PUBLIC FORUM WHO PAYS?Re ``America's War on Poverty'' by Al Sheahen (Opinion, Dec. 19): The country will only be deeper in debt with Al Sheahen's idea or else a few responsible people will be taxed so others can take it easy. In 1929 when my dad died at 47 years old and left my mother with five little kids to raise, her strategy was ``you don't buy anything unless you absolutely need it and if you don't have the money to pay for it now, you don't buy it. We drove horses and a buggy until she had enough money to buy a Ford in 1934 for $830 cash. Now all we hear is buy it on credit, pay later, consolidate your bills and borrow money on your home, etc. Sheahen's plan would only find more people with their hands out, wanting something for nothing. - Mary L. Clark Tujunga Role-model Rubin I contravene con·tra·vene tr.v. con·tra·vened, con·tra·ven·ing, con·tra·venes 1. To act or be counter to; violate: contravene a direct order. 2. with Joseph Honig's assertion of Irv Rubin Irv Rubin (April 12, 1945 – November 13, 2002) was chairman of the militant Jewish Defense League from 1985 to 2002. Rubin was born in Canada, but after experiencing widespread anti-Semitism in his home city of Montreal, he and his parents and sister moved to the neighborhood being a vigilante vigilante n. someone who takes the law into his/her own hands by trying and/or punishing another person without any legal authority. In the 1800s groups of vigilantes dispensed "frontier justice" by holding trials of accused horse-thieves, rustlers and shooters, and (``Never a hero'' - Viewpoint, Dec. 16). Being a non-Jew growing up in the Valley in the early 1980s, I always admired Rubin, kind of like a cuddly gorilla, butting heads with the likes of Tom Metzger Tom Metzger (born April 1938) is the founder of the White Aryan Resistance. Metzger has been incarcerated in Los Angeles County, California and Toronto, Canada, and has been involved in several government inquiries and lawsuits. of the White Aryan Resistance The White Aryan Resistance is a neo-Nazi white supremacist organization founded and led by former Ku Klux Klan leader Tom Metzger. It is based in California, USA and incorporated as a business. , the KKK, Abdu-Nidal (the past bin Laden) or teaching Jewish kids firearms skill on a range. If Irv Rubin made some Jewish kid go to sleep at night knowing someone cared or in some whimsical way made us feel safe, then that is a good thing, altruism at its best. Irv's conduct was banter and fun. No one ever got hurt and I believe him to be a role model. I hope the U.S. attorney will go easy on the California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an , graduate and longtime Valley resident. We should support him - he supported us. It's either the Jewish Defense League The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a militant Jewish organization whose stated goal is to protect Jews from anti-Semitism.[1] Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York City in 1968, its self-described purpose was to protect Hasidic Jews from harassment in Brooklyn, and to or the Police Protective League. It's your choice. - Ron Nicoll Glendale Causes of terrorism Since the tragic events of Sept. 11, I've heard from various sources that American foreign policy is the root cause of the attacks. I am puzzled by any logic that could justify the deaths of thousands because of U.S. foreign policy. I believe there are three major components to the problem: Israel, the governments of the Middle East and the wealth of the West. U.S. support of Israel will make no difference in whether the Palestinians have a land of their own. The Islamic world will never accept our nor anyone's advocacy of Israel's existence. The governments of the Middle East are repressive, undemocratic and seem to care little for their people. Life under these governments provides little or no opportunities for the self-made business leaders so common in the West. Finally, the U.S. is constantly criticized in the press of these governments for its apparent desire for materialistic goals. Our wants, our needs, our goals, they claim, are disruptive and in opposition to Islam. Thus, it is an easy step to blame the wealthy and greedy Western cultures as a reason to destroy us and to save the Islamic peoples. - Lorin Wainwood Newbury Park Encino traffic plan It is ironic and fundamentally unfair that the Department of Transportation is pursuing plans to restrict traffic flow on public roads. Since drivers' gasoline tax Noun 1. gasoline tax - a tax on every gallon of gasoline sold excise, excise tax - a tax that is measured by the amount of business done (not on property or income from real estate) monies fund these roads, all drivers should be able to use them. Our transportation funds are supposed to be used to improve traffic flow, not to harm it. The people of Encino have legitimate concerns about safety on Encino's roads, but the proposed traffic-calming scheme is a nonsolution. The only reason for commuters to cut through residential Encino in the first place is to avoid the severe traffic congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. on the Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. and Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. . We cannot just add extra stoplights, tinker with their timing, prohibit turning into neighborhoods, and expect this problem to disappear. If there is a problem with traffic flow on the main roads, then the main roads need to be fixed or supplemented with new ones. At this point, the Ventura Freeway and Ventura Boulevard are so overburdened that it is time to build a new highway to supplement them. - Michael P. Pratt Northridge Ahmanson wastewater The Tapia Water Reclamation Facility is slated to help with wastewater treatment for Ahmanson Ranch. Our mandate as a public utility is to provide services to approved development. We feel it is important for your readers to have an accurate picture of how Tapia does - and does not - impact Malibu Creek Malibu Creek is a year-round stream in western Los Angeles County, California. It drains the southern Simi Hills and the westernmost San Fernando Valley, flows south through the Santa Monica Mountains, and enters Santa Monica Bay at Malibu Lagoon, in Malibu. . Foremost is the high quality of water from Tapia. While wastewater from Ahmanson would be sent to Tapia, the resulting recycled water is so extensively treated it nearly meets drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. standards. Tapia water is the cleanest in Malibu Creek. The creek carries the effect of hundreds of square miles of urban runoff, animals along the banks, swimmers and other recreationists. Scientific studies and ongoing testing show Tapia's water actually dilutes pollution in the creek, when it is discharged during the permitted 5-month winter period. - Jim E. Colbaugh General manager Las Virgenes Municipal Water District Promises, promises It is clear that Washington Mutual “WaMu” redirects here. For the Washington, DC radio station, see WAMU. Washington Mutual (or WaMu; NYSE: WM) is the United States' largest savings and loan association. Bank has broken its promise to Heal the Bay Heal the Bay is a U.S. environmental advocacy non-profit organization based in Santa Monica, California. Heal the Bay is dedicated to protecting California's Santa Monica Bay, a region of the Pacific coast encompassed by Malibu's Point Dume on the north and the Palos Verdes and residents of 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, . Washington Mutual will seemingly promise anything as long as it doesn't have to make it legally binding. Your article regarding water-quality issues at Ahmanson Ranch paints a picture of a developer so desperate to get its Ahmanson Ranch development approved that it submits studies and official letters only when pressed and then changes its tune on specifics of the plan, hoping no one will remember their earlier promises of a development that would never discharge polluted runoff into Malibu Creek. The only way this developer will be reined in and made accountable is for a new, current and complete environmental impact report to be conducted on the Ahmanson Ranch project. A letter or report here or there isn't going to cut it. We need a public and legally binding review of this project. - Paul and Eve Wagner West Hills Buyer beware One of the worst farces perpetrated on the American consumer by retailers is the so-called ``sale'' of 10 percent off, 50 percent off, 70 percent off, etc. ... . Off of what?! There is no fair-traded price that gives an honestly stated price tag on any article. So the retailer has the option of putting any so-called retail price on his article and then marking it down so consumers think they are getting a bargain. Of course there is no law that makes the retailer adhere to a fixed price and there are no price controls in our democracy. It amounts to ``caveat emptor'' (buyer beware). So don't be fooled by the so-called 70 percent-discount bargains. - Earl Horwitz North Hills Fix CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge mistake Re ``Feeding Frenzy at CSUN'' (Dec. 6): The blood in the water is that of 80 football players, plus coaches and female trainers and cheerleaders Notable cheerleaders
UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX and California. A rushing mistake was made by CSUN President Jolene Koester in a ``shocking seven-week'' frenzy to throw students into chaotic, shark-infested waters where many will not survive in their frantic search for schools hundreds of miles away from their families and friends. Allowing the kids and coaches no reasonable time in October-November to save football was wrong from the start. We all make mistakes. Why should kids at CSUN have to suffer again? (In 1997 four Olympic sports were axed without warning but quickly returned by a previous president who admitted her mistake.) Koester should rescind her hasty decree. - Duke Russell Hollywood CAPTION(S): box Box: no caption (Names of letter writers) |
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