PUBLIC FORUM.

Work it off

Re ``Jail inmates moved after second death'' (Feb. 14):

With the recent activities at the Pitchess Detention Center, the inmates obviously possess a ton of unspent energy. Instead of trying to kill each other, which I think most of us wouldn't mind, why not put this energy to use and kill two birds with one stone?

The last I heard, illegal immigrants were welcome here because they do the jobs that Americans won't do. I think most of the idiots in our prison system, many of them illegal anyway, have the intelligence to pick fruit and vegetables. Agriculture employs the vast majority of illegal immigrants and California wouldn't look so inviting without these jobs. I also believe the inmates' eager willingness to fight will dissipate after 12 hours in the fields.

- Russ Gilmore

West Hills

Duke it out

Re ``Jail inmates moved after second death'' (Feb. 14):

One does not need to be a law enforcement professional to figure out the problem.

I would strongly suggest our jail administrators try something creative to quell this violence and mayhem. I suggest they set up a controlled boxing program inside the jail, with regulation ring, headgear, mouthpieces and a referee.

Let these hotshots go at it for three or four rounds - release all that anger, and pent-up energy. Allow only those inmates who are on good behavior to attend the ``Saturday Night Fights.''

The Sheriff's Department, in my opinion, cannot continue to jail these young thugs without a physical release such as boxing.

- Jack McGrath 

Valley Village

Subway to sea

Re ``Subway to the sea viable?'' (Feb. 15):

I would suggest to the MTA to build an extension from the Westwood station north under the 405 Freeway to the Orange Line station near Haskell Avenue and the 101. The Orange Line would provide a great passenger feeder, and the Metro Rapid along Ventura Boulevard could easily be diverted a few blocks to the connection. If Caltrans gets on board, the land is available to build an off-ramp from the southbound 405 directly into the place where it would make the most sense to build a Red/Orange Line parking lot.

While subways are expensive, so is having thousands of people sitting in traffic for hours every day. Imagine a 15-minute, stress-free ride from the Valley to Mid-Wilshire, at any hour of the day, rain or shine.

- Robert Greeley

Sunland

Death-forecast test

Re ``Hope for a low score on new death-forecast test'' (Feb. 15):

I find some disturbing anomalies in the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center ``Calculate your risk of death'' test. I'm a 70-year-old nonsmoking, 178-pound male with a body-fat reading of 22 percent, and I get docked a point for the low body fat!

I guess if you're overweight, that's just fine. Rubbish! Countless studies show that taking off the fat and maintaining a normal weight increases one's life expectancy. Furthermore, there is no mention of cholesterol, blood pressure or exercise. What nonsense.

- Richard McCurdy

Burbank

Didn't deserve it

Re ``Laws don't apply'' (Your Opinions, Feb. 8):

Anyone who has seen the tape should be outraged. It is clear that this man identified himself and was cooperating with the officer who shot him. A deputy used potentially deadly force when it was not necessary. You can see and hear Elio repeating the orders given to him because he was aware of the gravity of the situation.

By no means was he acting in a threatening manner. It is clear that the deputy was using profanity, which shows he was upset and out of control. If the deputy felt threatened by a subject who is cooperating, what would he do with someone offering resistance? Being a ``war hero'' doesn't matter. He did not deserve to be shot like an animal.

- Ruben Muoz

North Hills

Mayor in snit

It seems our mayor is quite put out by the White House not notifying him of the exact details of a foiled al-Qaida plot to crash a plane into our fair city, said threat foiled a couple of years before he was even elected. What? Mayor Villaraigosa not given the opportunity to be in the limelight?

The real travesty is the mayor's spoken reason (on radio) for being upset - that ``we are the first responders.'' Perhaps if he spent more time working with law enforcement and the fire and EMS officials on shoring up our ability to respond to an attack, he would not find himself in such a snit. If Los Angeles were truly prepared to respond to a terrorist attack, the mayor would be touting our readiness instead of complaining about the feds.

- Steve McCombs

Chatsworth

Dysfunctional society

Re ``Parents shirking duty'' (Your Opinions, Feb. 13):

The question isn't whether what the 6-year-old boy did was wrong (it was) or whether parents, schools or society are responsible for his behavior. The question is this: Does ``snapping'' a girl's waistband in response to some sort of touching from her qualify as ``sexual harassment''?

And did the school act appropriately and in proportion to what he did? The answer is unequivocally ``no.'' Certainly the kid deserved some sort of penalty, like spending recess cleaning blackboards, but a three-day suspension and police involvement? What's making this society dysfunctional is our culture's persistent projection of adult values and motivations on children.

- Donna M. Bond

Palmdale

Casting stones

In light of the events of Chappaquiddick, will there be any reporter curious enough or bold enough to ask Sen. Ted Kennedy if he has any thoughts to share about Vice President Cheney's delay in sharing the news of the quail-shooting accident with the press?

- Lucy Barajikian

North Hollywood

Handled appropriately

Regarding the Cheney shooting: The veep didn't shoot Tony Blair, the sultan of some Muslim country or a U.S. politician. He shot a friend on a personal, private outing. I don't need to see Dick Cheney's apology on TV; I assume he did that in private. The way it was handled was entirely appropriate.

- Cheryl Ahlsten

Valley Village

Gore irresponsible

I cannot believe that this story is still in the news. Those whiny liberals will use any excuse to criticize the current administration; I had to put up with ``Honest Bill'' for eight years and I didn't act like a spoiled child, so just deal with it.

The entire reason that the media are blowing this story out of proportion is to hide the fact that Al Gore is an irresponsible clown. I am so thankful that he was not the president on 9-11.

- Tonda Martin

Santa Clarita

Abandoned car blues

I have just spent a week going in circles about a car that has been parked in front of my house in Woodland Hills for a week. A dirty wreck of a car with expired tags and a flat tire. It seems that between LAPD, Parking Enforcement and Abandoned Vehicles nobody will do anything about getting it ticketed and towed away.

``Not our job,'' they all said. I was told to call the same number that I started with a week ago. Oh yeah, almost forgot, it was parked in front of my neighbor's house for a month before it got moved 20 yards to my house. They started complaining in January and nothing got done for them either. So if you see an old, beat-up gray Mercury Capri parked in front of your house, don't be concerned - because nobody else is either.

- JoAnn Paris

Woodland Hills