PUBLIC FORUM OTHER VICTIMS.

A vote of gratitude for your July 11 lead article about a federal government program which could benefit some of the former 6,000 nuclear workers involved in Cold War work in the San Fernando Valley. Workers who have been harmed by radioactive or beryllium exposure could be eligible for lifetime medical benefits and $150,000 compensation.

Not only are the workers who were harmed victims of the Cold War nuclear weapons race, but so are the rest of the American people. I mean the hundreds of billions dollars of taxpayers money wasted in the futile competition for superiority in these weapons of mutual annihilation and of the pollution of the earth at the nuclear weapons sites, the cleanup of which will cost untold billions of dollars. Finally and most threatening of all is the vast quantity of radioactive waste piling up around nuclear weapons manufacturing sites.

- Sol Londe, M.D.

Reseda

Salaries and work

The July 8 article on the salaries and work output of our cities employees and management is another example of the hypocrisy in our government. Now, what can we do? I talk to my councilman (Hal Bernson); he will not change any policy. I obviously write letters, I ask other people to support an anti-something, and no one seems to care. What do we do?

Vote them out. Almost impossible, they have so much money and pull. I have come to the conclusion: Politicians should be limited to one term; civil servants should be given a creed, including accountability, to work within; review the going salary of similar nongovernment, average company jobs and reduce their salaries accordingly; reduce payrolls by 10 percent and hire new managers.

- Charles Dusheck

Charsworth

New milestone

Rep. Gary Condit is a new milestone in American jurisprudence in which he now must open his home to inspection, provide DNA sample, records, etc., to show that he is innocent. Innocent of what?

There is no proof that Chandra Levy is a victim of a foul deed or that Condit had anything to do with that mysterious deed. This a result of the liberal media that is fanning the fires of hatred. Why, you ask? Simple, Condit was one of the few of his party to criticize former President Clinton.

- J. Nicassio

Valencia

What goes around

Rep. Gary Condit voted to impeach President Bill Clinton for lying under oath in a sex case. Does this sound familiar, Condit? Now the question is, should you resign or be impeached?

- Jerry Pennington

Van Nuys

Team mascots

So, the bozos at Los Angeles Unified School District spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to eradicate the image of Chief Pontiac and the word ``Braves'' from Birmingham High School because it offended one native American?

How about the ``man with a gun'' logo used by Canoga Park High? That's OK in light of the school shootings? Parents should be outraged. Where are the LAUSD micromanagers now? How about our beloved City Council? Why didn't they go after the Atlanta Braves? They seem to have their noses in everybody's business instead of taking care of business.

- Jim Rowe

Chatsworth

Secession vote

Isn't it unusual that cities like St. Louis, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Detroit do not have secession movements like we have here? These unfortunate cities are losing population, business and investment while Los Angeles is world-famous, wealthy and popular, and yet we have groups like the unfortunate Valley VOTE.

With the new mayor already saying that he opposes secession, you also find the increasingly politically powerful Latino community, organized labor and the Democratic Party doing the same. If it ever reaches a vote, which I doubt, who, in his right mind, expects the great majority of non- Valley voters to vote for the loss of one-third of their city? Human nature and selfishness will not allow it.

- John F. Mendez

Los Angeles

Cell phone driving

Some politicians have opened their ears to the concerns of their constituencies. Too bad it's not happening here in California. A law banning the use of cell phones while driving is waiting to be signed in New York. It's about time people realize that yakking on the phone while driving can be hazardous.

It's already bad enough to listen to these same gabbers off the road in public places. I know there's a right brain and a left brain, but the people with no brains are usually the ones driving while on their wireless pacifiers. It's time to teach the no-brainers a lesson. And, no, I don't own a cell phone, nor will I.

- Michael Foxen

Canoga Park

California suckers

I just returned from New Orleans, where the price per gallon of gasoline at all the major oil companies was $1.27 to $1.30 and the most expensive premium gas was not over $1.77 a gallon. Why are the same companies charging 40 cents and more per gallon in Los Angeles? The rip-off isn't just with the energy utilities. Where's our new mayor? What's the governor doing? The rest of the country is laughing at us suckers in California.

- Stephen Lord

Sherman Oaks

Chandler transit line

Religious leaders, Chandler locals and all Valley residents should realize the fact that there will be a transit corridor on the multimillion-dollar, paid-for railroad right of way. But what type of transit? All groups should join together and fight the noisy, third-world busway idea of Richard Riordan. The right thing to do is build a modern, clean, nonpolluting, quiet, light-rail system like the type which are being built by first-class cities throughout Europe.

A busway is the worst possible use for this extremely valuable right of way. A light-rail system will cost a little more but will increase property values and be far more efficient in the long term. Also, it will draw new passengers who would never think of riding a smelly bus.

- Lloyd A. Salkeld

Granada Hills

Long gone days

Regarding how many American Flags R.L. Mikesell saw being displayed on the Fourth of July in the Valley: According to a CNN survey of American households, only 19 percent owned American flags. Now if every one of these flag owners would display their flags, that would be nice, but they don't.

I am 59 years old and grew up in New Jersey. As a young man, a majority of homes, businesses and government buildings would display the American flag on all legal holidays. Some of us even flew our flag 365 days a year during the Vietnam War days. Those days are long gone. Maybe the federal government should issue American flags when people pay their income tax.

- Joel F. Pawlowski

Van Nuys

Blue-collar mind

Maureen Dowd's July 6 column left me scratching my head. The story, ``W's easy going gone,'' is a sarcastic and snide attempt at inside Washington humor. She superciliously pokes fun at President Bush's on- camera public stiffness. Who cares? So what? She did the same thing to Bill Clinton, for different reasons.

Whomever she picks on, it's always a bunch of claptrap. I guess it's supposed to be chic to read her, but frankly I find most of her columns almost incoherent. Her writing comes across as catty, mean gossip that has absolutely no substance. How she became popular boggles this blue-collar mind.

- Richard F. Westfall

West Hills