suspects are usually young males between the ages of 16 and 30 years. The police will be on the lookout for in search of; looking for. See also: Lookout similar suspects, usually attired in baggy clothing with shaved heads. Officers will stop those with similar appearance. They will not waste time stopping soccer moms with children or the elderly. Yet at airports such a preposterous scenario exists. Passengers wait in long, long lines In communications, circuits that are capable of handling transmissions over long distances. to be ``wanded.'' We know the 9-11 terrorists were single Arabs flying alone. Let's target those most similar to the terrorists. Since I am a dark-haired Latino I may be erroneously singled out. So what? Racial profiling The consideration of race, ethnicity, or national origin by an officer of the law in deciding when and how to intervene in an enforcement capacity. Police officers often profile certain types of individuals who are more likely to perpetrate crimes. ? I call it common sense. - Harry Nieves Sylmar A modest step A recent report from the University of Wisconsin, ``America's Most Literate Cities,'' contained shocking data on California's public libraries. Out of 79 cities, public libraries in 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. ranked 73rd, Sacramento 76th, Anaheim 78th and Santa Ana Santa Ana, city, El Salvador Santa Ana (sän'tä ä`nä), city (1993 pop. 129,873), W El Salvador. It is the second largest city in the country and the commercial and processing center for a sugarcane, coffee, and cattle region. 79th, dead last. No wonder California's reading scores are so low. Public libraries are the only source of books available to many children of poverty during the summer; research shows that this is the time when these children fall behind in reading. Improving public libraries, especially in high-poverty areas, is a modest and conservative step that must taken before we discuss more costly proposals. - Stephen Krashen Professor emeritus Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission Terror alert Re ```Chilling' terror threat'' (Aug. 2): Here we go again. The White House using its terror alert to stop the Democrats from getting their message out. If they are God's team, why do they have to do these tricks? I think the only people who believe these alerts are the same people who believe in angels. Enough is enough. - Stuart Lewin Arleta Another actor We need another actor. These second-rate politicians running for mayor of Los Angeles are only doing so for selfish reasons and not one of them cares about the people. What a political fiasco. Can't we get Tom Selleck? He wouldn't have to raise a dime to campaign, he'd win in a landslide, he's honest and he won't play the game of racism. Tom, can you hear me? Step up, front and center. - Paul Vaughn Van Nuys We all pay Re ``Paying for Bush'' (Your Opinions, Aug. 3): I would like to point out several things to Richard Martin. I have not believed in the tooth fairy for over 70 years. Congress and President Bush did reduce or eliminate our income taxes, which resulted in increased revenues from individuals and corporations. Congress and President Bush did increase spending for homeland security, for the war against terrorists in Iraq, education and prescription drugs (Medicare). Which of these programs would you reduce or eliminate? Sooner or later the poor, the middle class and the wealthy will pay. When corporations are taxed too much, they raise prices for goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. we buy, move out of the high-tax area or go out of business. - Bill Zelenka Granada Hills Sound of silence I note that President Bush never talks about his own achievements in his ads, choosing only to attack others. This is because Bush's only achievements are in damaging American credibility worldwide while causing deficits that are bankrupting the treasury. Any advertising that does not tout the qualities of its own product and chooses only to attack the qualities of its competitor has no qualities to begin with. If Bush was constrained to only talking about the achievements of his administration, his ads would be 30 seconds of silence. - Peter Davidson Los Angeles Not democracy John Green (Public Forum, Aug. 3) claims, ``If (the Electoral College electoral college, in U.S. government, the body of electors that chooses the president and vice president. The Constitution, in Article 2, Section 1, provides: "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, system) didn't exist, presidential politics would only exist on the two coasts and a few populous interior states.'' In truth, the Electoral College forces candidates to pay disproportionate interest to swing states. Large and small states alike are given short shrift if one party's lead is considered insurmountable. Without the Electoral College, all votes would be considered equal. Under the current system, a voter in Florida will get more attention than one in California, and a vote cast in New Mexico will count more than one cast here or in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . This is not democracy. - David Holland Northridge Mystery explained Re ``It's a mystery'' (Your Opinions, Aug. 4): I figured out the conundrum Bill Rice points out a long time ago. The street crews need to ``practice'' ripping up asphalt and resurfacing it; the Valley is their training ground. Just as each brain surgeon has a first patient, the resurfacing crews must do many practice runs before being ready for prime time. I've seen them rip up a street, resurface re·sur·face v. re·sur·faced, re·sur·fac·ing, re·sur·fac·es v.tr. To cover with a new surface: resurfacing a road; resurfaced the floor. v.intr. it, then rip it up a month or two later just to resurface it again. What other explanation could there be? - James F. Glass Chatsworth |
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