PUBLIC FORUM.

Not camera shy

Re ``Patching No. 80,173'' (Dec. 28):

There have been a lot of jokes lately about Jesse Jackson showing up for any photo opportunity. I think our new mayor is trying to outdo him. On Tuesday, 20 or so of our city employees waited in North Hollywood for him to get on some dumb machine and fill the 80,173th pothole this month. I wonder if he will pay their stand-around pay?

- George Kilbride

Sun Valley

Motorbikes in park

Re ``New sets of wheels'' (Photo, Dec. 27):

It is sincerely hoped that your photo of the ``new electric motorbikes at Lake Balboa Park'' does not encourage riding all sorts of motorized vehicles on the bike and pedestrian paths in the public park. Is it legal to ride motorized vehicles there? What safety restrictions exist for these vehicles? Tragic accidents can be predicted if some foolish children defy the rules and ride them in streets or on sidewalks.

- Barbara Adams 

Reseda

Hanging Tree loss

This week a piece of Encino history was destroyed as a developer cut down the 500-year-old oak tree on Encino Avenue, known as the ``hanging tree'' in days of yore. Despite protests from neighbors and city agencies, he arrogantly declared his legal right to destroy this beautiful old oak as his property was just under one acre.

Isn't it time we changed the ordinance that gave him this opportunity? ``Encino'' means ``oak'' in Spanish, and this community was so named because of its ancient trees, but our city officials have sadly failed to protect and preserve them for the generations to come.

- Fred Farris

Encino

A two-way border

Re ``Wall it up'' (Your Opinions, Dec. 25):

Robert Gardner sees Mexicans' anger at a proposed border wall as hypocritical in light of their own policies and treatment of their southern neighbors. Mexico is used as a passageway to the United States by Central American and South American neighbors. Mexico stems this tide through its immigration laws.

The United States and Mexico rely on one another - one for goods, the other for material and workers. A wall might work to keep illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. It might also work to keep U.S. businesses out of Mexico and prevent them from exploiting Mexico's natural resources. Maybe it could also keep out McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Kentucky Fried Chicken and so many other American corporations that now threaten the skilled craftsmen and other small businesses in Mexico.

- Eugenia Mendez

Sherman Oaks

Missing penguin

Re ``Hope dims in U.K. for stolen penguin'' (Briefly, Dec. 23):

The story of the missing juvenile penguin points to a human thief for the disappearance.

Baby penguins are favorite targets of aerial predators such as owls, hawks, eagles and, as seen in the ``March of the Penguins'' movie, gull-like skuas.

- Sol Taylor

Sherman Oaks

What lost rights?

The Daily News does a disservice to its readers in printing letters from people who state, as fact, things like ``Americans are losing their rights, one by one.'' These writers are left unchallenged to specify exactly what rights they have lost. Give us readers examples and name who it happened to and the circumstances. Merely mimicking the latest unsupported headline isn't good enough.

My family and I still do all things freely: shop, travel, worship, read, opine publicly, disagree with my government, etc. What am I missing?

- Frank Arenson

Valencia

California problem

This ``holiday season'' has helped me to understand what California's biggest problem is. A majority of the citizens and a larger majority of members of the state Legislature have faith in a supernatural creature. However, it is not God; it is Santa Claus.

- Sinclair Buckstaff

Northridge