PUBLIC FORUM.

Hahn will win

Re ``Hahn working to stay cool in cross-fire'' (Feb. 14):

This article is a clear depiction as to why James Hahn will win this upcoming election. All four candidates attack the guy without clearly stating what they will do. He remains stone-faced, ``clueless'' some might say, but he appears unfazed and more in control than his opponents, Richard Alarcon, Bob Hertzberg, Bernard Parks and especially Antonio Villaraigosa, should take serious note if they really want to be mayor.

- Jerard Wright

Los Angeles 

What about character?

Re ``Hertzberg for mayor'' (Editorial, Feb. 13):

Bob Hertzberg touts a platform of family values, and yet he's not only had two divorces, but on a salary of over a million dollars a year, he sought to cut his child support, and he has sued his own father for punitive damages. Further, Hertzberg is linked, as is Mayor Hahn, to Fleishman-Hillard.

The only thing I've come away with in reading about Bob Hertzberg the last several weeks is that he is horrifically ambitious. What about his character? As an Angeleno, I can tell you that what is most important to me is knowing that whoever is running our great city for the next four years is a person of decency and honor and one who cherishes family and friends over accomplishments.

- Tonja Abel

Los Feliz

Paying for it

Re ``Do the time'' (Editorial, Feb. 15):

I think it's sad that Sheriff Lee Bacca may have had the money all along to avoid early release of inmates but might have used the overcrowding as an excuse to raise taxes. Sounds like extortion to me. We also watched as a vote failed to put a tax increase on the ballot in Los Angeles.

Now after years of pay raises, increased retirement benefits and earlier retirement, it is necessary to pay for it all. What better way to do it than by hiring more people into the system to pay into the retirement funds. Just like a pyramid scheme. The question is, what do you do when the new hires are ready for retirement? Maybe you just raise the trash pickup fee 150 percent.

- Mike Hoblinski

Burbank

Past haunts us

Re ``New curbs on police proposed'' (Feb. 12):

The officers of today are paying for the mistakes perpetrated on black America by those who came before us. In earlier times, Devon Brown would have been shot long before backing into Officer Steven Garcia. These community leaders choose to apply the Devon Brown incident to a period long past.

Sadly, the Los Angeles Police Department is also to blame for its failure here. The department is terrible at educating the public as to our tactics and motives. We need to inform more of the public through public service announcements, or by inviting more of the average citizenry to take part in ride-alongs. The LAPD has changed. It's these so-called self-appointed leaders from a bygone era who refuse to.

- Todd Holmberg

Castaic

Jump out of the way

Re ``New curbs on police proposed'' (Feb. 12):

Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton's actions to revise the department's policy banning his officers from firing at moving vehicles has me stunned and outraged. So when someone is attempting to injure or kill an officer using a car as a weapon, I guess the chief expects his officers to simply jump out of the way of that speeding car. What next?

Will Bratton's next policy revision prohibit his officers from firing at a suspect who has a loaded gun pointed at them, and instead the officers will be expected to jump out of the way of a speeding bullet?

- Dawn Williams

Thousand Oaks 

But profitable

Re ``Flu shots no lifesaver for seniors?'' (Feb. 15):

They have, however, had one major benefit. They have made tons of money for the drug industry.

- Ronald Presson

North Hollywood

Dog fights

Re ``Blood sport'' (Feb. 15):

It is about time that the public is being educated about dog fighting. This animal abuse/cruelty has been going on for too many years. After reading your article in the newspaper it gives me hope that in the near future that there will be a crackdown on these abusers and maybe one day dog fighting will no longer exist.

- Tia Triplett

Los Angeles

Nothing's changed 

Re ``What ails California?'' (Viewpoint, Feb. 13):

Is Paul Koretz really a member of the California Legislature? Further proof that nothing has changed. Prior to enactment of Proposition 13, the various levels of state government overloaded home and property owners with taxes, taxes and more taxes. Home owners were losing their homes as taxes often exceeded mortgage payments.

Alleging that Howard Jarvis' motive was some diabolical effort to bring down state and local government is absurd. Proposition 13 was a movement by the people to try to bring some degree of fiscal sanity to our legislators. Obviously the people have failed. Legislators are still trying to load home and property owners with more taxes, plus financing every new bond issue that comes along.

- Lee Herridge

Encino

Going to the feds

Re ``Feds picking California's pockets'' (Feb. 12):

If the federal government was using California's rich tax revenue to help the less fortunate states, that would be wonderful. But the fact is California's tax revenue, going to the federal government, is not going to other states, but rather overseas to fund a rich man's war of choice in Iraq, funding massive payments to large fortune 500 companies to artificially boost the stock market so President George W. Bush can look good.

Unfortunately this comes at the expense of California's schools and hospitals.

- Art Haendiges

Topanga

Their legal duty

It's outrageous that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger summarily fired four of his appointees to the State Teachers Retirement Board. After reviewing all the available evidence, these appointees took a courageous stand in joining others on the board in concluding that moving new community college and K-12 faculty to ``defined contribution'' plans would be detrimental to the retirement system and member benefits.

The four were punished for performing their legal duty: to take any action necessary to ensure that members and beneficiaries receive monthly payments. The governor is putting all current and future appointees in a legally untenable situation if he plans to force them to follow his directions.

- Deirdre Collins

Glendale

Bush mouthpiece

Re ``Rice heralds new diplomatic generation'' (Their Opinions, Feb. 14):

This article about Condoleezza Rice is propaganda written by National Review editor Rich Lowry. It states how the world will see Rice as a symbol of America's freedom, but I believe she is a symbol of President Bush's fascist ``Do as I say'' policy.

Rice will not support her own beliefs because she is not allowed to. Lowry insults Secretary Colin Powell for speaking his mind and being honest with real journalists, unlike himself. Slandering heroes, who are also true patriots, seems to be a part of the Republican propaganda scheme. Karl Rove should be proud.

- David Arms

Pasadena

Expanses of poppies

Re ``Poppies from heaven'' (FEb. 15):

Like the California poppy, I'm a native of the San Fernando Valley. I've long missed the beautiful expanses of orange flowers so common in my youth. Thus your story about Rome Dodson, Lynn McLaughlin and the Sylmar Hang Gliding club dropping poppy seeds from the air was a delight.

As a Sylmar resident, I can once again look forward to seeing those beautiful fields of blooming poppies. My special thanks to this generous, thoughtful group.

- Loretta Kemsley

Sylmar