PUBLIC FORUM.

Favoring school

Re ``Ivy Academia wins reprieve from council'' (Sept. 28):

Bravo, Ivy Academia, for again parading the children to get a temporary reprieve to stay open another nine months. Shame on you and shame on the City Council for placing the interest of the school above the interests of the neighbors and the community.

After six years of favoritism toward this school, enough is enough. Our neighborhood needs help. Anyone reading this letter (if it's published), please help us. We are crying for help. Our local government has turned against us. They have created a monster that is growing by the day.

-- Jack Pomakian

Woodland Hills

`McCain Torture Act'

Re ``House OKs Bush proposal on detainee interrogation'' (Sept. 27):

John McCain and other ``maverick'' Republicans sure sounded convincing when they mouthed opposition to Bush, but the results of their negotiations on the bill with the White House and their votes supporting the bill demonstrate this was just a Republican Kabuki dance.

Their elaborate show was meant to bamboozle the public and shut Democrats out of the debate. In fact, because of his contributions in passing Bush's bill through Congress, I recommend the legislation be renamed the McCain Torture Act in his honor.

-- Peter Burgis

Torrance

Education reform

Re ``Business group gives LAUSD reform a lift'' (Sept. 27):

I noticed that none of their nine ``concepts'' included teacher involvement. And not one dealt with the daily nuts-and-bolts problems such as attendance and truancy issues, large class sizes, the unbelievably high cost of housing that keeps parents working three jobs and unable to be as involved in their children's educations as they should be.

Nor did they deal with the need for high-tech vocational education. These are the issues that stand in the way of student achievement. Teachers and the community are quite capable of instituting meaningful reform if allowed to do so. Here is a 10th concept: Only those who have experience in the classroom and parents who have spent time at their children's school should be allowed to be involved in reform that directly affects the classroom.

-- Barbara Stam

Teacher

Fremont High School

Hiding her tears

Re ``House OKs Bush proposal on detainee interrogation'' (Sept. 27):

I always assumed that the famous statue of ``Blind Justice'' was blindfolded to signify that the law must be fair, impartial and just, without regard for the appearance, wealth, station in life or power of those being judged. With the passage of the Detainee Interrogation Bill, I must now assume that the blindfold is also there to hide her tears.

-- Marshall Barth

Encino

Council responds

In your editorial ``Rogue Council,'' (Sept. 28) the Daily News has demonstrated the need to get its facts straight before voicing its opinion on homelessness. On Wednesday, Sept. 20, the council voted to turn down a proposed settlement of a lawsuit filed against us by the ACLU which would have required us to give up the city's rights to an appeal, leaving us vulnerable to lawsuit after lawsuit. The same day, the City Council directed the city attorney to present guidelines for the LAPD to help our officers enforce the law while complying with the terms ``and the spirit'' of the proposed settlement.

Furthermore, the broad coalition that came down in opposition of creating permanent boundaries for homelessness was made up of homeless advocates, service providers, SRO residents and business owners. To claim that the proactive work of the council to address the Skid Row homeless issues head-on was somehow at the request of a small number of developers is patently false.

-- Eric Garcetti

Council president

-- Wendy Greuel

Council president pro tempore 

-- Jan Perry

Assistant council president pro tempore