PUBLIC FORUM.

Not that distracted

Re ``Councilwoman held in gang bust'' (July 15):

I'm sorry that Burbank Councilwoman Stacey Murphy is too embarrassed to attend council meetings, blaming her legal ``distractions.'' But I see she's not too embarrassed to continue taking her $1,800 monthly salary!

- Dolores Long

Van Nuys

Murphy must go

Re ``Councilwoman held in gang bust'' (July 15):

I never cease to be amazed by the arrogance of elected officials. When caught doing wrong, they do everything they can to stay in office. It's as if the world might come to a stop if they aren't there. Such is the case of Burbank Councilwoman Stacey Murphy.

Murphy says she intends to serve out the term that the voters elected her to. Has she lost all touch with reality? She has broken the public's trust. She's been accused of involvement with the providing of guns for cocaine to members of the street gang responsible for the killing of two police officers.

Her credibility and her effectiveness as a council member are nonexistent. Defending herself should leave her no time to deal with the public's business. Stacey Murphy should do the right thing and resign now.

- Stan Lynch

Burbank

Above the law?

Re ``CHP should get citation for policing itself'' (July 17):

When California Highway Patrol Deputy Chief Gary Dominguez can get away with no punishment for a DUI arrest, it means that the statements ``no man is above the law'' and ``those in the profession of 'protecting and serving' us are held to a higher standard for misconduct'' are both false and misleading.

In addition, The Sacramento Bee's revelation that 80 percent of the CHP chiefs file for workers' compensation within two years of retiring is a sickening example of cronyism in our state capital being out of control.

- Everett P. Harrington

Glendale

Old wounds

Re ``Workers' comp reforms succeed, but leave some in a world of hurt'' (July 18):

This article opened some old wounds. I suffered a knee injury while working as a bicycle courier in 1976. My battle to get the necessary treatment covered by the State Compensation Insurance Fund led to a 10-year legal battle.

Their ``deny and delay'' tactics are used to wear down a claimant and put them in such a tough financial and psychological position that they are willing to settle the claim for much less than the injury will cost them over the course of their lives.

It saddens me to read that the highly touted reform has not changed these abuses. This rogue bureaucracy with its bad-faith negotiating practices must be brought under control. There is absolutely no justification for making people with legitimate workplace injuries suffer even more.

- Tom Wendell

Woodland Hills

Spared sorrow

Re ``In line of fire'' (Our Opinions, July 15):

LAPD Chief William Bratton's shameful exculpatory statements fly in the face of reason and all the evidence. The police aggravated the situation with irresponsible and indiscriminate firepower.

This resulted in one of their members killing the toddler, for which he should be held accountable because priority was not given to saving her life. If it had been, the child would not have been killed and her mother would have been spared unspeakable distress.

- Ray Woolley

Burbank

Raise your hand

Re ``Funeral for tot slain in standoff'' (July 17):

May I ask two questions of the ``outraged'' citizens who gather to protest the tragic death of a child in a shooting incident?

How many of these same ``outraged'' citizens ever gathered to protest the murder of a policeman who was doing his job in their district?

How many of these ``civic-minded'' citizens ever attended the funeral of a fallen officer?

- Tarleton Garton

Lancaster

Have my doubts

Re ``Promises kept'' (Your Opinions, July 19):

I loved the letter from Loren Farell, so far beyond pithy and right on the money. I love that I don't have to fear police and can just appreciate them, being thankful they put their lives on the line for me every day.

How can that mother not blame the girl's father, who started shooting first and used his own child as a shield? I'm not so sure what she's clamoring for is ``justice.''

- Michaelene Lourenco

Saugus

Wrong foot

Re ``Game of tag'' (Your Opinions, July 20):

Jack Schlicht's letter represents all that is wrong with the Bush administration and the Republican Party today: both consciously and deliberately value partisan political ``wins'' over our national security.

If the shoe were on the other foot - if it was a Democratic White House whose staffers had intentionally leaked the name of a CIA operative to punish her husband for telling an uncomfortable truth about the ``facts'' they disseminated to take America into war against a toothless foe - I'm sure I'd instead be reading a letter from Schlicht that screamed of treason and demanded that Congress impeach the bum who had done the dirty deed.

- Marcy Rothenberg

Porter Ranch

Water Power and Loan?

Re ``DWP seeks redress in scooter deal'' (July 19):

It's interesting that the Department of Water and Power is now trying to get back the $1.88 million it ``loaned'' a Hawaiian firm to develop electric scooters. The DWP is not a lending agency and never should have given out that money in the first place.

It seems someone at the department must have been behind that deal, and that's who needs looking into.

- Frank Barron

Van Nuys

Hypocrisy marches on

Re ``Arnold bows to uproar'' (July 16):

Isn't it amazing? Newt Gingrich (while in the U.S. Congress) is offered $10 million to publish a book. The liberals raise so much hell that he cancels the deal. Hillary Clinton (while a U.S. senator) writes a book, gets it published and makes $10 million to $12 million. No complaints.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a deal with some health magazine to make a million or so a year. The liberals raise so much hell that he cancels.

The hypocrisy marches on ...

- Frank Carlisi

Calabasas

Cooling off

With all the talk about impending blackouts, it is remarkable that there is so little discussion of measures that can be easily taken to reduce the burden of daytime power overloads. The most obvious such measure is to run pool pumps only at night.

The next obvious target is home cooling. Homes that are unoccupied during the day could well be run at higher thermostat settings during that time.

At another level, one could suggest that businesses run their thermostats just a single degree higher than at present, and to accept short sleeves as suitable business wear.

- Siegfried Othmer

Woodland Hills

Three cheers!

Bravo to the Daily News' coverage of the Galaxy vs. Real Madrid. It sure would be nice to see the same attention brought to our USA men's soccer team. The USA is the only undefeated team in the tournament. Powerhouse Mexico is already out. Let the people who care know. We are closing in. The USA is ranked No. 6 in the world. Soon we will be in the top five. Let the fans support U.S. soccer.

We have great players with uncommon character. Build some hype. The World Cup is coming. Go USA!

- Kris W. Noffke

Reseda