PUBLIC FORUM FREE RIDE.

In reading the Daily News' May 23 editorial regarding redevelopment zones, I had to stop and ask why? Why do city leaders allow the redevelopment zone to hoard such large amounts of tax dollars? What is the point of the city helping to establish a redevelopment zone if their tax monies are not earmarked to help the city and county in return?

Will it be the commercial entities and their developers who will flourish while the rest of the city/county sits with no money for school improvement, increasing law enforcement personnel, increasing Los Angeles Fire Department improvements, improving the city infrastructure? Anyone else wonder? It seems like a free ride for ``City Hall'' developers at the expense of the taxpaying citizens.

- J. Ming

Granada Hills

Hahn's doomed

Mayor James Hahn is at the end of his political career. Forget Gov. Hahn, Sen. Hahn, even Dog Catcher Hahn. He stands between a rock and a hard place that will make him the first one-term mayor in over 60 years. If he allows Valley secession, he loses the voting block that made him mayor.

If he successfully sabotages the movement, he will outrage that voting block. I'm sure there will be a cushy job waiting with the ``downtown fat cats,'' but, politically speaking, he's a candle burning at the end of its wick.

- Michael Guetzow

Woodland Hills

Affordable housing fund

Mayor Hahn set aside $42 million this year as the first part of what he hopes will grow to a $100 million affordable-housing trust fund. Do we want this ``housing'' in our neighborhoods?

It is bad enough paying taxes to support those who do not work; we should not have to live near them also.

- Eric Benton

Northridge

Be a mayor

Mayor Hahn's trying to raise $5 million to campaign against secession. That is exactly why we want are own city. Hahn and other L.A. mayors only care about their political careers. Stop campaigning and work on fixing the city, which you were elected to do. Be a mayor, not a campaigner.

- Ross A. Orcutt

Tujunga

Political monuments

Re ``Monumental egos'' (Editorial, May 26):

Congratulations on setting the record straight about ego-driven politicians erecting monuments to themselves at taxpayers' expense. On every government building it should simply say: ``Dedicated to the generosity of the taxpayer.''

- Robert L. Rosebrock

Brentwood

Not a free team

Recent articles describe a new NFL stadium requiring no city money. The fine print shows that all the taxes paid by the stadium, property taxes, sales taxes and ticket taxes will go to pay the debts of the stadium owners. All business activities require municipal support - police, fire, traffic, etc. Virtually every business pays taxes to the city's general fund. These tax receipts are sometimes less, and sometimes more, than the cost of providing municipal services to the business.

While all other businesses are paying taxes to the city, the stadium and NFL team will apparently enjoy a free ride. The cost of providing municipal services will be borne not by the stadium, but by city taxpayers in general.

An NFL team may indeed stimulate our economy. It may indeed be ``worth it.'' There are other cities willing to pay far more than Los Angeles to land an NFL team. So a new team might be a good deal but the proponents should not insult our intelligence by telling us that we are getting a team for free.

- Brad Sherman 

Member of Congress

No excuse

Re ``Judge criticizes denial of parole'' (May 24):

Leslie Van Houten's attorney doesn't get it. This is still the same woman who helped murder two innocent people in 1969. We can only hope that Van Houten is now old enough that the numerous parole denials has conveyed to her, and to anyone else paying attention to this case, that youth and drug use are no excuse for murdering innocent people. She killed those people forever, she should stay in prison forever. Let's pray the judge gets the message.

- Jennifer Luz-Olson

Castaic

That's our problem

Re ``Lockyer responds'' (Public Forum, May 21):

Attorney General Bill Lockyer states there's a ``mistaken conclusion that the Attorney General's Office cannot conduct an independent investigation, because the governor and I are both Democrats, or we have both served state government 20 years.'' Twenty years? That's our problem.

Lockyer states that the Daily News' software editorial ``does a disservice to the dedicated prosecutors in my office.'' They are one and the same, exactly like Lockyer. Lockyer states ``Your assertion ignores the independent constitutional responsibilities of the attorney general.'' Constitutional responsibilities? Your party destroys our Constitution and Second Amendment - bits at a time.

- Joseph R. Johnson

Acton

Dead give-away

After the Sept. 11 disaster, President George W. Bush's almost instantaneous responsive rhetoric blaming Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaida organization for the attacks should have been a dead giveaway that he and his administration knew more than we lay people and the media were aware of.

- Adrian Dembiczak

Los Angeles

Clinton and Gore knew

I can't imagine President George W. Bush, knowing full well of an impending attack, doing nothing about it. Unfortunately, he will have to endure the slings and arrows just as Franklin Roosevelt's legacy has done since Pearl Harbor.

How was Bush supposed to know the mind of fanatics? Together, Bill Clinton and Al Gore were pathetic in doing anything about bin Laden. Gore asked Oliver North in 1985 who he feared most and in reply North said bin Laden. The Clinton-Gore administration had plenty of time, reasons and resources to go after bin Laden. Democrats are now only trying to smear Bush so they can ultimately win in two years and return back to the fallacy of a second Camelot.

- Melissa Silver

Simi Valley 

Motorists' problems

Tom Raidt correctly pointed out some of the problems pedestrians face just walking through the community (Public Forum, May 16). The motorists, however, have their own set of problems: walkers who dart into the street because there is a crosswalk (or not) and they are protected by law. Or those who cross streets as if the world should stop because they are not in a hurry. Or those areas where lots of people cross in uncontrolled crosswalks and they just string out and keep coming regardless of how many vehicles are waiting.

And watch out for those mothers who, with child by the hand, violate all the pedestrian rules and teach the child well on how to be irresponsible. Perhaps a mandated driver/pedestrian class for all citizens would help, but I doubt it.

- Bill Nicoll

Glendale

Bring back football

May 20 was the six-month anniversary of the sudden, seven-week rush to ax football at California State University, Northridge. That is a date thousands of high school athletes need to remember, especially mothers, fathers and other family members whose lives have been improved by team sports in schools.

In 1997, four Olympic sports were quickly destroyed at CSUN. They quickly restarted because people in the Valley demanded justice and common sense. Football will restart at CSUN when Valley people and others paying taxes for sports in our schools tell their elected politicians they want it because it inspires kids to get an education and good jobs.

- Duke Russell

Committee to Quickly Restart CSUN Football