PUBLIC FORUM.

Way too suspicious

Re ``State to join ballot probe'' (March 17):

The City Clerk tampering with the ballots pre-emptively seems way too suspicious to me. It begs the question, ``why did he not give the machines a chance first?'' and then highlight the problem ballots with proper oversight.

I don't understand how he can be allowed to get away with this type of action. I truly wonder how honest our elections have been since the 2000 presidential election. The word apathy is used a lot lately, but if the sanctity of the election process is tampered with, what does it matter how many vote? The people need to believe in the sanctity of the election process, or this ``apathy'' might only get worse.

- Mark Armer

Chatsworth

Ballot probe

Re ``State to join ballot probe'' (March 17):

Please help me understand ... A bunch of ``volunteers'' under the directions of an appointee of Mayor James Hahn have been marking up ballots, and I am expected to believe that everything is on the up and up. Aw, come on now.

- Hubert C. Bachtel

North Hills

Alternatives

Re ``Push to open Arctic to oil drilling advances'' (march 17):

Someone should tell George Bush and the Republican Congress that instead of drilling for oil in the Alaskan Wildlife Preserve, they should have the automobile makers phase out those monstrous, gas-guzzling SUVs and Hummers that people can't seem to do without, and concentrate instead on developing more and better hybrid vehicles.

- Sue Kent

West Hills

Family values 

Re ``Push to open Arctic to oil drilling advances'' (march 17):

OK, let me see if I got this straight: The president, whose daddy is a Texas oilman, whose family profits from oil, whose campaign funds drip of oil, is concerned about the effect of rising oil prices on the American family ... uh, yeah, right.

Is that swamp land still for sale?

- David Navarro

Encino

Parents who care

Re ``Valley schools slipping'' (March 16):

When you're already on the bottom of the ladder, what do you slip into, slop? And our illustrious mayoral candidates have promised more money. Heard that one before? There is no more money.

Don't give the schools money. Don't give them new teachers. Give them parents who care, because far too many do not at all, and give schools back the English language, which has disappeared even from the playground. Ten years minimum without hordes of more illegals, probably 20, before there is any noticeable headway in student scores.

- Paul Vaughn 

Van Nuys

The progressive model

Re ``Ailing test scores spell renewal trouble'' (March 5):

As a parent of a kindergartner at Valley Community Charter School, I appreciated your recent article. Unfortunately, the article does not explain that what makes VCCS different is that all academic subjects are taught integrally within the context of social-studies themes.

Yes, our standardized test scores are a bit lower than the district average, not because the students are learning less at VCCS, but because we have not focused exclusively on test preparation like so many other schools are now doing. VCCS should be given the chance to raise its test scores while continuing to follow the progressive model that makes it the incredible place that it is.

- Susan Friedman

Sherman Oaks

Prosecute father

Re ``Jesse James Hollywood: Life on the run'' (March 11):

Why is it that today's society keeps rewarding individuals for illegal and/or unacceptable behavior? I see it every day and it is frightening.

Jesse James Hollywood's father should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, for not only harboring a criminal from justice, but aiding him as well by supporting him financially.

- Donna Smith 

Valley Village

Gun bans

Re ``Valley link in weapons sales'' (March 16):

I would like to give the state and federal officials a huge bravo for going after the right target and removing illegal weapons from our streets. This is a great example that criminals do not concern themselves with gun bans and laws. The California Assault Weapons Ban that anti-gun forces backed did nothing to stop these criminals; good old police detective work did.

Anti-gun forces can pass all the guns bans they want, but when a person wants to commit a crime, nothing will stop them. Just ask Brian Nichols, who was able to get the gun of a female police officer and kill four people. The problem is not guns but the state and federal governments not enforcing the laws we have and releasing criminals early.

- Jeff Kalvin

Northridge

Unique habitat

Re ``Endangered toad costs'' (Your Opinions, March 13):

The letter ridiculing the cost of saving a toad expresses what environmentalists face every day. Stating that extinction is inevitable ignores the fact that the current rate of extinctions is now higher than at any time since the holocaust that wiped out the dinosaurs. And these extinctions are directly due to human interference.

It is not the loss of a single species that bothers me - it is the loss of the entire unique habitat that supports it. The toad is endangered because man has already destroyed 95 percent of its original habitat and covets the rest for houses and shopping centers that could be located elsewhere. Spending any amount of money to save a piece of this diverse but limited planet is worthwhile.

- Kris Ohlenkamp

North Hills

Beauty of America

Re ``At the valley where the U.S. was forged'' (March 13):

Immigrants don't know all the trouble our Founding Fathers went through to get us where we are now. It's not them being ignorant; it's just the mere fact that the past of America's history doesn't come alive to them.

I think many teachers with classes that have immigrants in them should be like Dave Thompsom, and take all their students to see the beauty of America's history. People who weren't born on this soil won't know its struggles and beauty unless they see it from our perspective, and I think going to Valley Forge and to see the Constitution helps. Coming from immigrant roots, I would enjoy that experience. It's an eye-opener and discovery.

- Norma S. Ramires

North HIlls

Tsunami aid continues

Re ``Students unite to support victims of tsunami'' (March 15):

It's good to know that no matter how long ago the tsunami disaster may have been, people are still trying to do their best to help those who lost it all. Think about the children; many of them lost their homes and parents, and the school buildings themselves. Others trying to fill them with hope by sending them backpacks filled with school items are very good and shall be greatly appreciated. Keep on making those children happy.

- Adriana Solis

Panorama City

At the same time

Re ``People of faith'' (Your Opinions, March 9):

The Ten Commandments and the Bible were really the first law of the land. I have no problem with it being displayed. It seems appropriate.

However, I do take exception to the pejorative: ``shallowness of `free thinkers.''' God's word and the Bible and Jesus were the same things you were preaching when you committed genocide on the American Indian.

- Kimberly Burke

Burbank