PUBLIC FORUM CORPORATE WELFARE.

Re ``OK, ban Wal-Mart, so where's our $482?'' (Their Opinions, Jan. 26):

Ted Balakar has totally missed the mark in his short-sighted column about the city of Los Angeles' proposed ordinance to require that Wal-Mart pay a livable wage and provide health benefits to its workers in the city.

Sure, shoppers may save a penny or two on a head of lettuce, but we pay for it dearly in higher taxes when Wal-Mart ``associates'' end up living on food stamps and taxpayer-funded health care. Is it any wonder that, with employers like Wal-Mart, we're precariously close to a taxpayer revolt? I, for one, am glad that our city leaders are taking a stand in favor of our communities and our hard-earned tax dollars. It's time to end corporate welfare.

- Barbara Maynard

Los Angeles 

Little faith left

Rich Lowry concludes that ``Kerry's his own worst competitor'' (Their Opinions, Jan. 26). Maybe so, but if the the election were held today, Kerry would beat George Bush, according to a Newsweek poll. And over half of those polled do not want to see Bush re-elected. But here's the odd thing - more than three quarters of those same people think Bush would win anyway.

That there is that little faith in our democracy is horrid - but understandable - after the election debacle of 2000. There are a number of reasons why this and other dubious elections' results came to be, including using questionable voting machines - so much so that 17 California counties recently placed the machines' manufacturers under investigation. All this does not bode well for an honest election 2004, regardless of who competes in it.

- Rick Kellis

Woodland Hills

Making us safer

Re ``Corrections needed'' (Jan. 26):

At long last, an editorial about the deplorable state of California's prison system. We need to hear more about how $5.3 billion with $500 million extra for overtime this year is being spent by California Department of Corrections to make us safer.

- Marge Driscoll

Woodland Hills

O'Reilly is ludicrous

In his Jan. 25 column, Bill O'Reilly refers to ``Big-spending secularists like (Ted) Kennedy.'' The bias of this man O'Reilly is ludicrous considering that the president he so zealously promotes has spent us into enormous deficits far beyond anything that any Democratic president has ever done, and these deficits threaten to continue at an alarming rate, for as long as the Bush presidency continues.

- Leonard Sacks

Granada Hills

It was cold

Re ``Unseasonably warm'' (Your Opinions, Jan. 23):

I was working at the Veteran's Hospital the night of the (1994) earthquake and believe me, it was cold. Most of my patients had to have blankets and lay out on the cold grass while it was still shaking. Ask the motorcycle cop that came to check on us while he was on patrol.

- Elias Avalos

Lancaster

What quality of life?

The city of Los Angeles is neglecting the San Fernando Valley. Our sidewalks are not repaired, damaged by large tree roots (responsibility of street maintenance). Scavengers are looting the recycle bins while the police drive by and wave to them (responsibility of the Los Angeles Police Department).

Our alleys are a mess - mattresses, tires, sofas and other items are just dumped in them (responsibility of the Sanitation Department). We have poor street lighting; the street lights are 50 years old and have never been updated. Insulation of power lines is severely damaged from aging (responsibility of Department of Water and Power). The Neighborhood Watch communities are complaining but get no response.

- Eugene Kert

Arleta

Saw a street sweeper

Recently, I saw (for the first time in years) a sweeper coming down my street. Unfortunately, it happened on trash day. With parked cars and trash bins out, this sweeper was able to clean a few feet every block or so.

What City Hall genius scheduled this? Makes one wonder if it was another union scam to get out of actually working.

- Brian Peterson

Valley Village

Parking in alleys

I am now a senior citizen, living on a fixed income, who has lived in L.A. since 1952 - moving to the Valley in 1959. I have a friend who lives on Saticoy Street, whom I have visited for most Saturdays for the past three years. Saticoy is a busy street, so I have been parking in the alley, and I am not the only one.

Last Saturday I received a ticket for $40 for ``Standing in the Alley.'' There are no ``No Parking'' signs. I called the Traffic Department and all they said was the law says you can't park in the alley and they don't have to post signs. In over 50 years, I have never heard of this law, and I'm sure most others haven't either. Is this some archaic law that they found so they could make a few bucks?

- Joseph McMillin

West Hills

Tiny little ice packs

Re ``Rats with hangovers'' (Jan. 20):

The brief article states that a new study by researchers experimenting with rats founds that hangovers with people get worse with age. Now there's a startling revelation.

I think man found that out several thousand years ago when he first produced beer and wine. Instead of subjecting rats to hangovers, why didn't these ``researchers'' just go into their local bars and poll the patrons to get the same results? While researching, they could have sat back and enjoyed a beer and hot wings. I wonder if these same ``researchers'' gave the rats tiny little ice packs and aspirin with a couple of drops of a Bloody Mary to alleviate their malady.

- Louis Thompson

Woodland Hills

Not Judaic custom

Re ``Gibson's 'Christ''' (Your Opinions, Jan. 27):

Regarding the letter by Jack Brukman discussing the Jewishness of Jesus Christ, I could not agree more. How quickly people forget that Christ was not only born a Jew, lived as a Jew and died as as Jew, but that he was also a rabbi.

We Jews have lived long enough with the misinformation that we exchanged his life for that of a common thief, Barrabas, pursuant to an alleged custom at the time during Passover. Please, let everyone know that there never existed in Judaism any such custom. The crucifying of Christ was purely a Roman decision based on the politics of the time. It's time to set the record straight.

- Jason Miranda-Levi

Northridge

Tracking arms sales

I am concerned over the National Rifle Association's persistent lobbying efforts. While I support every citizen's constitutional right to own a gun, I don't understand why the NRA is so adamantly against any regulations in order to track the sale of arms and prevent violent crimes.

If, as the NRA claims, these firearms are to be used for safe and legal activities, why then should the NRA fear allowing background checks to be kept for 90 days or for a federal ballistic fingerprinting database to be created? I think the NRA would do itself a greater service by allowing regulations to be imposed so as to weed out the criminals who give it a bad name. Thereafter, they'd be free to go about their constitutionally protected day.

- David Moren

Woodland Hills

How's that help?

That was a very nice gesture by the Longshoremen's Union to release $1 million from their reserves to pay for the health premiums of the grocery strikers for a month. Just one problem though. How does that help the striker buy food, pay the bills or catch the bus to the picket line?

That illustrates the mundane thought process of the typical union puppet - they would rather have paid health insurance instead of a job or spending money. The liberals and their comrades in the media have so overblown health care that these poor fools on strike have been indoctrinated to believe that employer-paid health benefits are far more important than a job or money in hand. It's no wonder why employers welcome a willing and grateful working immigrant force.

- Bob Tanabe

La Canada