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April 30, 2007
Star ignores soccer
Who are the Los Angeles Galaxy? Apparently The Star doesn't care. They are the soccer team that has won two Major League Soccer championships. They have been to the playoffs 10 out of the last 11 years, more than any of the other professional Los Angeles teams. Coming to them this year is one of the best world-renowned soccer players, David Beckham. And yet The Star refuses to give proper respect to this team and the world's biggest sport, soccer.
Soccer is the number one and fastest growing sport — according to The Star — among young kids, but in The Star, only small or sometimes no articles at all are written about the Galaxy or soccer. Did The Star know that the women's World Cup championships are being played this year in China? The Star doesn't seem to know, but that's another opinion article.
Give some time to soccer and The Star may pleasantly find its subscription numbers increasing.
— Verne Anglin, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:57 PM
Spiritual nutrition
Re: Larry Janss’ April 29 commentary, “Ansel Adams captured light and a boy’s heart”:
Like Larry Janss, I, too, am captivated by the light and natural beauty of Yosemite National Park. This time of year, I hunger to see the towering granite cliffs and hear the thundering waterfalls. So in mid-May, my wife and I will return for our 19th wedding anniversary to celebrate our marriage in the chapel there. As always, I will visit the Ansel Adams Gallery, again rejoice in the images he created, and celebrate an anniversary dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel.
This time, however, will be different.
I will also reflect upon the early Janss boyhood, his meeting with Adams, the mentoring relationship that ensued and the legacy that continues to enrich my spirit through Janss’s own work. The stunning imagery of Adams and Janss is mental and spiritual nutrition for me.
— Don Henderson, Westlake Village
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:52 PM
Conservative crowd polite
Those who attended enjoyed a very special evening recently at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library when Sen. Edward Kennedy, "the loyal opposition," was the speaker. The crowd gave him a standing applause numerous times. The audience was polite and enjoyed his sense of humor.
Not all ideas were agreed upon. His statement, "Medicare for all," I do not think went over well, but there was no heckling, no shouting down and no intolerance for one’s ideas. You sensed in this man a great sense of warmth, loyalty to family first and deep personal tragedy. High marks must go to him because he continues.
Whenever I see a conservative speaker in front of a liberal audience, it seems they are just there to be belittled and humiliated. The utmost respect was shown Kennedy. I would like to see a conservative speaker given a similar reception in front of a self-proclaimed progressive crowd.
— William F. Klepper, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:47 PM
Abortion ban vs. mandate
Re: Claudia Satori’s April 21 letter, “Protecting the preborn”:
Ms. Satori wrote a letter disagreeing with an article written by Ellen Goodman that was pro-choice. Ms. Satori was anti-choice, and her interest was for the “preborn.”
An omelet is “preborn,” and so is caviar. There are no “yet-to-be-born” dogs at the American Kennel Club dog show and no “eventually-to-be-borns” running at the Kentucky Derby.
However, prior-born children deserve that best healthcare. Previously-born children deserve accurate sex education so that abortions are not deemed necessary. Already-born children deserve love and understanding. Up-to-now-born children deserve safe places to live. And, heretofore-born women deserve respect for the decisions they make for their own lives.
Neither the Congress, nor the Senate, nor the Supreme Court belongs in a gynecologist's office.
The biggest decision is: Who will decide. Remember, whatever entity has the right to say a woman cannot have an abortion has the right to say a woman must have an abortion. Adolf Hitler forbade German women from having abortions, but Jewish and Gypsy women had to have them. It's two sides of the same coin.
— Miriam Albert, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:42 PM
War’s horrors unreported
I wish a reporter from The Star had heard the Global Exchange talk recently at the Thousand Oaks Library. Dr. Dahlia Wasfi showed slides of her three-month stay with relatives in Iraq last year. She spoke passionately from first-hand experience about the horrible consequences of the Iraq war and the suffering experienced by ordinary people in Iraq.
If we could have more newspaper coverage of the realities of this war or see and hear programs like this on TV, people would become more aware of the terrible results of our invasion and occupation. I believe that if the American people knew the truth, they would empathize with the victims of our government’s actions. As long as we continue to use violent military force against the people of Iraq, we are only creating more terrorists.
It is time for us to face the fact that we went to war based on lies, and that continuing the war does more harm than good. We must admit that this war is not only wrong but is not winnable. As patriotic citizens of a democracy, it is our duty to make our elected representatives respond to the will of the majority by refusing to fund this war any longer and bringing our troops home now.
— Gordon Clint, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:35 PM
Disagree and die
Re: Yahya Merchant’s April 27 commentary, “Tense relationship result of Iraq war”:
It seems Mr. Merchant has a myopic view of the Middle East. According to him, the problems only started when we invaded Iraq. He justifies Sept. 11 because of al-Qaida’s anger at us for being in Saudi Arabia. We were in Saudi Arabia because their government allowed us to be there. Who is Osama bin Laden to tell the Saudi government who is allowed to be in their country?
These terrorists are no different than the Symbionese Liberation Army, which kidnapped Patty Hearst, robbed banks and committed murder. They adopted a slogan and then used the excuse that if you didn't agree with them, they were justified in murdering you. The same is true today. If you don't follow their extremist views on religion, they are justified in killing you and doing away with your way of life. Wake up, America!
— Tony Loniero, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:31 PM
Plaza belongs to the people
Re: your April 25 article, “Parks loses T.O. Arts Plaza office”:
I am disturbed with the Thousand Oaks City Council’s actions in removing the office of Linda Parks. This Ventura County supervisor represents the Thousand Oaks district. The council must not care about us wishing to visit her office.
The council should explain its reasons for us living in the Conejo Valley having to drive to an office someplace else then a building built and paid for by us Conejo taxpayers. This is our building, not the council’s. The council is certainly not representing the people in this endeavor.
I find it amazing that after all this, with contractors contributing to council members’ campaign funds and building a strip mall and ice rink, the council’s answer is to move Parks out. Where is the finished project, and when are the theaters we were promised going to be completed? Or is the council hoping no one remembers its promises?
If office space is so scarce, then I wish for the council to ask for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to patrol the day labor building frequently for illegal day workers. This building was built using thousands of taxpayer dollars. If illegals are using the building to find jobs, it is against the law, and we the taxpayers are fleeced again under the council’s watch.
— Dale Edwards, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:25 PM
Traffic control incomplete
Re: Martin Miller’s April 27 letter, “Signal needed for left turn”:
Something had to be done to allow motorists to make a left turn onto Olsen Road after exiting Highway 23 in either direction. Miller is correct that this spot was “an offramp begging for traffic control for years.” However the other letters criticizing the new lights on Olsen Road are also correct. What we now have is a major traffic problem. Traffic is backing up on the freeway, and traffic on Olsen is backed up to the Ronald Reagan Library turnoff.
To rectify the situation, may I propose the following:
— Keep the new signals. It is a fact that left turns from both offramps are safer.
— Bring back the barrier that forced eastbound Olsen Road traffic toward Simi into the left lane as it passed under Highway 23. By returning to the old arrangement, all traffic making a right onto Olsen off the northbound 23 will once again be allowed to do so without stopping. This will remove the backup on the freeway.
— Put up a similar barrier to force westbound traffic toward Thousand Oaks on Olsen into one right lane as it approaches the intersection. This will allow traffic exiting from the northbound 23 to make a left onto Olsen when the light changes. Meanwhile, the traffic in the single right lane can continue without stopping. Once the traffic has gone under the freeway, Olsen can open up to two lanes once again.
This suggestion tries to take the best of both configurations and will keep traffic flowing.
— George Neilson, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:14 PM
New lights a mistake
The solution to this traffic mess at Highway 23 and Olsen Road is very simple: Go back to the way it was before the red light and prohibit left turns off Highway 23 onto Olsen Road.
The only cars using the left turn are probably residents of the Sunset Hills and Erbes tracts. There is no other reason to use the left turn. These tracts are as easily or better accessed by turning off at the Sunset Hills off-ramp and going down Olsen Road or Erbes Road.
The other new red light for the left-turning traffic off the southbound 23 onto Olsen is probably a good idea in order to prevent accidents, but when you see the interruptions in the traffic flow that it causes, a left turn there should also be prohibited, at least during rush hours. Anybody then needing to turn left can continue up to the Sunset Hills off-ramp and then come down Erbes Road or Olsen Road. It’s all in the interest of better flowing traffic during the heaviest traffic flows.
But for the authorities to admit a planning mistake and a wasted red light is probably futile. We will be stuck with it because it is there.
Keep up the pressure.
— Sten Lindgren, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:05 PM
Gallegly’s goals correct
U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly is one congressional representative whose voice has for many years proposed controls on those invading our country. As a World War II veteran, I support his intentions to run for a seat in Congress. We need to stop the destruction of our country and our way of life.
If we look at what has been happening to our country, there is no doubt that we are being invaded, not only by Asians and Russians, but by Hispanics and Africans whose sole purpose is to ignore our laws. The cost to us, the taxpayers, is astronomical and affects our legal, judicial, medical and educational systems, as well as our insurance industry.
I support Gallegly for Congress.
— Herbert L. Bansbach, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:01 PM
Toll too high in Iraq
Re: your April 26 article, “U.N., Iraq clash over civilian death tally”:
I want to emphasize the need for Americans to recognize ongoing civilian casualties in Iraq, in addition to the loss of our own troops. In the safety of our home communities, there seems to be too little regard for this horrendous aspect of the war.
I am thankful to have heard Dr. Dahlia Wasfi speak about the human cost of the Iraq war at a recent Global Exchange program. Dr. Wasfi, the American born daughter of an Iraqi father and Jewish mother, last visited family in Iraq for three months in 2006. She noted that more than 90 percent of the casualties of war since World War II are civilians — unarmed people — and one-third of that are children. This trend is continuing in Iraq.
Based on her medical training and personal family interactions, she was able to the see the impact of years of sanctions, and now military occupation of their country, on Iraqi citizens. The people of Iraq, including young children, suffer daily. Violence against civilians, unstoppable tanks tearing up the streets and shaking homes, checkpoints and communications barriers, shortages of electricity, lack of clean water and sanitation, insufficient basic medical supplies and an acutely disrupted economy have wreaked havoc on the Iraqi people.
Modern warfare is terrorism. It’s time for a change. I encourage others to visit Dr. Wasfi’s Web site at www.liberatethis.com to learn more and support our troops by bringing them home.
— Barbara Leighton, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:55 AM
Dobson has principles
Re: Garry Trudeau’s April 15 “Doonesbury” comic strip:
I was surprised to see that Garry Trudeau would use a blatant lie in his cartoon alleging that Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family would choose a political party over his principles.
The “Doonesbury” creator made a worthwhile point in noting the multiple marriages among Republican presidential hopefuls, but his suggestion that Dobson isn’t concerned about the moral failings of those men is blatantly untrue.
Trudeau’s pen shouldn’t come with a license to blatantly distort the truth — and that’s what he did on April 15.
Dislike Dr. Dobson as much as you want, but it’s not Dobson whose blind allegiance to a political ideology is on display here.
Dobson has been openly critical of two of the men Trudeau alluded to, saying he couldn’t vote for either. That’s not the position of a partisan, it’s the boldness of a man of principle.
— Ruth Morrill, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:50 AM
Pettiness in T.O.
Thousand Oaks City Manager Scott Mitnick's actions targeting Supervisor Linda Parks go beyond declining to extend her lease. The novice city manager involved himself in the 2006 supervisor election by trumping up accusations against the county's financial relationships with the city in order to help her losing opponent, Joe Gibson.
In 2002, Mitnick was responsible for choosing the number for her City Hall seat dedication, a usually nice gesture that is made to all City Council members who end their tenure. It's K-9.
Pettiness and unprofessionalism are Mitnick's hallmarks.
— Lorraine Slattery, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:36 AM
Activist apprentice
Re: your April 28 article, “Oak Park woman is already a local hero; ‘Apprentice’ is cancer activist”:
I was extremely disappointed in this article about “The Apprentice” winner Stefanie Schaeffer. The headline talks about “local hero” and “cancer activist”, but 80 percent of the article was about “The Apprentice.”
The activities the article cites do not strike me as being activist. Hundreds of people participate in the Agoura and Newbury Park Relays for Life every year — thousands across the nation — and many of them raise large amounts of money. Personally, I walked in last year’s Relay for Life at Newbury Park High School and raised about $3,500. Do I need to raise $10,000 in order to be referred to as an activist? Or is being on a national TV show the criteria?
People who become team leaders, participate in multiple events over time, work at organizing the events, work to change policy and legislation, encourage research — those are the activists. Perhaps Ms. Schaeffer actually is an activist, but this article does not demonstrate that she is.
I assume Ms. Schaeffer deserves the award the American Cancer Society is giving her, and, let’s face it, it attracts more attention — and hopefully donations — to the Relay for Life, so that’s a good thing.
I just don’t approve of an article on the first page of the paper, above the fold, that is largely advertising for a TV show rather than news. The content of the article would have been better placed in the Arts & Living section or the Conejo Valley section, where the paragraphs about the Relay for Life would have been a nice counterpoint to the lead article, “Volunteerism in decline.”
— Debra Levine, Westlake Village
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:29 AM
Islamic policy: violence
Re: Yahya Merchant’s April 27 commentary, “Tense relationship result of Iraq war”:
Merchant defines war as “the failure of peaceful negotiations and every resort to the use of international sanctions to resolve a conflict.”
He implies his is the only definition. He asks, “Why continue the failure?”
Carl von Clauswitz, a Prussian army officer and military theorist, proposed the doctrines of total war and war as instruments of governmental policy, therefore making war just as viable as face-to-face diplomacy or mediation.
Saddam Hussein was very concerned about the threat from Iran. Whether or not he actually had weapons of mass destruction is irrelevant now. Iran believed the Iraqi bluff. So did Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the rest of the Gulf states. Indeed, the world bought into it.
It achieved the deterrent effect it was supposed to achieve, until the United States called the bluff.
I do not share Merchant’s sympathy for the Islamic terrorists he calls “ordinary people.” Ordinary people do not fly passenger jets into the World Trade Center, nor do they strap bombs to themselves and detonate them in crowded restaurants.
Merchant wants us to believe terrorists are in Iraq because of our war on terrorism. That is not completely true. The terrorists use funds and trained advisers from Iran, improvised explosive devices from Iran and Syria and rocket launchers and rifles whose origins are Iran.
Never mind the bloodthirsty imams who condone death and violence and call for the conversion or termination of infidels.
Show me an Islamic Gandhi, an Islamic Martin Luther King. Those men did take ordinary people and achieved the extraordinary. Check your IEDs and AK-47s at the door. Islam needs to change its policy of death to a way of peace through nonviolence.
— Tim Robbins, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:19 AM
End the destruction
I have come to believe that the best way we can support our American troops is to get them out of Iraq. Along with many U.S. citizens, I've been struggling to understand what is the best action we can take now, given the circumstances of this war and the difficult choices we face.
I had the painful but enlightening experience recently of attending a talk at the Thousand Oaks Library by Dr. Dahlia Wasfi, a medical doctor born in the United States to an Iraqi father and an American Jewish mother. Wasfi's talk was sponsored by the Ventura County branch of Global Exchange.
Wasfi spent several years as a young child in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. She has returned twice in recent years to visit her extended family there. Wasfi explains that the damage from our use of depleted uranium will cause enormous damage, including cancer, to our troops stationed in Iraq. As an American, she is concerned about the lasting impact to the troops and their children from their exposure to dangerous chemicals used in warfare. She also described the lack of medical and psychological care that is now harming so many veterans of the Gulf War and the current war.
Our resources should be used to take care of the men and women who have served us so selflessly. Wasfi also showed evidence of the profound destruction in Iraq: a healthcare system broken, infrastructure destroyed and terrible casualties inflicted upon Iraqi civilians. To these innocent victims the "war on terror" is a "war of terror."
You can visit Wasfi's Web site at: http://www.liberatethis.com.
We have failed to protect our own brave troops and the Iraqi civilians we had hoped to "rescue." Let us do what we can to end this destruction now.
— Beth Farnbach, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:11 AM
April 27, 2007
All-out gun ban won’t work
Re: Bob Jackson’s April 23 letter, "No exploitation here":
It confuses me as to how Mr. Jackson can conclude that I am a "gun zealot" simply because I oppose an all-out ban on firearms. He claims to pray every day for some "sanity" in gun use. Is he suggesting that millions of responsible gun-owning Americans are insane?
My original suggestion that the gun control crowd is exploiting the Virginia Tech massacre is evident in these pages every day. They are framing the gun control issue in the context of being the absolute solution to gun violence. Let me reiterate my original point: If Mr. Jackson and other gun control advocates achieve their ultimate goal of banning guns in America, the only people who will have them are the criminals. You have several examples of this in industrialized countries all over the world.
It would be beneficial to this important debate to stick to facts rather than resorting to name-calling.
— Amul Pandya, Moorpark
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:15 AM
Prescription for violence
I keep hearing, "Why didn't anyone see the warning signs? How did they not know that Seung-hui Cho was capable of such violence?"
Who is responsible for it not being recognized? Not his family, friends and teachers. They saw the warning signs and tried to get help for Cho. They knew something was wrong.
It was the psychiatric profession that failed him and said he was not a threat to himself or anyone. Their "solution" was to medicate him with psychotropic drugs that carry Black Box warnings stating that they can cause violence and suicide! Well, they got exactly what they prescribed!
How many of these mass murders and suicides must families, schools and communities endure before we as a society wake up to the fact that you can't fix neurotic or psychotic behavior with a pill!
Oh yes, the psychiatric community will say, "We tried to help, he just came to us too late" or some other such excuse. But the truth is, he tried to get help for years, wasn't given it and was put on drugs without getting to the root cause of his condition.
Can't we do better than that? Aren't there lessons to be learned from these massacres? Or will what occurred at Virginia Tech be in vain?
— Bobbi Grantham, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:43 AM
Is an occupation winnable?
Re: Peter Shedlosky's April 26 letter, “Why give away the game?”
First and foremost, the Iraqi quagmire is anything but a game, with 150,000 dead Iraqis, 3,300 dead Americans and more than 20,000 wounded Americans, half of them severely, meaning arms and legs missing and brain injuries.
Wars are won and lost. The war with Iraq ended when President Bush proclaimed, "Mission accomplished" some four years ago. Since then, the United States and, to a much lesser extent, the British and others, have been involved in an illegal occupation of the sovereign nation of Iraq. I'm not sure how you win an occupation.
Think about it. Only our hand-picked, propped-up Iraqi government officials want us to stay there. And even among them, it is less than unanimous. To win the occupation, we would have to murder the remaining population of some 8 million.
About three months ago, I wrote a letter that The Star published stating that we had already murdered 100,000 innocent Iraqis, and that by the end of this administration, if we didn't pull out of Iraq beforehand, the blood of another 100,000 would be on our hands. I was wrong. Since that letter was published three months ago, already 50,000 more have been killed. If we continue trying to "win the war," it will only take, at the current kill rate, 40 more years, 8 million more Iraqi lives and 33,000 more dead Americans. Oh, should I also mention another $6 trillion?
— Patrick S. O'Malley, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:13 AM
Is omission a lie?
Re: John Moore’s April 22 essay, “Giving readers the truth”:
Moore’s comment, “We can’t make all our readers happy — we’d end up with a version of the Weekly Reader,” popped from the print. Taking this word-pelting, while also contemplating the comparison between our community’s newspaper and a grade-school publication, I would have preferred if Moore used his statement in the first person as he honestly admits not everyone in the newsroom agrees with “his” decision to print.
While I admire Moore for coming forward to thoroughly explain his reason to print, the chosen headline for his article, “Giving readers the truth: Although repugnant, Cho photos told the story,” causes one to wonder whether the story would be lying to readers if the distasteful photos had been excluded? The issue is whether to print the truth or just write about the atrocities.
Throughout the numerous arguments about media, the safety of our children, the effects Cho’s actions could have on copycats and the emotions of victims and their families, it may serve readers to print some articles that address the unfortunate reality of attempting to cope with such sudden death traumas and the emotions that are experienced by the general public.
Additionally, articles that address a broken mental healthcare system, those laws that are tied to the system and the local and national campus challenges that result from understaffed counseling services may address the reasons some focus on their destructive rather than constructive powers.
As a mediator and health advocate, I find many rely on anger, blame, resentment and name-calling during tragic times as a means to comfort one’s feelings of uncertainty, overwhelm and shock. Hopefully, we as a community can understand these multiple emotions that come to the surface.
— Lisa Barreto, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:06 AM
Build nations, not walls
So even with the disapproval of the Iraqi government, we have decided to erect a wall through the middle of Baghdad. Besides making me wonder who the real government is there, or if it has ever been independent, it also reminds me of the walls we are building around Mexico and the walls we are supporting around Palestine.
It seems to me that all this wall-building isn't "nation-building" at all and, in fact, focuses on or targets minorities. Why wasn't a wall suggested around Canada, for example? Wasn't it Canada where the hijackers of Sept. 11 came from in the first place?
Meanwhile, The Star has reported that U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly has chosen to run for office yet again. I suggest we build a wall around his office and enclose him inside so we can protect the majority of Californians who oppose his offensive ideas.
It's high time Ventura said no to another four years of Republicans in the White House and no to another two years of Elton Gallegly, or "mini Bush" in Congress. Now that would truly be nation-building.
— Grant Marcus, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:53 AM
Compulsive gamblers run the war
Imagine this scene: A woman stands in her kitchen, clutching a checkbook with a determined grip. Her husband stands across from her. He appears angry and desperate. He's demanding that she give him the money they saved for their child's college education.
He wants to take it to the racetrack and bet it all on one horse. He's already gambled away his paycheck and hers. He's lost their money for the groceries, the utility bills and the rent. But this time, he assures her, he can't lose. This time, he says, he's got an inside tip. This time he has a new plan.
The woman is doubtful, and the man calls her a "defeatist" for refusing to give him the money. He says the family's financial collapse will be all her fault because she is not "supporting" him.
What should the woman do?
America now faces the same kind of decision. The invasion of Iraq was a huge gamble. Our leaders ignored the odds when they bet that the Iraqi people would submit to an occupation by foreign troops.
Like a compulsive gambler, our leaders can't quit. They keep on betting, hoping to end their losing streak and recover all their losses with one big win. Like a compulsive gambler, they have lied to us repeatedly and blamed everyone but themselves for each setback. Now they stand before us, asking for "one more chance."
What should America do?
I know the war in Iraq is complicated, but the choice before the American people is simple.
We must choose wisely. It's not just our children's college money they're gambling with. It's our children's lives.
— John Johnson, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:39 AM
War isn’t about winning
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer states, "Our troops are mired in a civil war with no clear enemy and no clear strategy for success."
It is my opinion that having a clear enemy and success strategy is less important than providing the image to the world that we stand for, and will fight for, freedom and the right of self-determination. We cannot back away from this responsibility and still look at ourselves in the mirror the next day. Let's quit treating this as a game requiring a loser and a winner and start thinking of it as of providing hope to the oppressed.
— Terrance Elliott, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:30 AM
Society needs fixing
Everyone agrees, I believe, that the Virginia Tech massacre was a horrible, senseless act. It seems to me that now we are concentrating on how it happened, with much discussion on changing laws regarding gun control and mental health. All these are important issues, but isn’t why it happened more important?
When our entertainment has become foul-mouthed, bullying humor full of violence and sexual behavior, are we not all to blame?
Don’t we need, as a society, to clean up our acts and be a kinder, more compassionate society and demand of the cinema, TV and reading material more wholesome entertainment? How can we do that? Let them know: Write letters, e-mail and phone.
— Maxine Fritz, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:25 AM
Don’t assign the right to kill
Re: Timm Herdt’s April 25 essay, “Seeking a better way to die”:
This essay was hopelessly naïve about the realities of medical care and physician-assisted death. In a word, legalization gives us doctors way too much power. We are the ones who control the board: We provide the patient with information about treatment options. If we don't know how to control pain — and according to the World Health Organization, about 80 percent of us don't know the basics — how can we be trusted to advise people when it's time to die? At Sloan Kettering's Pain Center in New York, and also the Los Angeles County pain center, there is hardly anyone whose pain can't be controlled with them staying alert and awake. Giving incompetent doctors the right to kill is not progress.
Plus, there are no real safeguards. Oregon has an honor system. There are no teeth in it. Nobody really knows how many people die this way because reporting is optional. We doctors control the drugs, the medical records, what the patient is told.
The only ones who will benefit from legalization are health insurance companies that can save money when doctors bump people off.
— Robin Bernhoft, M.D., Ojai
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:22 AM
Tennis trumps the war
Re: your April 27 article, “Pac-10 tennis players gain extended families competing in The Ojai”:
Congratulations to The Star for a great front-page article that pushed aside war and politics. It helped to prove our core values are still intact.
— John E. Gary, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:15 AM
Indians are from India
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue — and he landed on America.
My second-grade teacher brought to my attention the fact that the “Indians" that so many people refer to — the "Indians" who live on reservations — aren't actually Indian. It was actually just an ignorant mistake by Christopher Columbus. He thought he was in India, when, in fact, he had landed in America.
My question then is: Why do people continue to call them Indians when they are actually Native American? Perhaps, it is just tradition. Our society has been wrongly calling them Indians for so long that people rarely even question it anymore. Maybe we've been calling the Native Americans “Indians” for so long that no one even notices. Is this mistake even overlooked by the Native Americans? I may be wrong, as I often am, but last I checked, Indians live in India, not America.
— Sean Kobayashi, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:06 AM
It’s all about Ted
Re: your April 25 article, “Tickets for Reagan forum still available”:
As the quoted spokeswoman for Rock for Life Ventura County, I would like to clarify something: Our "protest" is all about Ted — specifically, Rock for Life, which is a pro-life youth advocacy organization, is demonstrating to state that Sen. Edward Kennedy, who is a claimed Catholic, cannot be both Catholic and anti-life. We are not saying he can't hold these views, or that he needs to espouse our pro-life views, just that he can't call himself a Catholic and be anti-life.
Rock for Life encourages youth to respect and protect life in all stages, and it accomplishes this through education, rallies and rock concerts. As young people, we strive to be the peaceful voice of the voiceless and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
— Sarah Ketelhut, Westlake Village
Posted by Andrea Howry at 08:43 AM
April 26, 2007
Who’s unpatriotic?
Vice President Cheney has labeled as "unpatriotic" the Democratic Party and any American citizen who wants our troops to return or be redeployed from Iraq. It is evident that these troops are there because of the administration's deception and untruths told to Congress and the American people. And now I ask, who is "unpatriotic"?
It seems that Cheney's clear and resolute actions of fabrications to us all are that and more. Put him under oath and let him prove how patriotic his untruths about going to war with Iraq really were. Congress and the American citizens deserve an accounting of his actions and of all others who propped up his lies with false statements.
— Charlane Keith, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:24 PM
Patsy Cline: She’s got you
There’s only one more week — until April 29 — that you can go see "Always....Patsy Cline" at the High Street Arts Center in Moorpark. It's great! Even someone who doesn't care all that much for country music would still really like this show. After seeing on April 22, I highly recommend it.
— Hazel V. Munger, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:23 PM
What politicians can do
Re: your April 12 editorial, “Day of action to light a fire”:
If global warming is a serious problem, then we need some serious solutions, not the usual liberal demands for us to "change our lifestyles."
Instead of saying there are too many SUVs producing too much carbon dioxide, let's get our elected representatives to change laws and regulations that have made auto pollution worse:
— Change zoning laws to permit mixed-use developments where people can live much closer to their work.
— Change the state tax structure so cities will focus on attracting high-technology jobs to where people live, instead of focusing on sales taxes from big-box retailers.
— End public transportation monopolies that prevent free-market alternatives, such as thousands of Internet-capable shuttle vans taking people to and from work.
— Stop diverting gasoline taxes to public transportation boondoggles and build roads that keep traffic moving.
Our clothes dryers and air conditioners do not produce carbon dioxide, so let's stop telling people that they are the problem. The problem is that they use energy from dirty fossil-fuel plants, instead of pollution-free sources such as nuclear energy. The draft report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognizes that converting to nuclear power would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Nuclear power plants provide 70 percent of all U.S. electricity that comes from sources that do not emit greenhouse gases. Someday hydrogen may be used to power cars, substantially reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear energy could be used to produce this hydrogen in an environmentally friendly manner. Let's urge our representatives and utilities to pursue a crash program to replace old-technology nuclear plants with the latest technology.
Most of all, if the human race is to survive, we need to get politics out of science.
— Bruce K. Bell, Moorpark
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:05 PM
The children are watching
As teachers in the Pleasant Valley School District, we are proud to work with fabulous colleagues, the wonderful students we teach and the families we collaborate with throughout the school year.
That said, our disappointment continues to grow as we’ve attended board meetings, anticipating impending decisions that will affect both families and employees of our school district. We’ve seen upset parents, frustrated teachers and school-age students whose parents have encouraged them to speak about their schools in front of the school board. It seems to us we have lost sight of our vision, which is working together as a community to make this district healthy. When we hear a middle-school student comparing two schools in our district, we wonder to ourselves, why are we comparing schools? Whether it is a larger middle school or a smaller K-8, our teachers and staff provide nurturing, educational environments where students flourish districtwide. We teach at a K-5 neighborhood school. Is our school less valued because of its larger size? We’re sure the parents of our 668 students don’t think so.
What we say and do as adults in this community is closely emulated by our youth who are watching us with vigilant eyes. We need to treat each other with respect and move forward to make PVSD healthy. We need to recruit and retain quality teachers by compensating them appropriately in comparison with neighboring school districts. We’ve seen district staff, the 7-11 committee, teachers and parents offer valuable solutions. What is the school board doing to facilitate these solutions?
When the school bells ring each morning across the city of Camarillo, our students sit at their desks eager to learn and soak up knowledge. We must remember that our district requires competent, highly qualified and valued teachers to provide this first-rate instruction.
— Stephanie Taylor, Newbury Park
(This letter was been signed by 30 teachers from Tierra Linda Elementary School. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:00 PM
Developer deserves a break
At the council meeting of Jan. 9, developer Skip Padberg was given a setback to his development of a small parcel of land in Newbury Park. His group had spent considerable money in planning for an office building on Borchard Road between Silas Avenue and Theresa Drive based on a condition placed on this parcel in 1985. The portion of Silas that exits into Borchard was to be eliminated at the developer’s expense.
The developer figured this agenda item was simply a formality and would be approved without much discussion. But at the council meeting, 10 residents, out of the 400 who were given notice of this agenda item, objected to the abandonment of Silas, and the council caved in. They sent the project back to the city's Traffic and Transportation Committee for a formal study on the current status of Silas. To reverse the proposed abandonment would require a total redesign of the project.
At the April 24 council meeting, with Councilman Dennis Gillette absent, the council was split 2-2. The issue was continued for two weeks until Gillette returned to break the tie. The developer is faced with more delays on what he can do with this property.
I think it is unconscionable for the city to renege on the plans and subject the developer, who has been in good faith abiding by the city’s wishes, to incur additional expense and delays of his project.
If the council, in its infinite wisdom, elects to not allow for the abandonment of Silas, I think the least they should do for the developer in this case is to allow for a two-story building here. And if the residents in this area don't like this, they can thank those who objected to closing Silas Avenue.
— Don Volz, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:44 PM
Protecting the preborn
Re: Ellen Goodman’s April 20 commentary, “World now a more dangerous place for some women”:
Goodman used to be a favorite writer of mine, until she starting writing on abortion. She has missed the whole point about pro-life work.
Pro-life is about protecting the most helpless of all: the preborn. That is all that is important. If a woman finds herself with a child she is unable or unwilling to raise, she should give it up for adoption to a family who desperately wants a baby.
That the Supreme Court justices realize the importance of protecting the babies is so exciting. When we value life at its most helpless, perhaps people will value life at all stages, and perhaps there may be less of the horror that occurred at Virginia Tech. Perhaps there will be more respect for all life.
— Claudia Satori, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:39 PM
Some prisoners deserve release
Re: James E. Tilton’s April 19 letter, “Prison reform critical”:
The headline was right on target, but Tilton, of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, is off in his thinking. The overcrowding problem is now, not years away when the governor's proposed building program would be completed.
The governor's record on parole is dismal. He continually reverses the Parole Board's approval of inmates who present themselves with evidence of having taken responsibility for their crimes, attained a GED or higher degree, helped with tutoring and dog training programs and have no disciplinary write-ups during their years of incarceration. They can show solid offers of places to live and work upon their release. If those eligible for parole were released, the overcrowding problem would take a big step towards resolution.
The public safety argument is overused and stale. On March 28, we were in Sacramento, taking part in a demonstration on prison reform. We were shocked to see a sign on the door of our assemblywoman, which read, "Countdown to Chaos." That refers to a date in May when Judge Thelton Henderson will decide whether to put the CDCR under federal jurisdiction. The prison mess can be laid at the feet of the California Legislature, which has caved to the demands and pressures of the prison guard union.
Society has the right to imprison those unfit to live within a law-and-order structure, but to prolong incarceration for those who are fit to be returned to wage-earning and taxpaying Californians is cruel and inhumane punishment.
Public safety should be paramount, but our Legislature has failed to act in our best interests and those of incarcerated persons who deserve their freedom.
— Bob & Moira Fitch, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:35 PM
Preservation necessary
Re: Nasser Moradian’s March 7 letter, “Wetlands were man-made”:
I would first like to thank Moradian for saying, "If the city wishes to make my property as Mr. Matkovich suggests into a park, the city may wish to purchase the property." He was responding to my letter of Feb. 16, “Turn wetlands into park.”
However, I must disagree with his comments regarding my lack of knowledge about his property. Here is what I know. The property is home to several plant and animal species, including the rare Southern tarplant, the red-winged blackbird, sand-bar willow, arroyo willow, Pacific tree frog, red-tailed hawk, California toad, great egret, mallard duck and killdeer, to name just a few species. It is a place that makes the Conejo Valley special.
I would like to meet with Moradian to discuss his property. I have no hard feelings toward him, nor am I out to get him. I simply urge him to preserve this area and would like to discuss the issue with him like men. He may wish to contact me at Chauncey155@aol.com
— Clint Robert Matkovich, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:29 PM
A free lunch, much deserved
For the past few years, veterans of World War II and the Korean War have been having lunch at Denny's off Moorpark Road. We generally get together about every six weeks and find pleasure in our camaraderie, being part a diminishing and oft-forgotten generation. We chose this location as we are allowed the privacy of a back room, isolated from the restaurant area, so our noisy group of 15 to 20 can shout to each other with abandon.
After desserts, when we asked the waiter for our bills, we were told that a patron "took care of it.” We were all so surprised, thinking that one of our group was so generous, but finally realized this did not occur. This is to thank that anonymous person for his/her generosity, but more, for saying to us, "There are still some of us that thank you for your participation and sacrifice."
— Leonard Zerlin, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:24 PM
They’re back!
It’s been said that if you tell a lie often and loudly enough, people will begin to believe it’s true. Pinnacle Development must think that strategy will work in Santa Paula. It keeps repackaging the same nebulous development package and throwing it out to the voters of Santa Paula. I guess it has worked elsewhere. I trust that here, in Santa Paula, we will surprise Pinnacle by thinking about what is before us on the ballot and, again, saying no to these out-of-state carpetbaggers.
Limoneira is developing its own plans for Santa Paula’s growth. Unlike the outsiders in Pinnacle Development, Limoneira is taking the time to find out what will work for all of us who live and work in Santa Paula. Limoneira’s proposal will come with binding guarantees and plans for its development when it is brought to the voters. Santa Paula will know what they are voting for.
The opportunists who run Pinnacle are trusting that Santa Paula won’t quibble over the small print. Pinnacle has already convinced several prominent locals to front for it. It is putting a lot of money into the effort. All Santa Paula has to counter with is our common sense.
The voters of Santa Paula deserve to know what we are voting for. Maybe Pinnacle will put binding proposals into their next try, after A7 is voted down.
— Greg Thayer, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:20 PM
Keep S. Paula viable
Do not let Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources keep Santa Paula poor. This is the bottom line about Measure A7.
If you vote against A7, you have committed Santa Paula to remain poor. If you vote for A7, then Santa Paula has an opportunity to control the development of Adams Canyon, and maybe, just maybe, put some money in the city treasury. The opponents of A7 are not interested in Santa Paula doing better. They are just interested in keeping open spaces around Santa Paula.
I have lived in Santa Paula for 16 years, and I decided to be part of this grassroots effort to help save my town. I am a Santa Paulan 4 Quality Growth and proud of it. We need so many things for our town. No one who is opposed to A7 has come up with any other options for Santa Paula.
I urge all voters in Santa Paula to vote yes on A7 and do your part to help keep Santa Paula a viable town in the future.
— G.E. ‘Ike’ Ikerd, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:15 PM
Just say no to Pinnacle
Once again, the citizens of Santa Paula are being asked to take a leap of faith and trust Pinnacle Development’s promises and rosy financial projections. Once again, we need to tell them no.
Last year, Pinnacle repeatedly promised their development would generate $20 million per year in net tax revenue after 20 years. It has now “adjusted” this figure downward by $15 million — so much for promises. Remarkably, this same developer is still asking us to trust it.
Even the new fiscal projection of $5 million after 20 years is based on untested and overly optimistic assumptions. There has been no feasibility study released or any peer review study performed to take a critical look at Pinnacle’s assumptions to determine whether they are valid. All we have is the developer’s word, which has already proved extremely unreliable, to say the least. Ask yourselves: If they were wrong by $15 million last time, how do we know they aren’t off by another $15 million in their current “projections”?
Serious questions remain with respect to negative traffic impacts, water availability and the ongoing cost to the city to maintain the remote infrastructure in Adams Canyon. Pinnacle chooses to gloss over these difficult issues because it knows the answers will not reflect well on this project and that Santa Paulans will recognize this development for what it is — a Trojan horse.
We should not labor under any illusions. A development in Adams Canyon will not be our fiscal salvation and may ultimately bleed the public coffers dry. If we vote to move the city urban restriction boundary, we are handing Pinnacle Development the keys to the city. A City Council majority has already expressed a willingness to give them whatever they want.
Please vote no on Measure A7.
— Jim Procter, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:13 PM
A7 simply moves boundary
"Pep rally." Those words were used at a City Council meeting when many of us were there in support of Measure A7. That is what we were there for, to "rally Santa Paulans” to realize that we need to move the city urban restriction boundary to give our community an opportunity for growth.
I do not understand the opposition to A7 from members of the school boards. The needs for our school system are too numerous to list, yet these school board members are opposed to A7, which would give our schools some revenue. This is not about personal agendas, it is about the community as a whole.
In the future, we will have East Area One — a great project — and possibly other projects. These projects will undergo the same scrutiny and are different from the project to be voted on May 8. A7 is to move the CURB.
It will be very interesting to observe the reaction of Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources regarding the use of prime agriculture land in El Rio for low-income housing.
We in Santa Paula are good at pep rallying. The opponents of A7 have not made public any solutions to the dire need of revenue for our community. A7 will give us a start. We need to take the first step. Vote yes on A7.
— Maiya Herrera, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:11 PM
Can Pinnacle be trusted?
Last year, Pinnacle used deceptive means to solicit signatures to place Measure Y on the ballot. Soon after the start of the campaign to develop Adams Canyon, Pinnacle said the project would raise $20 million annually for Santa Paula and the city would realize substantial benefits starting from day one.
I publicly questioned Pinnacle about the $20 million; it seemed greatly exaggerated. I asked Pinnacle to identify “day one.” Pinnacle ignored my request. Toward the end of the campaign, realizing it was in a close race, Pinnacle said the project would raise $22 million and would create 7,000 jobs instead of the 5,000 it had been citing. This desperate move failed.
Eight months after the campaign ended, Pinnacle quietly revealed the Adams Canyon project would raise only something over $5 million, a $17 million error.
Because of its credibility, Pinnacle needed a front to continue efforts to develop the canyon. The so-called citizens committee claims it has no ties to Pinnacle. However, leaders of the committee have been in Pinnacle offices on at least two key election dates. It is time for the committee to be truthful.
The committee takes pride in announcing it obtained close to 3,000 signatures to place Measure A7 on the ballot. The citizens who signed the petitions were not told it would cost $60,000 to make this a special gift to the multimillion-dollar Pinnacle Corp.
Pinnacle’s revised December estimate of fiscal impacts on Adams Canyon states the build-out date for Adams is 2029. Should it pass, don’t expect much from Measure A7 in the next 10 years, or ever, if the predicted drought conditions continue.
My question to the voters of Santa Paula is: Does truth have meaning in Santa Paula anymore? Does integrity? Please let your conscience be your guide when you vote.
— Bob Borrego, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:04 PM
SOAR veers off track
I opposed the excessive Fagan Canyon proposal voters rejected. The Adams Canyon proposal emphasizes quality, high-end housing that would bring Santa Paula’s housing mix toward balance with other cities. It calls for approximately one-fifth the number of units that were proposed for Fagan. Adams Canyon is more than twice the size of Fagan Canyon. Adams traffic will not pass through our existing streets. Measure A7 would limit the number of units to about 500 and bring Adams into the city. Details of the specific plan would be approved by the council.
Those opposed to bringing Adams Canyon into the city identify themselves as “Santa Paula SOAR.” The original Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources was a democratic, countywide group organized to save agricultural resources and preserve the environment. My wife and I were among its first supporters. We still support these original goals, but something has gone terribly wrong.
Where were the democratic and environmental quality goals when “Santa Paula SOAR” made decisions regarding Fagan and Adams canyons? Have you noticed the slick, expensive mailings from those who now identify themselves as Santa Paula SOAR? Have you wondered who is paying the bill?
What was previously a democratic SOAR now seems dominated by a developer determined to further overload Santa Paula with more low-end housing. We already have the highest percentage of such housing in the county. This developer claims to be “nonprofit.” Nonprofit organizations feed many fat cats. These are the same cats that supported (and still support) dumping 26,000 additional vehicle trips per day out of Fagan onto our existing two-lane streets. Twenty-six thousand 20-foot vehicles lined bumper to bumper would extend from Fagan Canyon to Bakersfield.
We need quality, balance and common sense. Please join me in voting yes on A7.
— Delton Lee Johnson, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:56 AM
Something must be done
Progress is always a good thing — or is it? With the improvements on Highway 23, especially over Olsen Road, it is hoped that traffic will flow smoothly and more efficiently. However, this project has caused major problems for the commuters attempting to get to Thousand Oaks via Olsen Road.
Two automatic signals were installed at the overpass of Highway 23 at Olsen to allow traffic exiting the freeway to get onto Olsen. What used to be a 20- to 25-minute drive from Simi Valley to Erbes Road in the morning rush hour has now become a 45- to 60-minute drive. It is not unusual to see traffic backed up form Erbes to Presidential Way during morning rush hour.
What a waste of time and money we have to lose due this traffic nightmare. Something needs to be done.
— Donald J. Garcia, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:51 AM
Wreck waiting to happen
I woke up the other day for work, just like any other day. I left my house at the same time I always do to drive the half hour it takes from Simi Valley to Camarillo. I then ran into dead-stop traffic halfway through Wood Ranch.
As I inched my way through the rest of Wood Ranch and past the sheriff’s station, I assumed there was a terrible wreck. I called my work to let them know I would be late. Slowly making my way toward what I thought was a car wreck, I found a new stoplight at the off-ramp of Olsen Road. I had seen this stoplight before, but it had never been working. The intersection never seemed to have any traffic problems nor any accidents that I have heard of, yet this light, this worthless stoplight, caused me to be late to my job, along with hundreds of other people.
I showed up 15 minutes late for work, which was luckily not a problem because I am never late. I completed my day of work and headed home only to find that same stoplight had traffic backed up onto the freeway from the Olsen off-ramp. I had to slam on my brakes, as did many others who were not prepared to stop before an off-ramp.
This stoplight at the Highway 23/Olsen Road off-ramp is going to cause an accident and has continued to force me to leave my house 15 minutes earlier. This stoplight needs to be taken out before an accident happens and someone gets hurt, if that hasn’t already happened.
— Shaun Jones, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:47 AM
April 25, 2007
SPP demands attention
I'm curious about the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (http://www.spp.gov/) and the general effect it will have on the residents of Ventura County. Being the huge plan that it is, it demands more attention.
— Tony Acosta, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:39 PM
New principal a positive step
Re: your April 23 article, “New St. Bonaventure principal first lay person to head school”:
It was so refreshing to open The Star and read positive school news. As a parent in the Pleasant Valley School District, that has not been the case over the past few months.
St. Bonaventure High School is on the verge of renewed greatness with the addition of Marc Groff as principal. Parents in our county are looking for high schools that stress a core focus of strong academic programs. Marc Groff is the leader who can help St. Bonaventure move up the ladder to academic success.
A strong high school offers students a combination of high academics, positive athletics and personal moral responsibility. It is apparent to me that St. Bonaventure is committed to providing the whole package.
— Dianne Glick, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:34 PM
Gonzales the forgetful
I wonder how long the American people are going to put up with the likes of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the head of the Justice Department.
On the first day of his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he used the term "I misspoke" at least 60 times. I translate that to mean he lied.
On the second day, he used the term "I don't recall" 71 times. I guess the president must have warned him about misspeaking and what that could mean. I would think that a man who can't recall anything would not be qualified to run the Justice Department, but this doesn't seem to matter in our present administration. I wish they had asked him if he has trouble finding his car after work or finding his way home.
It must be hard for Gonzales to keep track of his lies, which I think he has already proven. I guess in my mind, the term "justice" implies that truth and honesty are the trait that we look for in the Justice Department and in our government in general, but it doesn't exist anymore.
I believe that the term democracy means rule by the majority or rule by the ruled. I find it hard to believe that when 72 percent of the ruled want our men and women out of Iraq, the president who calls himself the decider does not listen. If we let this go, it means that we no longer live in a democracy. What a shame this is. I never thought I would see this in my lifetime, but here it is.
As I see Bush and his attorney general on television, I keep thinking that when I was a child, my parents used to tell me that "birds of a feather flock together." It’s an old adage, but it’s still true.
We are fighting in a country where we were lied to about weapons of mass destruction. They didn't have any. Then we were told that we should be there to make a democracy, but we have lost ours in the process.
— Diana Scholfield, Ojai
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:21 PM
Proper compensation a must
I am a parent of three children in the Pleasant Valley School District. It pains me to see such a division between the parents, teachers and the district.
In the past weeks, our community has been divided by the issue of school closures. This issue has snowballed out of control and created animosity among all involved. I believe there must be accountability for lack of leadership and the failure of the board to do what is needed to help this community move forward. The school board has a responsibility to ensure the district is managed in the most efficient and effective manner so our students receive the best education possible. This includes providing competitive salaries to acquire and retain teachers. In order for that to happen, three schools must close in the district.
When you can’t pay the bills, there are two choices: cut back and consolidate or generate more capital. The answer is clear: Money is limited, so schools must close. The PVSD board is not willing to show the leadership needed simply because its members feel they would be committing political suicide. They already have.
In the time my children have attended PVSD, I have seen good teachers leave. I ask, “Who do you want teaching our children? Teachers with experience or teachers earning their experience in order to move on to better paying districts?” It amazes me that the parents of the affected schools are so shallow they believe their school is somehow superior to other schools in the district. The teachers and the community make our schools, not the buildings. We must not lose sight of the priorities.
If we do not properly compensate our teachers, who will teach your children?
— Tony Belvedere, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:09 PM
Board’s view too narrow
By withdrawing its decision to close low-enrollment schools and programs, the Pleasant Valley School District board is catering to a small, select group of parents and students and jeopardizing the success of the rest of the district’s students.
The inability of the board to make the needed changes has caused a rift between teachers and parents and pitted schools against schools. PVSD will not be able to thrive much longer because the intelligent teachers will seek employment in a school district that treats the employees like professionals. When Superintendent Ken Moffett completes his term, what type of superintendent candidates is the district going to attract?
Our son attends La Mariposa Elementary School. We are very happy with the education he is receiving. Our daughter attends Las Colinas Middle School. We are very happy with the education she is receiving.
PVSD teachers are here because they are putting students first. Yet the economy of Ventura County necessitates a PVSD salary and benefits package that is comparable to similar-sized districts. The PVSD Board of Trustees needs to stand up and lead the entire parent, teacher, and student community to a fair and equitable solution.
It would be great if Camarillo businesses contribute to PVSD. But that money will not alleviate the district’s salary and benefits deficit. Businesses that are here today could be gone at any time given the high cost of living and the number of foreclosures our county is experiencing.
We urge the PVSD board to focus on all PVSD students when cost-cutting decisions are made. Without a competitive salary and benefits package to offer present and prospective teachers, all of PVSD students will suffer.
— Robert & Janet Johnston, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:00 PM
What is SOAR hiding?
Do you know that Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources has not released its required list of financial contributors yet? Do you know it is legally required to file a disclosure listing these contributors? What are they hiding?
According to the Santa Paula City Clerk’s Office, it seems that not one person from this “concerned group” has bothered to file the required documents disclosing their contributors. Nobody knows who is funding their well-funded campaign against Measure A7. Nobody knows who is funding the slick brochures. Nobody knows their real agenda in opposing Measure A7.
Are there well-heeled developers hiding behind SOAR? It is no secret that there is a link between a local developer and SOAR. Are they still receiving money from out-of-state interests? Considering they already know we have enough water for this project, the revenue projections are real and most of Adams Canyon would remain in a natural state, this would certainly help to explain their motivation to oppose Measure A7.
— Kevin Beyer, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:55 PM
Signal needed for left turn
Re: Doug Crosse’s April 24 letter, “Sign impractical”:
Mr. Crosse must have never tried to turn left at the Olsen and Madera Roads off-ramp. If he had, he would have been faced with three lanes of east and westbound traffic traveling at 50 to 60 mph. It takes a brave soul and a very competent driver to make that turn. I have seen three very serious multicar injury accidents at this off-ramp over the years, and I do not travel this route every day. This was an off-ramp begging for traffic light control for years.
— Martin Miller, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:49 PM
Signal problem worsens
Re: Doug Crosse's April 24 letter, "Signal impractical":
Let me amend that to say, "Signals impractical." Yes, there are now two signals where there previously were none. My morning commute, as well as that of hundreds and maybe a thousand people, has been adversely affected by the placement of these signals. My route takes me on Olsen Road towards Thousand Oaks. Previously, traffic flowed smoothly through the intersection of Highway 23 and Olsen Road. Now, the gridlock of vehicles extends all the way to the Ronald Regan Library turnoff, approximately two miles.
California Department of Transportation: Are you listening? They should put a monitor at this intersection any weekday during rush hour to see the impact of these signals. Let's get a Caltrans response to this!
— David Elkins, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:45 PM
Organ donors save lives
I have always had the sticker on my driver’s license to donate any organ that would benefit another life. How important this is recently was brought home to me.
I received a phone call from my son in Michigan. The anguish and despair in his voice was something a loved one never wants to hear. My daughter-in-law was in the hospital with complete liver failure, and if a donor liver was not found in the next three days, she would not survive. She was transported to the University Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, with family praying and waiting for a donor liver. Minutes were eternities.
When the doctors felt she could not hang on for another six hours, a donor liver came in, and it was a perfect size and match for her. Today she is home, having kidney dialysis, but otherwise on the road to recovery.
It is shocking how a person can be healthy one day and at death’s door the next minute. All this was from the medication Vicodin, taken for severe back pain and migraine headaches.
So, two important lessons are learned here. One, donor organs are vital. Another, be carefully monitored regarding the medications you are taking.
Our donor, unknown to us, will nevertheless always be remembered with grateful hearts for giving our family member back to us.
— Neda Cancaro, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:32 PM
Equestrians not forgotten
Re: your April 14 article, “51st Conejo Valley Days on way, sans rodeo”:
This article didn't include the fact that there will be six performances by the Conejo Riders, a local equestrian group, during the May 5 and 6 festivities at Conejo Valley Days 2007. They will be performing before the Super Dogs shows.
These are the same equestrian performers that have been at Conejo Valley Days for countless years, and this is twice the number of performances than in the previous years.
Conejo Valley Days has not forgotten the equestrian community and never planned to do so. I hope the rest of the community will support them, too.
— Jean Duffy, Thousand Oaks
(The writer is general chairperson of Conejo Valley Days 2007. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:25 PM
Let city, not county, reap riches
Unless the opponents of A7 have their heads in the sand, they must know by now that we have the lowest paid police, firefighters, teachers and civil servants in the county. As a matter of fact, we have become the training ground for the other cities of Ventura County for first responders and educators. We train them; they move on for better salaries. At the same time, we have the worst schools and the worst test scores in the county. The teachers do their best, but the money is not there. Why? Because we have the lowest tax base in Ventura County. A quality development in Adams Canyon would remedy this.
The whole infrastructure of Santa Paula, such as streets and sewers, is crumbling. Over the years, the city has been patching these things up, but these fixes are only temporary. Think of the wastewater treatment plant that the city now estimates will require $70 million to $180 million to replace. Guess what? This will more than double your sewer bill. Will Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources help you pay your sewer bill? I think not.
We now have a choice. We can regain control and bring Adams Canyon into the City Urban Restriction Boundary of Santa Paula and help to pay the salary deficiencies and some of the deferred maintenance listed above. Or we can imitate Thousand Oaks when they failed to bring Lake Sherwood into their city boundary and let it go to Ventura County. The county is now reaping the tax benefits of that multimillion-dollar development. This is one of the reasons that two of the county supervisors support Adams Canyon remaining in the county. Santa Paula cannot afford to make the same mistake as Thousand Oaks.
To ensure a prosperous future, vote yes on A7 on May 8.
— Mike Lynch, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:18 PM
Progress without damage
We support Measure A7, authored by Steve Smead, co-petitioned by Ed Beach and supported by a diverse group of Santa Paula residents, including three members of the City Council. We are one of three property owners in Adams Canyon. Our family has been and remains committed to sound stewardship and progressive agricultural production. If we had our wish, it would be for the neighboring properties to still be operated by the Smith-Hobson family as a well-managed agricultural operation in strong agricultural hands.
Being a citizens’ effort, A7 is fundamentally different than a developer-authored and -sponsored land-use initiative. That difference is very important to us and is a major reason we support a yes vote on A7.
Adams Canyon is a very special place. Over the years, we have watched Pinnacle evolve in its thinking toward a very compelling vision of what could be. The attractive feature of A7 is that it is an effort to ensure a new project in our community that turns out as promised, with no slight of hand, with the cards dealt face up and with the best interest of our community clearly in mind.
Pinnacle has a track record of being able to deliver on its promise.
Much of the change envisioned in A7 will not be visible from the valley. However, the impact on our town’s economy, the increased vitality of downtown and its surrounding central business district will be profound and positive.
We will be the property most impacted by this change. We care deeply that we see true progress, that the result will be something we can live alongside and that the unique potential of our hidden canyon will be carefully nurtured and not spoiled.
We urge you to support A7 with a yes vote May 8.
— Dan and Susan Pinkerton, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:11 PM
Adams Canyon holds risks
I agree with the opponents of Measure A7 that Pinnacle’s Adams Canyon project will cost us dearly in the long run. We will have to pay for maintaining streets, sewers, water pipes, parks, vegetation, etc., spread over a 6,500-acre area that extends from Foothill Road in Santa Paula to Sulphur Mountain in Ojai.
The fact that Adams Canyon runs to Sulphur Mountain is important in another regard. Adams Canyon had many more than 40 wells drilled into it years ago before the Division of Oil and Gas and its predecessor, Bureau of Mines, were active in abandonments. The dozens of old oil wells in Adams Canyon may pose a risk to Santa Paula. Oil fields seep naturally and regularly. Some wells were not properly abandoned.
Who will be responsible for cleaning up any messes associated with these wells if we populate Adams Canyon with nearly 500 homes, a hotel and golf course? We can’t control how the oil in the canyon moves. Biohazards are extraordinarily expensive to clean up. At the first hint of any contamination to a millionaire’s property, the well-heeled denizens of this development will have the best attorneys at our throats. Will Pinnacle be here to pay the bill? No. Pinnacle puts in streets and lots, then leaves. You and I and our children will be saddled with any fallout from all the old oil wells in Adams Canyon.
Add the troubles associated with dozens of old oil wells to the cost of spreading 495 homes over 10 square miles and you have some large bills rolling in and large sums of money rolling out of our wallets.
Adams Canyon is a bad place to build. It is the wrong place to build. Vote no on Measure A7 and let the county get the costs and headaches.
— Richard Vincent, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:59 AM
Officers should testify
Re: your April 10 article, “Family sues to get beach death facts”:
As Cindy Conolly's brother, I can't understand why police officers don't have to come forward and testify when they cause a death, as any regular citizen would have to in this situation. How can Ventura County be made safe from such incidents in the future when the public is denied the truth about what happened? Isn't it ironic that our family now is being forced to go into court to obtain an order to find out the truth from police officers?
— Randy Hudson, Pipestone, MN
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:55 AM
Something to hide?
Re: your April 10 article, “Family sues to get beach death facts”:
In response to Gary Gillig’s quote about how traumatic this has been on the officers, I would like to express how offended I am. We waited for the investigation for more than seven months. We have never heard from the city once to apologize or to see how we were doing.
Gillig stated he believes we should be talking about a settlement and moving on. What Gillig fails to realize is that I am not prepared to move on. I will make sure, one way or another, that no other family goes through what we have been going through. My mother, Cindy Conolly, died the day after my wedding as result of being run over by a vehicle driven by two Oxnard police officers.
It is shocking that the officers are refusing to testify under oath about what happened that tragic day. If it was just an accident, why are they afraid of giving honest testimony under oath? Is there something to hide? My family and I have been suffering enough, and now Gillig is making us go to court just to question the officers.
— Ronnie Bassett, Prior Lake, MN
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:53 AM
Family traumatized, too
Re: your April 10 article, “Family sues to get beach death facts”:
Oxnard City Attorney Gary Gillig was quoted in the article as saying: “This is a traumatic event for the officers, and at this point in time, it is the city’s position that the parties should be talking settlement and resolution and not reliving this terrible day.”
I am offended that the city attorney is focusing only on the “trauma” the officers have suffered, and that he fails to acknowledge the trauma my mother, Cindy Conolly, suffered — and the trauma my brother and I suffer each day at having lost our mother.
These officers must be made to testify under oath about the death they caused, as no police officer should be above the law.
— Tammy Krieger, Prior Lake, MN
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:46 AM
April 20, 2007
Bill will stop overbreeding
Re: Susan Robles' April 19 letter, "Cats, dogs in jeopardy":
I would like to clear up some of the misinformation contained in Susan Robles' letter criticizing the California Healthy Pets Act, or AB1634.
This bill would require the spaying and neutering of most cats and dogs by the time the pet is four months old. This bill is meant to reduce the number of unwanted pets in shelters and the number of healthy adoptable pets that have to be euthanized in shelters because there are not enough homes for them.
Robles' letter is vague, but she implies that early spaying and neutering is dangerous and kills puppies and kittens. She cites no studies or resources. In fact, the exact opposite of what she claims is true.
The truth is that some half million unwanted and abandoned dogs and cats are killed in California shelters every year. Many of them are healthy and adoptable. This is caused by overbreeding and irresponsible pet owners. Spaying and neutering pets cuts down on the number of unwanted puppies and kittens born, thus the number that have to be killed.
Will early spaying and neutering kill puppies and kittens to the point of extinction, as Robles asserts? There is research available on the physical, behavioral and short- and long-term effects of spaying and neutering puppies and kittens between the ages of 8 weeks and 6 months. These studies found no adverse results. Based on this information, the American Humane Association supports this practice as a feasible solution to decreasing pet overpopulation. Also, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association and the California Veterinary Medical Association support early spaying and neutering.
As for Robles' claim that this bill would "eliminate all dogs and cats," there are exemptions to this bill. Breeders of purebred dogs and cats will still be able to breed when they obtain a permit. Service dogs and guide dogs will not have to be altered, and dogs used in law enforcement and search and rescue will be exempt, as will dogs and cats whose veterinarians determine are too old or sick to be altered.
For more information on the California Healthy Pets Bill, please visit www.cahealthypets.com. For information on the number of animals taken in and euthanized in Ventura County, please visit the Ventura County Animal Regulation Web site at www.vcar.us and click the stats link.
The bill comes to a vote on April 24. Please contact your Assembly member and let them know you support this important bill.
— Patricia Willis, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:56 AM
S. Paula needs change
We moved to Santa Paula four years ago, and I could see immediately that the city needed to change its thoughts about growth.
Santa Paula is one of the most central towns in the county and at one time was the largest. Now it has fallen way behind in improvements and growth. More people mean more business, which means more jobs which means more money to help the city that is in major deficit.
Come on, people: Do you want to see your city become a slum city? Do you want to pay more taxes? Your children need better schools and a better place to live and, in turn, raise their future families, which is the future of this city.
— Don & Marilyn Westerdale, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:45 AM
Reach for the brass ring
One of the opponents of Santa Paula’s Measure A7 commented about a fishy smell. It probably comes from the seemingly endless supply of red herrings the opposition drags across any trail that might lead to upgrading our town.
Measure A7 would only give Santa Paula control over the future of Adams Canyon. It is not a development issue. While the lightweight negative arguments wander all over the map, they somehow manage to avoid addressing that simple fact.
The only plausible reason for opposing Measure A7 would be to maintain our status as poor and needy — fertile ground for developers of subsidized low-income housing. Measure A7 simply offers us the potential for improving our economy without development strings attached. Future use of the canyon would then be ours to decide.
I feel strongly we should at least reach for the brass ring by voting yes on A7.
— Bill Glenn, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:14 AM
April 19, 2007
Arming citizens
Re: Robert Hardaway’s April 18 commentary, "Shooting may force high court to address 2nd, 9th amendments":
"Stacking the deck" could apply to the arguments Hathaway uses to prove that the Second Amendment is a collective, rather than an individual right. Being a professor of law, Hathaway should honor the opportunity to provide all of the facts. He is not guilty of falsehood, but of omission.
He cites the ruling in the case of U.S. v. Miller, interpreting the Supreme Court opinion as: the Second Amendment guarantees no right to keep and bear a firearm that "does not have some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia.” Hardaway believes it follows, therefore, that you have to be in the militia to own a firearm.
In 1938, Jack Miller and Frank Layton were indicted on a charge of transporting a sawed-off shotgun from Oklahoma to Arkansas. The case, which challenged the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act, rose to be heard by the Supreme Court.
The decision, which Hardaway quotes, did not rule that only the militia could bear arms. The court stated that there was no evidence that possession of or use of a shotgun having a barrel of less than 18 inches in length has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia. In other words, a citizen defending his country would not use such a weapon.
Hardaway quotes Chief Justice Warren Burger: “The gun lobby’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud….” If Hardaway considers himself qualified to speak on this issue, he should be aware that it was the founders of this nation, not the gun lobby, that made it clear that the availability of a militia required the arming of private citizens.
— William Vietinghoff, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:03 PM
The big picture
The recent shootings at Virginia Tech have left us all speechless and shocked. Our country need not worry about terrorism. We seem to be destroying ourselves from the inside out!
It seems to me that a spirit of murder is currently alive in our midst. It is a horrible thing to have warning signs that no one seems to see. This young man was certainly depressed and mentally ill, but no one seemed to notice or care.
Our society has become uncaring and unfeeling until something bad happens. It's time that we look at the big picture. God has been kicked out of our schools, our lives and our country. I pray that all of us get back to putting God back in the picture of our lives and our land. We so need him to heal our country and our spirits.
I pray for all the families that have lost loved ones. Our words need to be backed by action. I don't know the solution, but I am certain that with God, we'll have one.
— Dorothy Campagna, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:59 AM
Psychiatrists at fault
According to a roommate of shooter Cho Seung-Hui, Cho was taking psychiatric medications every morning. Psychiatric drugs are commonly found among those involved in senseless violence. The Columbine massacre, the Red Lake Indian Reservation shooting — look closely and you will find psychiatric drugs.
Before a person is prescribed psychiatric drugs, he typically must first be labeled as having a psychiatric illness. Here is where it gets real interesting. Did you know that with psychiatric illnesses, there is no physical evidence of any disease? And yet strong mind-altering drugs are prescribed, many of which have strong written warnings of suicidal tendencies and violence.
Who would prescribe such a drug? Could you conscientiously prescribe a drug known to have caused any person to become a psycho-killer? Knowing that these drugs are documented to have created suicidal tendencies and/or violence in others and yet prescribe them in the name of help is a crime!
It is time we made the psychiatrists who prescribe these “killer drugs” accountable for these murders as well. After all, they know or should know the side effects of the drugs they prescribe.
— Steve Bibb, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:53 AM
Gun laws in flux
Re: Robert Hardaway’s April 18 commentary, “Shooting may force high court to address 2nd, 9th amendments”:
It’s too bad Robert Hardaway did not acknowledge what the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reasoned on March 9 when it announced the Washington, D.C., handgun ban violates the Second Amendment.
— Todd Sands, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:48 AM
Were medications a factor?
Many will blame video games, guns, insanity and others for the cause of violence in our schools. One point cannot be argued in case after case: The "killers" in many of the most violent acts in our schools in the past 10 years have been taking psychotropic medications.
This isn’t hard to understand when one looks at the facts. Many people who are taking these types of medications are taking them to block awareness to depression or some sort of pain. With a lessening of reasoning powers, the reality of what they are doing is blocked. They act in ways that appear totally irrational to human beings who are sane.
Many may want to make nothing out of the overwhelming evidence that points to psychotropic medications and their prescribers as at least in part responsible for the increase in school violence in our country. The facts are the facts, and we ignore them at our own demise and at the cost of future school and social violence.
— George Horton, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:43 AM
Gun crackdown isn’t answer
Less than 24 hours after the horrific massacre by Cho Seung-Hui on the Virginia Tech campus, we were once again confronted with the heartless and mindless promotion of agendas by the likes of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
To the hundreds of immediate family members who have had their lives shattered by this insane individual, do not let yourselves become tools of this agenda-pushing organization. If this butcher, Cho, had chosen to use a car, would we try to stop the sale of cars? What if he had used a bomb? The terrorists of Sept. 11 chose weapons of flying aircraft. Should we remove all aircraft from the skies because of why might happen if other lunatics gain control of those "weapons?"
Let us give the families and friends of those lost in this senseless killing time to grieve and time to heal. To the Brady Campaign, the demon who selfishly took the lives of 32 innocent souls before he committed the cowardly act of suicide is the monster. Let us understand why he did this so we can prevent other acts of hatred before they happen.
— Matt Kolb, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:35 AM
Make bullets like Sudafed
It seems to me the easiest way to slow down people from committing mass murder — you can't totally prevent these things — is to limit how many bullets a person can buy.
I am a pharmacist, and there is a law that says you can't buy more than, say, 100 tablets of Sudafed per month. This has really slowed down meth labs. The law has real teeth because you can't buy the Sudafed without a valid driver’s license, and if somebody tried buying Sudafed at different pharmacies, the register actually shows when they can and can't buy more.
Well, if we can have this kind of technology for drugs, it should be relatively simple to set up the same system for bullets. Set up a reasonable limit of shells that can be bought per month and have all the registers linked by the same computer we pharmacists have to put up with.
For those who say, “What about target practice?” I say you have to use an approved shooting range. Buy your bullets there — 30 to 40 at a time — and know you can't leave with the excess.
We may not be able to control who has guns, but they are useless without the ammunition.
— Dan B. Kaufman, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:21 AM
No one could shoot back
While people wonder what would make a young man go nuts and kill so many fellow students as Cho Seung-Hui did at Virginia Tech, I can't help but have the answer flash into my mind:
He was evil. And he could do it.
Nothing could stop him — not the police, not campus security, not the brave professors and students who tried their best to keep him out whenever they could. This evil person even had the foresight to chain the door to the building shut, to keep out police and keep his victims in.
The wolf had chained himself in with the sheep.
He acted with methodical hatred. He shot students one at a time. Rushing him would have been suicide. So, unfortunately for many, was staying put.
So what could have stopped this killer? An adult who could shoot back. At this point, the only solution to this problem was a person with the will and the training to return fire, much as we in the civilized world hate to hear talk like this.
Before anyone says I want to pass out handguns to every kid in college, I will say up front that many people should not have them. Convicted criminals, hotheads, the mentally ill and people who can't or won't learn how to handle a gun should not own one.
But how about the rest of us? What is a cop anyway but a person who has had firearms and legal training and passed tests? What if people like you and me could receive training and pass tests to carry a gun? Some states allow this. Virginia is one of them, but the law does not allow carrying guns on school property. The killer was crazy, but not stupid. What do you want to bet he knew this and planned accordingly?
If another student or a teacher had had a handgun in one of these classrooms, I am guessing no one in the room would have been upset. In fact, I bet they would have felt happy and not a little relieved.
Support sensible concealed carry laws. The life you save may be your own.
— Ken Foerster, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:15 AM
Where was zero tolerance?
Re: your April 18 article, "Killer was known as a sullen loner":
In watching the continuous coverage of the horrible rampage at Virginia Tech, I am appalled by how things like this can continue to happen in the age of zero-tolerance. We have all read about how people with little common sense have misapplied zero tolerance to incidents such as the 6-year-old suspended for sexual harassment when he kissed a female classmate on the cheek and the kids suspended for carrying water pistols to school. And how about the kid suspended for having a 1.5-inch plastic toy pistol hanging from a key chain?
Then there is Virginia Tech and Cho Seung-Hui, a man referred to as a “sullen loner.” This man stalked two different girls without receiving so much as a reprimand, sat like a stone and refused to participate in classes and wrote perverted, violent themes filled with rape and murder.
Of course, we can all rest assured that our children are safe from those evil, water-gun-totin’ kindergartners. But where was zero tolerance when everyone on campus who knew him seemed to know this man was an explosion waiting to happen? Where was zero-tolerance for the 32 people in this madman’s path? Stephanie Derry stated, “We always joked that we were just waiting for him to do something.” Well, the waiting is over for 32 innocent people.
— Judy Woolsey, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:07 AM
Opportunities abound
The city of Santa Paula has some wonderful opportunities to enhance its prosperity on the horizon. Responsible growth will benefit all Santa Paula citizens as we grapple with the many financial issues facing our beautiful city: escalating utility costs, deteriorating roads, worsening safety records and substandard educational results. The cost-benefit relationships of each development project for our town will be well thought-out with the creation of specific plans, development of comprehensive environmental impact reports and mitigation strategies for any/all environmental impacts future projects will create. This process is demanding but necessary to preserve the quality of life all of us enjoy and demand in Santa Paula.
I believe that responsible growth involves complimentary development projects in Adams Canyon, Fagan Canyon, East Area One and Santa Paula infill. To view our community comprehensively across all development areas provides the core for responsible growth and will allow us all to maximize the many benefits growth will provide while minimizing the costs on our beautiful city. Development of a specific plan in Adams Canyon will compliment our fine city as well as future projects our city will approve. Annexing Adams Canyon into our city will allow a complimentary specific plan to be created, taking into consideration responsible projects in East Area One, Fagan Canyon and specific infill opportunities. The results will be dramatically beneficial to our community as we work together to raise the prosperity of Santa Paula.
As a concerned citizen of Santa Paula, I will vote yes for Measure A7 so the opportunity to create a responsible specific plan for our community can be realized.
— Harold S. Edwards, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:58 AM
A7 gives Santa Paula control
Although Adams Canyon is a beautiful part of the Santa Paula area, I can personally attest to the property’s inadequate agricultural viability.
More than 30 years ago, several associates and I failed in an attempt to successfully develop a 600-acre avocado venture in Adams. Inclement weather and marginal hillside soil proved to our bane.
Of the canyon’s 6,000-plus acres, much is suitable only for open space and related activity. Some of the property appears to be residentially developable without losing the canyon’s charm.
Measure A7 is simply an effort to bring the canyon’s future to the attention of city government rather than county.
Some of the proposition’s opponents are publicly criticizing development, when, in fact, a specific plan has yet to be presented.
In basic terms, A7 asks that Adams Canyon fall within our city’s governmental decision-making process, not the county’s.
I sincerely believe the citizens of Santa Paula can best determine the city’s future, and that a yes vote on Measure A7 would be a step in the right direction.
— Alan M. Teague, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:52 AM
Alternatives to Adams
It’s not too late to educate ourselves on why Measure A7 is a dangerous choice for Santa Paulans to make in addressing our needs for growth.
At Santa Paula’s Blanchard Community Library is a copy of the Island Press book, “Sprawl Costs: The Economic Impact of Unchecked Development.” It is a compelling argument against buying into growth that isn’t physically connected to existing city infrastructure. A Web search at home with the words “sprawl costs” will also turn up a number of Web sites and pdf files to download that provide good economic arguments against taking on projects like Adams Canyon.
Also at the library is a copy of a very recent report from Michigan State University’s renowned Land Policy Institute, “Fiscal Impacts ... Infrastructure Costs,” available for download at http://www.landpolicy.msu.edu/reports/index.html. It’s not bedside reading, but it clearly spells out a scenario for economic disaster that befalls towns like ours that pursue projects far from the city core. Up until now, this kind of information has been missing from cost-benefit analysis equations.
It is important for us all to understand why the rosy economic picture being given for moving our City Urban Restriction Boundaries to include Adams Canyon is based on a fatally flawed rationale.
We need to keep in mind that we have other choices for growth besides what A7 offers us. We don’t have to put our worst option at the front of the train with little chance to see just how much growth is actually enough before we spread unwisely across the landscape.
Limoneira has its East Area One project, which we will most likely vote on in the fall, once the dust settles from A7. It is a project that appears to possess real potential to make a difference, both socially and economically, for our community without the serious downside of sprawl into Adams Canyon. They have been busy involving the community with their plans the last two years and will roll out a very specific project with environmental impact reports ready for our inspection. There will be no guesswork about what we’ll be buying into when we move that CURB.
We also know that a project in Fagan is being revamped, likely with reduced numbers, which we can also take a look at again. There is no need for us to panic, fall prey to fear, and get stuck with the huge liabilities that will be ours if we move the CURB to include Adams Canyon.
I urge Santa Paulans: Don’t be misled into thinking easy street lies just over the ridgeline in Adams. Please, do some homework so you can vote intelligently May 8.
— Linda Spink, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:47 AM
Library dream come true
Re: J. William Little’s April 16 letter, “Camarillo Library slighted”:
I thank Mr. Little for his letter. Members of the Friends of the Camarillo Library have been working and planning for a new library since 1988. We raised a great deal of money at the Big White Tent Sales by selling books donated by Camarillo residents. In November 2001, the Friends of the Library opened a bookstore using donated books. Both were successful. We were able to donate $400,000 to the city for use in the new library.
Camarillo citizens had an enormous interest in the new library, as evidenced by the 9,000 young and old folks who were at its opening. Families and students continue to explore and use this wonderful new library.
The Star erred badly by not covering the grand opening of the library. Maybe the newspaper could do a series on the library from its inception to the present. Then we book lovers will forgive its bad judgment in ignoring such an important event.
— Marjorie E. Grate, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:40 AM
Grand Jury commendable
Re: your April 18 article, "Grand Jury audit report 'disservice,' officials say":
You have to wonder if any member of the Board of Supervisors actually read the Grand Jury report, "Failure to Audit."
The Grand Jury report is tightly reasoned and well-written. Its fundamental conclusion: "The county has exposed itself to loss from ineffective procedures and practices as a consequence of significantly reduced auditing capabilities."
Rather than consider this inconvenient truth, the board turned to fawning over CEO Johnny Johnston and condemning the messenger, our Grand Jury.
Fundamentally, this is not about Mr. Johnston. It is about systemic institutional failure to have audit controls in place to assure accountability. As the report demonstrates — and without making a personal attack on anyone — many decision makers share responsibility for this failure. These include Johnston, the auditor-controller and, ultimately and primarily, the Board of Supervisors itself. Remedial action is long overdue. The auditor-controller cannot do the job with present staffing, and the notion that departments spending millions need only "self audit" is absurd.
To the extent, if any, that there are errors in the report, it results from the failure of our county to provide the Grand Jury with the tools it should have. Unlike other counties, our Grand Jury lacks investigative and legal staff. It must look to county departments to borrow that expertise or do without.
As one member of the public, I wish to commend and thank the Grand Jury for its volunteer service. It deserves respect from the Board of Supervisors, and I am hopeful it will yet loosen up its closed ranks and actually listen.
— Lee Quaintance, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:28 AM
Temescal not ‘smart growth’
By a narrow margin, the Board of Supervisors recently voted to prevent the subdivision of the 2,400-acre Rancho Temescal in Piru into luxury estate lots. Such subdivision would have priced the land out of the range of farmers and utterly failed to address the need for affordable housing. It would have decimated the wildlife values of the ranch, created development that would have been costly for the county to serve and led to long-distance commutes to jobs. In short, it would have been the opposite of “smart growth.”
This vote truly protected the long-term agricultural economy of Ventura County. Let’s hope that the entire board strengthens the general plan in the future so that Ventura’s “working landscape” does not succumb to unaffordable estate lots. Very low densities are the critical ingredient.
For the rest of Southern California, Ventura County is a model for good planning.
— Dan Silver, Los Angeles
(The writer is executive director of Endangered Habitats League. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:15 AM
April 18, 2007
A7 will help city
I would like to address those who seem to be so adamantly opposed to Measure A7.
How can anyone possibly think that the huge amount of school fees generated by building permits could not help the school system? God knows it certainly needs help. The fact that 40 acres is set aside for a new school can't be all that bad! I know that it is too far away right now, and most kids would have to be bussed until they can drive, but it is better than gargantuan overcrowding.
How about this scenario? Build a new school that would work for a community college. Upon completion, move all the high school students into it. Raze the existing high school, rebuild it with multistoried buildings that will sufffice for the next 20 years, and move the high school students back into the existing grounds. Now, sell the A7 school to the Ventura County Community College District and — voila! — you have a viable new high school.
Next, I would like to know how anyone thinks that the owners of the expensive houses who have at least one and sometimes two other houses will drain the city services. They have no kids and use no full-time services at all. What is to hate about a golf course and hotel that will employ many local people and pay both bed tax and property taxes to the city, as well as the county? Also, what's to hate about a project that will employ a lot of local contractors and laborers? The Pinnacle Group, the most likely developer, doesn't build houses, only building sites and golf courses and hotels. That means many more local jobs here.
Lastly, why is it that Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources and other opponents with their obvious personal agendas never offer an alternative solution to Santa Paula’s problems? They can only criticize what someone else proposes. Does anyone else see a neverending problem here?
Please vote yes on A7.
— Phil Rice, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:53 AM
Shame on the Padres
As I sat and watched the Los Angeles Dodgers play the San Diego Padres on Jackie Robinson Day, April 15, I was somewhat surprised to see that the only starting player on the Padres wearing the coveted Number 42 was Mike Cameron, who happens to be African-American. I question why the other members of the Padres starting lineup, and many sitting in the dugout, did not see the importance of honoring the memory of a man who broke the color barrier by the simple gesture of wearing Number 42. How hard would that have been?
With the televised game being played at Dodger Stadium and a host of celebratory events occurring throughout the game, I was disappointed in the lack of respect shown by the majority of the Padres team on a day that should mean so much to not only Major League Baseball and other sports, but to the nation as a whole. In a time in which racism unfortunately still permeates our society, shame on the Padres for not taking the opportunity to spread the silent message of unity and equality that Number 42 represents.
— Leslie Bird, Moorpark
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:16 AM
Stars do politicians’ job
Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Bono, Oprah Winfrey — it seems that more and more celebrities are using their influence and money to support world humanitarian and environmental causes. It is wonderful seeing these people, who do not belong to the political or diplomatic sphere, become real examples for the advocacy of human rights to the rest of society.
The latest incident regarding the Chinese government's response to the actions of Mia Farrow and Steven Spielberg is a perfect example of how great an impact Hollywood can have in the pursuit of justice.
However, this recent event should make us ask some important questions: Why could Hollywood do what government leaders could not? Why didn't political leaders recognize the timing and bearing that the upcoming Olympic Games have on the situation? Aren't these the people who are supposed to be figuring out how to negotiate government action? Was it not the leaders of 190 countries that in 2000 agreed to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which aim to end the world's top global concerns?
It has been said that the business of government is ethics. If this is true, then it is crucial that all societies demand leaders throughout the world to acknowledge that business has not been too good lately.
— Moriah Kairouz, Moorpark
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:09 AM
Military draft the answer
Since the current administration persists in continuing the obscene war that can never be won — the present cultures there have been fighting for centuries — and our troops are being forced to serve several rotations there, I join with Sen. John Murtha, D-Pa., U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and a handful of others who put our nation above political ambition by calling for a draft.
I speak as a soldier who served in the combat zone during the Korean War. I was drafted for a period of 18 months, and we were automatically rotated from the combat zone after nine. Then, following our active service, we were placed in inactive reserve for five years. We were given many benefits covered by the GI Bill, including help with college and loans for homes.
The only changes I would like to see would be less and more fair deferments, whereby the rich and/or powerfully connected could not weasel out of serving, unlike some in the current administration. I would further suggest that this service be started at the age of 18. I applaud those few politicians who aren’t afraid to suggest this common-sense approach, and I regret those who keep their heads in the sand and their mouths shut, fearful of losing some votes.
Let’s give our current long-serving veterans a break and improve our country’s security at the same time!
— Ken Peek, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:02 AM
Cats, dogs in jeopardy
The Star has covered two of three major animal-related issues, with headlines about the recalled pet food and U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly's Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act. It has reported nothing about AB1634, proposed by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys.
This awful bill will destroy the cats and dogs in California. While everyone is obviously concerned about poisoning of their pets and shocked that our companions are treated as "property," this bill requires the neutering of all dogs and cats from 4 months old on up, relegating our companions to a far worse fate. As a point of information, some dogs, when neutered before 6 months, and many of the older pets will die or be forever sick.
All of this is to stop dogs and cats from ending up in the animal shelters? I think not. This is to eliminate all dogs and cats. Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, has said, "We have no problems with the extinction of domestic animals."
The American Kennel Club is strongly against AB1634, as all who are truly animal lovers should be.
This bill comes to a vote on April 24. That’s not much time before all pet owners will lose more than their "property." They will lose their companions.
— Susan Robles, Westlake Village
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:49 AM
Tip of the iceberg?
In announcing his decision to fire Don Imus, CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves was quoted as saying, "There has been much discussion of the effect language like (Mr. Imus' remarks) has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society."
Now that both his network and MSNBC have summarily fired Mr. Imus from their employ over his "racist and sexist" broadcast commentary, one can only dream that CBS’s and MSNBC's newfound values spread to their collective condemnation and elimination of all of the rap music and other racially and sexually offensive material constantly dispensed by the broadcast outlets under their control.
— Bill Whittinghill, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:40 AM
Imus was wrong
Don Imus got what he deserved, but not because Al Sharpton said he should be fired, not because the liberal" media said he should be fired and not because advertisers withdrew their money. He should have lost his job because the venom he spewed was wrong. The ubiquitous "taken out of context" excuse is just that: an excuse. He simply and absolutely was wrong. And anyone else, including rappers, athletes or imitators thereof, is just as wrong.
As for those who continue to trumpet the "What about the First Amendment?" argument, I ask this one simple question: Where is it written that the Founding Fathers’ intention was for the First Amendment to override right from wrong?
— Rodney K. Boswell, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:35 AM
Emissions can’t be ignored
Re: David J. Ameling’s April 16 commentary, “Stop scapegoating carbon dioxide”:
I thank Mr. Ameling for writing to express his views on global warming and the need for climate action. As one of the co-organizers of the Step It Up 2007 event held April 14 in Thousand Oaks, I feel that he missed a golden opportunity to have his concerns addressed by one of the experts in the field, Dr. David Lea of UCSB. Although the newspaper is not to best forum for discussing such complex subjects, let me provide a summary of what I learned.
While there are some indications that photosynthesis has increased due to the increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, that increase has not been sufficient to offset the total quantity of carbon dioxide emitted by mankind's burning of fossil fuels.
The total concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been increasing steadily since regular measurements began in the 1960s. The relative concentration of carbon dioxide is more than 20 percent higher than in 1960 and 40 percent higher than the atmospheric levels at the start of the Industrial Revolution. Any increase in the natural carbon dioxide sequestration processes of the earth, including photosynthesis, is being overwhelmed by the massive amounts of carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere. If Mr. Ameling’s theory were correct, the total concentration of carbon dioxide would not be increasing because increasing photosynthesis would keep things in balance. Clearly, this is not the situation.
Mr. Ameling’s concerns are appropriate. The threat of global warming, if it is as serious as most scientists profess, will require that everyone make choices — difficult choices. When he is convinced, as I am, making sacrifices today so that our children and their families have a fighting chance for a favorable environment in the future will become a moral imperative, not an academic discussion.
— Steve Kane, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:31 AM
April 17, 2007
Superfund housing
Re: your April 13 article, “Santa Susana Lab may be listed as Superfund site”:
As a concerned citizen of Simi Valley, I was elated that the Santa Susana Field Laboratory might become a Superfund site. Along with many of my neighbors, I have been very concerned about the cleanup of chemical and nuclear waste at the Boeing site. Many Simi Valley residents are unaware of the conditions at the Lab. I applaud The Star for helping to create community awareness about these problems.
What has been of great concern these past two years has been the announcement by KB Home to build houses on the land just below this site.
I am not an activist, and I stress that point. Rather I am a concerned citizen trying to protect the children in the community from the hazards of nuclear waste.
— The Rev. John E. Southwick, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:40 PM
Emotional propaganda
Re: Lee Karageorge's April 12 letter, “Rosie-bashing is wrong”:
It is amusing to me how people react to supposed diatribes depending on their personal views. In my opinion, Rosie O'Donnell is the spinner. She insinuates that we killed our own people on Sept. 11 and planned with Britain to have their sailors and marines captured. She does this with no facts to substantiate her assertions. On her show, she made a pointed comment about the Gulf of Tonkin. I would bet that the day before, if she had been given an unmarked world map, she wouldn't have been able to point the gulf out.
Bill O'Reilly rebuts her allegations with research and fact and invites her to come on his show for discussion. She won't go on because she can't make a valid argument because she has no facts. She just repeats propaganda. How about her previous statement that the Christian right is more dangerous than the Islamic fascists? Was that an example of hate and vitriol, and was it a question or pontificating?
O'Donnell makes her claims on a show that is a one-sided forum, and her sycophant audience applauds.
Karageorge’s letter describes O'Donnell as speaking intelligently and with knowledge. To me, she speaks emotionally with propaganda.
— Bill Buchanan, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:33 PM
Musket control
If it is so important to give the original intent to the Constitution, including the Second Amendment, why does not the so-called right to bear arms extend only to one sword and one muzzle-loading musket?
— Irene Freeman, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:27 PM
Traffic signal impractical
I realize the widening of Highway 23 is a work in progress — and I hope progress is indeed the key word. So I ask: What California Department of Transportation rocket scientist saw fit to install the stoplight on the northbound Olsen Road offramp?
We had a very workable yield, no-stop-required intersection for folks turning right toward Simi Valley. Now, with the stoplight, traffic is backed up all the way down the offramp and up to three-quarters of a mile on the freeway, even on light commute days. I can’t see how this bottleneck will improve, even when the new lanes are completed. Caltrans needs to take another look at rush hour. It wasn’t broke, and Caltrans certainly didn’t fix it!
— Doug Crosse, Westlake Village
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:24 PM
What Iraq is really like
It's hard to know the situation in Iraq when newspapers report that Sen. John McCain walked unharmed down the street in Baghdad, and later report that there were two helicopters overhead and 100 soldiers guarding him and that he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
What's the real situation in Iraq?
Now we have a chance to hear what it's really like for Iraqi citizens. Global Exchange is having Dr. Dahlia Wasfi speak at the Thousand Oaks Library on April 25 at 7 p.m. A nationally known speaker, Dr. Wasfi spent her early childhood in Saddam Hussein's Iraq and has visited her family several times recently. I'm planning to be there and ask questions during the question-and-answer time.
— Percy Severn, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:11 PM
Deficit explained
Re: Dan Walters’ April 13 commentary, “No-new-tax vow opens annual California budget rite”:
Dan Walters again blames the car tax for the budget deficit. He writes: “In 2003, when Schwarzenegger was running for governor to replace Davis, who was being recalled, he was pressured by McClintock — another candidate for governor — and others on the Republican right to reinstate a $4 billion-plus-per-year reduction in property taxes that Californians pay on their cars, a revenue loss to local governments that the state had to make up out of its already deficit-ridden budget…. If Schwarzenegger had not done that, his budget probably would be balanced today.”
Really? In the fiscal year that followed Davis’s increase in the car tax — fiscal year 2003-04 — the state ran a $1.6 billion general fund deficit. In the fiscal year that followed Schwarzenegger’s rescinding that tax — fiscal year 2004-05 — the state ran a $2.4 billion surplus.
Since that year, revenues have increased $11.8 billion. Spending has increased $22.3 billion.
Any questions?
— Tom McClintock, State Senator, 19th District, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:03 PM
Pixie dust would help
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made it well known that one of his top priorities for California is a healthcare program for all Californians, and he looks for photo-ops and venues wherein he can present his ideas and garner support so that this goal can be achieved.
With that thought in mind, it occurred to me that the governor should consider making an appearance at Burning Man, a celebration of life experienced in a free-flowing way. Burning Man is set for Aug. 27 through Sept. 3 in the Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada.
Many Californians attend this spiritual renewal event, and it would seem to be a natural setting for the governor to display his natural charms and physical presence while selling the idea of responsible personal good health practices and lifestyles that will help to reduce healthcare insurance costs. Also, he could go through his award-winning set of physical display routines that helped to get him where he is today. For fun, he could do a little arm-twisting and arm-wrestling to make his point. To win more converts and support for his healthcare insurance plan, he could sprinkle pixie dust over the crowd, something they would really enjoy and understand.
Maybe he is waiting for an invitation, so e-mail the governor with your thoughts.
— Richard E. Williams, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:56 PM
Shameful journalism
Re: your April 15 article, “A fighter’s fight”:
Just when you thought that journalism had hit rock bottom, The Star has managed to drain a little more from the pit. This front-page feature story was an example of shameful journalism. This feature gives tacit approval to other forms of barbarism and brutality, such as dog fighting, cock fighting and cruelty to animals in general, all of which diminishes and desensitizes our humanity.
We are engaged in a worldwide culture war. We are under attack from within and without our borders. Our schools have become killing grounds of innocent children, not unlike those in Iraq and Afghanistan. This type of journalistic validation does nothing to enhance or enliven our culture, but rather it gives "grist to the mill" to those who paint our society as drug-addled, gun-toting, amoral money-grubbers.
It's time to regain the high road of journalistic relevance and integrity and not pander to the mistaken belief that violence and brutality are representative of our society at large.
— Edward T. Buckle, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:46 PM
Price-gouging is obvious
Re: your April 17 article, “Gasoline prices are heading back up”:
This story contained a lot of information about equipment failures of an unidentified company being the cause of this increase. But I read a story just a month ago that said the oil companies decided to raise their profit margin to $39 from $17 per barrel of oil — an increase of about 130 percent.
I am amazed that the government has to appoint a large number of congressmen to special commissions to see if the oil companies are price-gouging us at the pumps. If they could find one who was honest, they could just ask a lobbyist for the answer. It saddens me to think that a Congress that can't figure out if we are getting taken at the gas pumps is running this country.
Last Friday I was on the phone to a company in Michigan, and they said the price of gas had just reached $2.85 a gallon, 50 cents cheaper than on the West Coast. Aren't we lucky!
— John Scholfield, Ojai
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:39 PM
A thinly veiled column
Re: Beverly Kelley's April 16 commentary, “Nothing sissy about caring for others":
Why in the world does The Star endorse (and pay) Mrs. Jonathan Sharkey to write such passive-aggressive rants against a group of community-minded citizens? This column is a thinly veiled attack against "Hueneme People,” a group of concerned citizens who are opposed to the 46-story tower that developers are proposing to build in a small parking lot across from the beach in Port Hueneme. Mrs. Sharkey has used this forum in the past to belittle this group, and since her column is a regular feature in The Star, and it also cites her relationship to California Lutheran University, it carries more weight than a letter written by an average citizen.
Shame on Mrs. Sharkey for using this column for her personal diatribe, and shame on The Star for supporting her.
— Joan Dawson, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:29 PM
Gore-Obama in 2008
I look forward with great optimism, audacious hope and personal joy to casting my vote for Barack Obama for president of the United States.
In 2016.
I am convinced that between now and then, the very best thing that could happen for our country and for the well-being of the international community and of the planet itself will be the election of Al Gore to the presidency, with Obama as his vice president.
Media hype and fundraising aside, Gore’s intelligence, commitment, gravitas, priorities, personal ethics and political know-how on both the national and international levels make clear that there is simply no one in any political party better qualified to lead our nation through the challenging years immediately before us than Gore.
That is, in fact, why the American people elected him in 2000, and nothing about him has changed since, except that he has shaken free of the party machine and freed his prophetic voice.
For the sake of the planet, not just environmentally but because of his long senatorial and vice-presidential experience, Gore is the one.
That being said, I can’t wait to vote for a candidate of hope such as Obama. Four years as a senator is good experience. Eight years as vice president will give all the credentials this extraordinary young man needs to step into leading a world made safer and healthier under President Gore.
— James A. Merrill, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:19 PM
Unification? Hah!
All decisions are made emotionally and justified logically. That is a fact of life! This is not my opinion any more than what goes around comes around is my opinion. It’s just a fact of life!
Based on that fact, it’s important for me to get involved with Los Senderos Open School, rally around the parents and do whatever is in my power to help build a charter school. Am I emotional about this? Of course I am, or I would not be writing this letter, but my emotions are just a little different than those who have children going to school in the Pleasant Valley School District. Most of the people involved are angry, disappointed, frustrated and feel as if they have been betrayed. I, on the other hand, am excited, enthused, motivated and looking forward to what is going to be better than anything we have ever had.
I am looking forward to a new charter school. I am looking forward to parents taking responsibility for the education of their children. I am looking forward to working with parents who know the importance of involvement. I am looking forward to working with parents who want to make a difference!
It seems to me as if everything our school board is doing is what they believe will lead the district towards unification. This is not the platform to discuss the good and bad about unification, but what I do know is that if our school board cannot unify the majority of the parents of a K-8 program, then what hope do we have to unify a district?
Pleasant Valley School District must listen to the parents and approve the new charter school. Let’s get on with what is really important: the education of our children.
— Bob Taylor, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:13 PM
Why they’re ‘English learners’
Re: your April 17 article, “More seniors are passing exit exam”:
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell is “deeply concerned” that students classified as English learners did not do as well as other groups on the state high school exit exam.
Half of the test is English language arts. It has a reading section and a writing section, which includes an essay. According to the Department of Education Web site, statewide, for all grades combined, 28 percent of those considered to be English learners passed the English language arts part of the test in 2006. Overall, 61 percent passed. Statistics for Ventura County are similar, with 30 percent of English learners passing and 60 percent overall.
This is no surprise. Students are classified as English learners because they have not yet acquired enough English to succeed in school. If they are able to pass an exam that demands a high level of competence in English, they should not be considered English learners.
The low passing rate for this group simply confirms that the classification system is accurate.
— Stephen Krashen, Malibu
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:57 AM
Wrong bully
Re: Beverly Kelley's April 16 commentary, “Nothing sissy about caring for others":
Ms. Kelley speaks of a small group of selfish homeowners’ bullying tactics. Who is the bully here, David or Goliath? She’s talking about a multimillion-dollar structure that jeopardizes the lives of the smaller, less-financed homeowners. She gives her interpretation of a Margaret Mead quote on altruism. Are these builders erecting this monolith out of altruism or greed and self-aggrandizement? Give me a break! The bigger guy is the bully here.
— Wil Albert, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:50 AM
Lawyer wasn’t fired
Re: your April 12 article, “Murder co-defendant fires attorney; O.J. Simpson prosecutor Darden to lead defense in Ventura killing”:
This story says, “A co-defendant in the gang-related murder case of Ryan Briner fired his attorney, who works at the Public Defender’s Office.” This is incorrect. Senior Deputy Public Defender Brian Vogel, the attorney who was representing this defendant before a private lawyer was retained, was not “fired.”
The Ventura County Office of the Public Defender represents accused persons too poor to hire private lawyers. However, if anytime after the public defender is appointed the client becomes able to pay for a private lawyer, he can hire one. The new attorney takes over, and the public defender lawyer is no longer on the case. That’s what happened here.
Brian Vogel has served as a lawyer with the Public Defender’s Office for more than 13 years. In his distinguished career, he has represented thousands of defendants. He has handled many of Ventura County’s most difficult and complex cases, including those where the death penalty was sought. He is widely regarded as one of the finest lawyers in Ventura County. He could have a far more lucrative career in private practice. Instead, as with the other lawyers in the Public Defender’s Office, he has chosen to dedicate his life to representing those accused persons who cannot afford to hire a private lawyer.
Any client would be ill-advised to fire Mr. Vogel, and it didn’t happen here.
— Kenneth I. Clayman, Thousand Oaks
(The writer is the Ventura County public defender. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:41 AM
April 16, 2007
Charter only option
I am a grandparent of a student in fourth grade at Los Senderos Open School. It has been a wonderful environment for her since kindergarten, and we were looking forward to her continuing there through eighth grade. The teachers, the staff and the parents are all dedicated to the philosophy of the open school, which will not be duplicated anywhere else within the district.
I was deeply disappointed, to say the least, by the Pleasant Valley School District board’s decision to move Los Senderos to Rancho Rosal and eliminate the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. I believe the board was pressured by Superintendent Ken Moffett and the district staff to make a hasty decision without enough study to prove that this will save the district money to increase teachers’ salaries.
On the contrary, that decision and the decision to eliminate the upper grades at Santa Rosa School will cost the district money because of the number of disgruntled parents who will put their children in private schools or home-school them. I feel the board has no idea of the ramifications of its decision.
For many parents of students at Los Senderos, a charter school is the only option to maintain the open philosophy that drew them to Los Senderos in the first place. Rancho Rosal is not committed to that philosophy, as was obvious when my daughter attended a meeting there with their school staff. My granddaughter needs an open K-8 environment, and the charter school is the only thing that will give her that. I hope the board will work with the charter, the Camarillo Academy of Progressive Education, to speed this process along.
— Bonnie Miller, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:25 PM
What’s the point of A7?
In looking at the propaganda being spread around town by Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources and a group called Citizens for SMART Growth (a misnomer), it’s easy to be confused by all of the misrepresentations and distortions of the truth. If you’ve seen the yard signs, you can see that the opposition to Measure A7 has reduced their arguments to two points: “sprawl” and “big costly mistake.”
Let’s examine these points.
“Sprawl”: Which is the greater sprawl — a plan for 495 homes in Adams Canyon, which is allowed if A7 passes, or a lesser plan of 39 homes in the canyon, if built under county control, if A7 fails?
“Big costly mistake”: The most costly thing that we could do is vote against A7 and let the county have both the money and the control of the canyon that can be ours. Simply put, we need the money, and with a yes vote, we will get it.
Yes, it’s that simple. If we vote yes on A7, Santa Paula gets control of the canyon and significant money for schools, parks, sewer plants and all the rest. If we vote no, we get absolutely nothing, but Adams Canyon will be developed anyway. Yes means money and control for Santa Paula. No means giving control to the county and receiving nothing in Santa Paula.
Keep in mind that most of the people who now oppose A7 voted yes on the Fagan debacle, which would have given us gridlock traffic and would have increased the number of homes designated in the general plan from 450 to 2,500, many of which would have been low end. Now that would have been a big costly mistake!
On the other hand, A7 reduces the number of homes from 2,500 to 495. What the opposition is trying to do with all their smoke and mirrors is to pave the way for high-density, low-cost housing that we cannot afford.
Let’s just use a little common sense, folks. Ignore the hyper-rhetoric and vote yes on A7.
— Larry Sagely, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:07 PM
What about human fights?
Re: your April 12 article, “Senate OKs Gallegly bill on staged animal fights”:
It is good to know that our lawmakers are making it illegal to stage animal fights. President Bush will sign this measure soon. Many people do not like this age-old tradition of some cultures because it constitutes cruelty to animals and satisfies the need for fun and entertainment of a group of so-called uncultured people.
The Humane Society of the United States has rightly stated, “Staged animal fighting is barbaric and often linked with other serious crimes, such as illegal gambling, drug trafficking and acts of human violence.”
While I agree with such observations by the Humane Society, I cannot but wonder: Why should we, as a civilized society, allow staged human fights in Las Vegas which not only are barbaric but also promote acts of human violence? These kinds of cruel and barbaric entertainments were prevalent in the ancient Roman Empire, when, in staged fights, gladiators were allowed to kill one another to satisfy the thirst of blood of kings or queens and spectators.
No doubt, it is utterly inhuman to derive pleasure out of such spectacles — spectacles in which a human being is mercilessly beating up another human being to be glorified by the onlookers or the sponsors of the event. This is definitely a manifestation of a crude, barbaric, evil, primitive and unsophisticated state of human mind from which we have been able to remove ourselves over the span of 3,000 years and build this wonderful civilization.
However, unfortunately, now it appears that some human beings among us were unable to shake those old evil instincts, and we need an outlet in Las Vegas to give vent to them. Ironically, we are concerned about cruelty to animals but not concerned about cruelty to our fellow human beings.
It is ridiculous to claim that we are civilized human beings and, therefore, cannot tolerate cruelty to animals, while we allow human beings to beat up each other mercilessly in staged fights in Las Vegas. We also televise them to our living rooms to provide entertainment that promotes violence among our young generation.
It is about time to ban such savagery in the name of entertainment or sport.
— Qazi N. Uddin, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:58 PM
Racism will never die
Re: Joe R. Howry’s April 15 essay, “Racism’s well runs deep”:
I thank Mr. Howry for pointing out that racism still exists in our society despite all the efforts of the civil rights movement. In all honesty, I do not believe that it will ever be eradicated or die. As long as we human beings differ, it will continue. Read on and you will see why.
I have tried to do my bit in an effort to eradicate this problem. Every time I have heard the N-word mouthed, I have approached its users and pointed out to them that, even in play, by their using the N-word, they are giving anyone in hearing distance permission to also use it. These have been black children using it within their group. Why haven’t their parents done what I did?
And though I hate hip-hop and rap I recognize that its singers pepper their lyrics with the N-word and the F-word and the name for a female dog and their version of “prostitute” to describe themselves and their women. This again is another form of permission for others to do the same. And, of course, these are also blacks. Why haven’t parents stepped in and objected to their children buying this? Thank God, the Rev. Al Sharpton has promised to take on the music industry next.
You see, racism is not about hatred, though that is often stated. It is really about fear. A racist is really afraid that another person — be he white, red, yellow, black or whatever other color you may want to use — is better than he and will excel beyond what the racist could ever do. It is the excelling that puts the fear into racism, which is then transformed to hatred.
Even before Jackie Robinson became famous, there were other blacks as good as or better athletically, than him. We just didn’t know or hear about them because white athletes feared for their careers and would not permit them to compete on the same field or athletic venue.
The Holocaust was an extension of the fear Adolf Hitler felt that talented Jews would take over the world. Robinson, and, yes, even Hitler, have proven that we human beings can coexist despite our differences, be they what they may. Now, if only we could all understand.
— Leo Alvarez, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:49 PM
Stop blaming procedures
Re: your April 14 article, “Human error blamed for Mars probe failure”:
"Human error triggered a cascade of events that caused the battery to fail on the Mars Global Surveyor last year, according to a preliminary report released Friday.
“An internal NASA board determined that power loss likely doomed the spacecraft after a decade of meticulously mapping the Red Planet. But the problems actually began in 2005 when a routine technical update to onboard computers caused inconsistencies in the spacecraft's memory.
“The board concluded that engineers didn't catch the mistakes because the existing procedures to do so were inadequate."
This is a recurring theme in America. We replace initiative, skill and responsibility with processes that, supposedly, anyone can perform. The loss of the $154 million Global Surveyor is a perfect example. We're supposed to believe that the problem wasn't the workers' skill or the management or the underfunded budget or an attitude of complacency. Instead, blame it on the procedures. No one is at fault.
The reality is that an extremely complicated space mission is very difficult to perform. And management screwed up by trusting procedures to replace insight, intelligence and ownership.
— Nelson Wallace, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:42 PM
Pollution killed LNG
In retrospect, it's easy to see how BHP Billiton blew it. They should have said up front in the beginning that they were going to design and build a pollution-free liquefied natural gas platform.
— William Wolny, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:09 PM
Wagon Wheel towers wrong
Re: your April 12 article, “Owner of Wagon Wheel site urges relocation”:
I admire the righteous indignation of Port Hueneme citizens regarding the proposed monolith in their town. I’m bewildered by the absence of a similar outcry from Oxnard citizens about the proposed high-rise buildings on the former Wagon Wheel site.
It has become increasingly obvious that Oxnard city officials are solely motivated by greed. Furthermore, they have no regard for the environmental or traffic congestion impacts of Oxnard’s unconstrained overdevelopment. I was thrilled when the Ventura River freeway widening was finally undertaken. Then, lo and behold, the RiverPark 1,800-home development began construction, virtually negating any gridlock improvement in that area.
The latest proposal is for 1,500 more housing units in a minimum of two 20- to 25-story towers and 54,000 square feet of commercial space. And even that figure comes with a caveat.
I am anxious to hear the explanation of how the relocation of 141 trailer lodge residents will create the necessity of building a third 20-story tower. If you believe that, I have a bridge for sale. Is there no way that county officials can rein in these irresponsible city officials and developers whose reckless plans impact all Ventura County residents who travel Highway 101?
— Joy Putinta, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:07 PM
Unleashed dogs terrifying
My daughter has lived in Ventura for more than four years, and when I first came to visit, I could see why she loves it so much. She recently moved to the area of Valmore, Entrada, Preble and Porter streets. She works at the mall, so she walks, being that it's so close.
I came to visit for Easter, and when we went for a walk, we were confronted by no fewer than five dogs loose in front yards. They all barked at us, but two we had to run from because they ran towards us as if to attack. My daughter says she has to face that every day on her way to work.
About a year ago, my daughter was attacked at her other place of residence here in Ventura, and it could have been fatal had she not covered her face. The result was 16 stitches on her forearm. The owner paid the emergency room costs and treatment, but that didn't pay for the fact that she is now very much afraid of dogs.
I checked on the Ventura city Web site and found that Ventura has a leash law, but either the residents are not aware or just don't care that they are breaking this law. I sent an e-mail to the City Council representative of the area, James L. Monahan, but I don't know if he has read it or not. He hasn't responded.
Can you imagine if one of these dogs bites a small child? I'm sure the parents would go for the jugular of the owner and the city.
Good citizens of Ventura, if you really love your animal and your city, then please abide by the leash law.
— Jessie Hernandez, Fresno
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:00 PM
Racism isn’t one-sided
Re: Joe R. Howry’s April 15 essay, “Racism’s well runs deep”:
While I certainly agree with Mr. Howry that Don Imus' comments were despicable, his premise that racism runs deep toward minorities is one-sided, false and very disingenuous.
You want minority racism facts? The physical assaults on whites by blacks is almost 10 to 1, according to FBI crime statistics. How about the 30 blacks accused of beating three white girls in Long Beach yelling racial expletives? Concurrently, what about both Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton convicting three white Duke University lacrosse players in the media, and the Black Panthers threatening them with death threats? Ask any police officer in any major city if it is OK for whites to go into black communities. Mr. Howry should try it sometime. I have. Racism? How would it be if we had all-white chambers of commerce or called ourselves Irish-American?
How about illegitimate birth rates in the black communities of over 70 percent, or people valuing rap music more than education?
No, Mr. Howry is wrong. America has come along way in righting the wrongs of racism, but the biggest culprits today are these minority victims of their own hate. If these facts are considered racist by Mr. Howry, then I guess there is no cure for his misguided logic. He should read Shelby Steele's book, “White Guilt.” He might learn something other than what he was taught by his liberal college professors in journalism school.
— John R. Hanson, Oak View
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:47 AM
Voucher cheaper than bulb
Re: your April 13 article, “Edison has plan to give away fluorescent bulbs”:
Southern California Edison's plan to "give away" fluorescent bulbs sounded wonderful until I learned that we ratepayers would be paying for it in the form of an increase to our electric bills.
Since it was my money that was being spent, I did a little math. This $22 million program will distribute 6 million bulbs to 1 million households, so the cost per bulb will be about $3.66. Last week, I purchased a package of four of these bulbs at a local drug store for $3.99, or about $1 per bulb. And our local 99 Cent store is featuring a package of two of these bulbs for 99 cents, or about 50 cents each.
Perhaps Edison should send each of the projected recipients of these bulbs a voucher which could be redeemed at a local store. This would cut the program cost from $22 million to somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 million.
With this approach, the employees that Edison would hire to distribute the bulbs and administer the program would not be needed, and the rate increase, which is sure to remain long past the useful life of the bulbs, would be much less.
— James Bauer, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:25 AM
Oceanview Pavilion isn’t vacant
Re: Ann Simmons’ April 3 letter, “When the tower fails”:
Regarding the tower being proposed for Port Hueneme, Ms. Simmons writes that “this monstrosity” will sit vacant “across from the vacant Oceanview Pavilion."
I am here to give her and Ventura County some great news! The Oceanview Pavilion, located across from the Hueneme Pier, is not vacant. We opened in 2005 and have been producing top-quality entertainment such as “Showboat,” “The Sunshine Boys,” “South Pacific” and “Oklahoma!” with equity and non-equity performers. Once a month, we host "Club Breeze," the only under-20 club in the county. It is a non-alcohol, safe environment for teenagers in our community. On the last Thursday of the month we put on our cowboy hats and line dance to a live Western band.
We are a venue for weddings, seminars, festivals and private parties, not to mention that we have a senior and adult day care program Monday through Friday.
I invite Ms. Simmons to stop by for a cup of coffee, and I will be happy to give her a tour of our facility and tell her all about the benefit concert April 22 that Oceanview Pavilion and the Ventura County Arts Council are sponsoring. It is VCAC's second annual "Stars Awards 2007," starring none other than Ventura's own Big Bad Voodoo Daddy in concert. Come and discover us and help us grow and bring art and entertainment to Ventura County.
— Barbara Burnett, corporate public relations, Oceanview Pavilion, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:14 AM
April 13, 2007
Spend war money on U.S.
Re: Pam Waschbusch’s April 12 letter, "No mandate to end war":
Every day, George W. Bush and a dwindling group of Republicans in Congress, plus a shrinking number of right-wing voters, continue to want to waste tax dollars, lives and limbs of our brave young American soldiers while they stay in the safety of offices and homes to support a so-called war that was supposedly justified by nothing but lies.
This war now has become an occupation that the majority of American voters want ended. A much greater majority of Iraqi people wants us out. As of now, 40 percent of the taxes paid by all Americans are being wasted on this occupation, which is now a civil war that can never end with us being there. Billions of dollars paid to so-called government contractors cannot be accounted for, and I bet some of that money has made it into congressional campaign coffers.
Another even more serious outcome of this now civil war is that it has become a recruiting call for radical jihads all over the world. The real terrorist was and still is Osama bin Laden, who is a member of the Saudi Royal family. All but one of the Sept. 11 terrorists were Saudis; none were Iraqi.
All this money being wasted in Iraq on this occupation would be better spent to benefit Americans, like the Department of Veterans Affairs, hurricane victims, healthcare, education, infrastructure such as roads and levees and even the national debt, to name a few.
The other thing that Ms. Waschbusch brought up was comparing this war to Vietnam, which was also biased on lies. The biggest difference is the number of American soldiers who were killed, plus all those who came back with post traumatic stress syndrome and were lost forever by an underfunded Veterans Administration. A great number of older homeless men we now see with signs on street corners looking for handouts are, regretfully, Vietnam vets. One-third of all the soldiers who survived this fiasco in Iraq have come home with post traumatic stress syndrome too, and the VA still does not have the funds to take care of them.
History keeps repeating itself over and over. I'm still betting we will never learn, but I still have a little hope.
— John L. Thawley, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:32 AM
Who supports animal cruelty?
Re: your April 12 article, “Gallegly's animal fighting bill clears Senate, heads to president”:
Thank you, Rep. Elton Gallegly! This is a great victory to stop cruelty to animals, and I totally agree with those quotations from supporters of the measure. What I and probably many others would like to know is how or why anyone with any humane conscience would vote against the measure. Would The Star please print the names, along with party affiliation and state, so we can vote against them in their next election? Maybe The Star could also ask them for a quote on their reason.
— Bill Neumann, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:57 AM
Don’t equate faith, science
Re: Scott Harris’ April 8 commentary, “Beliefs don’t make you right”:
Harris makes many points I can agree with, but the underlying theme gives me the chills. Simply put, Scott equates belief in God with “belief” in science.
It is disingenuous to speak of “belief” in science. Science put men on the moon, deciphered the genetic code, discovered pasteurization, invented nylon and antibiotics and computer chips, and so on. We don’t “believe” in science — we know it’s real.
Religion is based solely on faith. Books such as the Bible were written long ago and are retellings of handed-down stories. The stories may be true or false, but that’s beside the point. It’s all about faith, as it should be.
Should we believe everything scientists report? Of course not. Any good scientist encourages skeptical thinking. But when a carefully conducted study says results are certain to a 90 percent probability, we need the scientific education to understand what that means. Religious critics of science are distorting the meaning of science by insisting science claims to be infallible.
Harris is disturbed by Sen. Barbara Boxer’s statement concerning man’s impact on global warming: “We’re not going to take a lot of time debating this anymore.” Harris says this is intended to end the conversation and debate. I disagree. What she means is that there’s a preponderance of evidence, and it’s time to take action. The debate can continue. If we insist upon waiting until there’s absolutely no doubt or dissent, we’ll never actually do anything.
The overwhelming majority of scientists has but one agenda: to seek and reveal the truth. Science relies upon an appropriately skeptical acceptance of knowledge based on large amounts of evidence, whereas religion relies upon faith. Faith and science can peacefully coexist, but let’s not equate the two.
— Steve Phillips, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:51 AM
New stoplight a disaster
I'd like to know what engineering genius designed the new stoplight at the Olsen Road offramp on the northbound Highway 23. It is an engineering blunder.
Is it that important to have two lanes of eastbound traffic on Olsen Road between Erbes Road and the freeway so that at rush hour the stoplight dangerously causes traffic on the offramp to back up onto Highway 23 all the way back past Sunset Hills? Mark my words, it won't be long before someone gets rear-ended in this area and seriously hurt or killed.
This project is supposed to alleviate traffic, not cause more of it. Even when the third lane is finished, this will still cause a daily traffic jam on the freeway. This stoplight needs to be removed and traffic on Olsen Road in this area put back to one lane.
— Paul Thompson, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:37 AM
SUVs safer? It’s a myth
Re: Bob Munson’s April 11 letter, “Safety tops fuel economy”:
Mr. Munson’s letter suggesting that “smart drivers will continue to buy SUVs and larger pickups because personal safety comes first” is a desperate attempt to defend his beloved trucks.
While it is true that a larger vehicle will typically fare better than a smaller vehicle in a collision, truck-based vehicles are not inherently safer than passenger cars. Unlike cars, which tend to slide sideways when they go out of control, so-called SUVs — and there’s nothing sporty about a three-ton truck — and pickups, with their high center of gravity, are more likely to flip over. That’s important because rollovers are the most lethal type of accident.
Additionally, truck-based vehicles have poorer handling characteristics and take longer to bring to a stop than passenger cars. Also, the rigid truck body often causes more serious leg injuries to the driver because they aren’t engineered with “crumple zones,” which protect the legs, as is a passenger car. Pickup trucks actually have the highest fatality rates among all vehicles. The vehicles with the least fatalities are the larger European and Japanese cars. For specifics, check out "An Analysis of Traffic Deaths by Vehicle Type and Model," which was prepared by Tom Wenzel, an energy analyst with Lawrence Berkeley National Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division, and Marc Ross, a professor in the University of Michigan's Applied Physics Department.
If Mr. Munson feels he’s safer in a truck-based vehicle, that’s fine, but the facts show otherwise. Well-informed people know there are safer, more appropriate choices for our families and our planet. The ability to avoid a collision in the first place is a prime factor for me when considering a vehicle. I’d rather be on the road in a well-engineered European or Japanese sedan than in a poor-handling, high-center-of-gravity truck that takes considerably longer to stop. Add to that truck a lift kit and oversize rims, and you’ve made a marginal vehicle into a death trap.
— Dave Dolnick, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:29 AM
Bring your own bags
The question should not be, “Do you want paper or plastic?” but “Did you bring your own bags?” My family has been using the same durable, washable canvas bags for the past 15 years when we shop. It is a simple process to keep reusable bags in your car and, after unloading your groceries or other purchases, return the bags to your car until the next shopping trip. It is a simple and easy way to take one small step to help save and improve our environment.
— Jeannette Bauer, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:16 AM
April 12, 2007
The Fourth Reich
After phone taps and break-ins, you are suddenly seized, detained and banished. Later, disheveled, you are brought before a judge. “Are you with us or against us?” you are asked.
Do you believe Christ or the Koran your savior?
You are charged by unidentified accusers, and though you have witnesses who support you, they are only seen as conspirators, while the original charges are used as evidence of your guilt.
You have choices: You can admit guilt and provide the names of your accomplices, as there is no confession without the names. Your reward will be punishment beyond the severity of your crime; money and property will be confiscated. Family members will be implicated. You will be beaten, brutalized and imprisoned for life.
If you maintain your innocence, you will experience much worse, including but not limited to incarceration in total darkness, repeated beatings and starvation and having your hands bound while weighted pulleys tied to your feet stretch your body. You may experience sleep deprivation and forced feedings, be forced under water to simulate drowning, or sexually debased and humiliated in other ways.
Am I referring to the Dark Ages and the medieval church? The Salem witch hunts or the Armenian genocide? The Spanish inquisition or the Holocaust?
No. I am talking about acts by our government that is the demoralization of America. Rendition, black holes and photographic evidence of torture have been condoned by President Bush and his cronies. These are not only crimes against humanity, they are crimes against every American who believes in fairness, equality, justice and due process.
I refuse to be part of the Fourth Reich, play the passive role of a good German, and go along with it. I say impeach these thugs and criminals. Then give them a fair trial, something they have refused to give others.
— Grant Marcus, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:54 AM
Camarillo Library slighted
As president of the Friends of the Camarillo Library, I have been requested by our board of directors to express our extreme disappointment at the very limited and poorly timed coverage The Star gave to the March 31 to April 1 grand opening of the new and beautiful Camarillo Library.
Despite the fact that more than 9,000 people attended the opening two days of the library, a Star reporter was obviously not among those in attendance. Had a reporter been there, he would have witnessed the tremendous and enthusiastic welcome the Camarillo community gave to this wonderful, functional building that will serve our citizens for many years to come.
Apparently, The Star does not appreciate the fact that this was the first completely new library built in Ventura County in several years. This outstanding accomplishment was the result of cooperation between the state of California, the city of Camarillo, the Ventura County Library System and a number of other governmental agencies, not to mention a host of involved citizens, including our Friends of the Library members who spent many years supporting this effort.
As a company whose marketing campaign calls itself "Your Hometown Paper," this lack of "hometown" coverage is particularly distressing and is an obvious failure by those whose responsibility it is to report "hometown" news that meets The Star’s marketing plan. If The Star is going to continue to claim it provides local coverage, then deeds more than slogans are required.
We hope The Star will look again at its priorities and, in the future, devote sufficient resources to cover important local events such as the opening of the Camarillo Library. While these kinds of events may not be as photographic or perhaps as exciting as an air show, they are the stuff that creates and builds our communities, and they deserve timely and appropriate recognition.
— J. William Little, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:49 AM
Overwhelming the system
Re: your April 10 editorial, “A second effort on immigration”:
After reading this editorial concerning the president's latest immigration proposal, I have many questions about how it could be implemented, but there is one I am especially curious about.
According to current law, as I understand it, before an employer can legally hire a noncitizen, the employer needs to prove that qualified and willing American citizens can't be found to do the job. Part of the search for employees should include advertising in the local paper of record. The Star is our such paper. Does The Star ever make a note of ads that aren't being filled and the jobs that might become eligible for issuance of a visa?
If records aren't kept regarding the lawful hiring of workers, how is the government going to determine if those applying for "Z visas" have actually been working for the required time?
If there are 12 million illegal immigrants here now, the amount of paperwork needed to process so many applications will surely overwhelm the system.
— Brian Decker, Ojai
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:44 AM
Talk about your miracles
Recently, the Vatican put the canonization of Pope John Paul II on the fast track with the announcement of an alleged miracle involving a French nun's sudden recovery from Parkinson's disease. I submit that George Bush should be fast-tracked for sainthood as well. After all, he talks to God, easily identifies good and evil, and it's a miracle that he hasn't been impeached.
— Gerald McGuire, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:38 AM
District should OK charter
This letter is to urge the Pleasant Valley School District board to approve the application to charter the Camarillo Academy of Progressive Education.
The PVSD board is legally required to approve a charter application that meets the California state standards. The application submitted by CAPE not only meets but exceeds those standards. The parents and teachers of this community support the charter application, as shown by more than 300 students who have submitted intent-to-enroll forms.
If the PVSD board chooses not to approve the charter, the application will surely be approved by another educational agency on appeal. If this happens, the PVSD would lose a significant amount of influence on CAPE. The school board would continue to appear politically motivated, without our children's interests in mind. This is not the image that the board should project at a time when they are trying to unify a community.
There are already enough bad feelings between the school board and the parents in this school district. Approval of the charter application would go a long way in improving those relations and show the parents in this district that the school board truly does have the best interests of our children at heart.
— John & Sharon Paige, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:36 AM
No Cabrini-Green, please
Re: your April 7 article, “Wagon Wheel plan may involve third tower”:
Yes, more low-income housing is needed in this area. But before a high rise is considered, look at Cabrini-Green in Chicago — a high-rise, low-income housing project that turned out to be a cesspool, a breeding ground for gangs and crime, especially for young families.
Let's hope our city government looks at all the aspects when housing is created!
— Judith A. Beay, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:30 AM
A7 a strain on resources
Santa Paula covers approximately 2,908 acres. Adams Canyon is more than 6,000 acres. If this huge land mass is to be brought into the city, we would be stuck permanently with the high cost of maintaining a gated millionaires’ club spread over thousands of acres a few miles from town. We would be stuck protecting 6,000 additional acres from fires that ravage Southern California annually. Despite the measures taken by cities and developers, these canyons remain tinderboxes and lawsuits waiting to happen. Imagine a fire destroying a number of those multimillion-dollar homes in the proposed gated enclave. You can be sure those millionaire homeowners will pay for the best attorneys to blame Santa Paula and sue our fine little town.
What about the old oil wells up there? If anyone's home or water supply gets contaminated, Santa Paula gets sued. We won't be able to afford the best lawyers because we will be spending so much money trying to maintain a gigantic area very few people live in.
If growth is to help us and not cost us, it must not be in a giant canyon twice our size and a few miles from town. We must build in and next to Santa Paula. The costs of running and maintaining services to areas already in Santa Paula and next to Santa Paula are a fraction of what they would be way out in Adams Canyon. How much easier it would be to maintain roads and sewers in a development connected to Santa Paula? Fire and police protection would be easier and less expensive.
Developments like that proposed by Limoneira in East Area One are far smarter projects because their physical connectedness and smaller scale will not strain our city’s resources. Vote smartly for Santa Paula's future. Vote no on Measure A7.
— Mike Rogers, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:25 AM
Extremists won
The natural gas consumer — me and most Californians — was the biggest loser Monday evening when one of my favorite actors led an evil band of environmental ecoterrorists to intimidate two career politicians into voting against the BHP Billiton liquefied natural gas proposal. A terrific opportunity for competition in the California natural gas arena was thwarted due purely to irrational and emotional considerations that had folks scared of their own shadow.
The elaborate hoax from people with an agenda was perpetrated by extremists with agendas citing wildly exaggerated terror and environmental claims. It reminded me of the O.J. Simpson trial period, when reality was suspended in favor of absolute nonsense.
Few, if any, would ever even know an LNG facility was 14 miles offshore unless they took a special boat trip for that purpose.
California imports 85 percent of its natural gas from excess Canadian and mostly Texas sources and has an infrastructure highly dependent upon that clean-burning commodity. With an ever-increasing population, having alternate sources of gas just makes common sense. Whether Billiton’s scheme is ideal or not is irrelevant. We need to set up future sources of gas, and we can't wait until the next crisis when it will be too late to appeal to the energy fairy for relief.
Of course, other sources of energy should be explored. That's also common sense, but new infrastructure takes years to develop.
Don't ever complain that Iraq has been overtaken by minority extremist elements. It just happened in the good ol’ USA Monday evening.
— Tom Reilly, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:21 AM
United effort paid off
Monday, I participated in what I consider to be a historic event in the city of Oxnard. More than 2,000 people turned out to tell the State Lands Commission that they did not want a highly polluting, imported liquefied natural gas platform floating off the coast, emitting noxious gases into the air, inviting a potential terrorist strike and interfering with boating, the port operations, the essential activities of the Navy, the sea birds and the sea mammals.
The turnout was thrilling. Even more thrilling was to see Anglos, Latinos and native Americans standing side by side in common cause and to have those from Malibu add their voices, noting often that this was the first time that Malibu and Oxnard had worked together on an issue.
Many organizations and people worked very hard to make this happen. In particular, the Sierra Club, the Coastal Protection Network, Central Coast United for a Sustainable Economy, the various school districts, Parent Teacher Associations, the Saviers Road Design Team and comparable organizations and people in Malibu. If I omitted a name, I am sorry, as I am not aware of all the names. In addition, our city councils, several supervisors, our two Assembly members, our congresswoman and The Star and Los Angeles Times stood with us to make it clear to Sacramento that we are not willing to compromise our health, safety, air quality and water quality so that some large corporation can increase its shareholder value.
It is my hope that we continue to see how much we have to gain from staying united and that we continue to work together on issues affecting our regional community.
— Lauraine Effress, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:13 AM
BHP ‘a pushy salesman’
BHP Billiton is not a nice company. A Google search with the terms "BHP Apartheid" and "BHP Billiton Mining" shows they take advantage of lax rules in Third World nations. According to many Web sites, BHP has pushed natives off their lands and destroyed the environment.
If we allow them to ship liquefied natural gas here, we are supporting their damage to nature around the world. Act locally, think globally. If we need LNG, we can buy from other, more environmentally directed energy companies. Billiton is not the only LNG company.
BHP is like a pushy salesman. Why do they keep spending millions of dollars trying to sell us to use their gas? Something smells like Enron.
The BHP attorney stated at Monday's State Lands Commission hearing that if we don't buy it, they'll sell it somewhere else. Well, then, go sell the LNG somewhere else. We don’t want BHP Billiton here.
— Jim Hensley, Oxnard
(The writer is president of the Greater Oxnard Organization of Democrats. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:04 AM
Chambers are out of touch
The Oxnard and Port Hueneme Chambers of Commerce position in favor of Cabrillo Port presented at the State Lands Commission hearing Monday demonstrates how out of touch the business groups are with the needs and concerns of local individuals, organizations and governmental agencies who overwhelmingly opposed the dangerous project.
And it showed how easy it was for BHP Billiton to buy votes with a free breakfast for supporters.
The chambers need to apologize to the community and demonstrate that in the future they can act in the public interest instead of pandering for corporate handouts.
— John W. "Jack" Pinard, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:00 AM
Why destroy ambience?
Re: Dalius Gedgaudas’ April 12 letter, “Hueneme: Learn from Ventura”:
Gedgaudas' argument for promoting a 46-story tower in the city of Port Hueneme is not only faulty, but insincere.
First of all, the current CSU Channel Islands location in Camarillo is beautifully located and is accessible from multiple points throughout Ventura and surrounding counties. Note that CSU Channel Islands is a university, not a college. Ventura already has a college. What is his regret?
Furthermore, any opportunity for Port Hueneme to develop can and should be without the destruction of our city's character and ambience. We can grow and prosper with considerate, thoughtful and sensitive development. Constructing a skyscraper on a city-owned beach parking lot is an opportunity only for the developers and a serious liability risk to the city.
Our City Council will be voting Wednesday on whether to allow the tower developers to proceed. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Port Hueneme Community Center. Port Hueneme then will show the developers just what we think of their "opportunity.”
We are on the map, and we know how to pronounce our city's name. What's Gedgaudas’ point?
— Audrey Albert, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:55 AM
April 11, 2007
Take pride in Gallegly
If anyone disputes that we live in a republic with a representative form of government, let him call U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly's office for an appointment.
I was in Washington, D.C., with three friends, two of whom live in Thousand Oaks and one in Oxnard, and we contacted Gallegly's office to see him. Promptly at l p.m., we were ushered in his office with a beautiful panoramic view of the Washington Monument and were greeted warmly by him.
The congressman discussed California's illegal immigration problem; the passage of the Democrats’ $400 billion tax increase, the largest in our nation's history, that had just come through committee the day before; and a fair trade bill with Taiwan. We were there fully 40 minutes, and he assured the Oxnard lady that he looked out for all of Ventura County in his legislation, even though they were no longer in his district.
We found Gallegly to be interested in our problems; generous with his time; knowledgeable about legislation and truly a representative of whom we could be proud.
— Lois D. Glab, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:28 PM
No reason to delay CAPE
Re: your March 26 editorial, “Charters are real options”:
The Pleasant Valley School District board’s recent decision to close Los Senderos Open School and eliminate its 30-year open philosophy program resulted in LSOS leadership applying to become a charter school. The paperwork for Camarillo Academy of Progressive Education has been filed, and plans are well underway for CAPE to open in the fall of 2007. As the editorial stated, LSOS is “ready made” to become a charter school. The main thing standing in the way is the board’s approval.
For unknown reasons, the district canceled the April 5 school board meeting, the first meeting since voting for drastic changes to Camarillo schools, as well as the first opportunity for a public hearing on the charter. The board’s next chance for public hearing on the charter is April 19, one day shy of the state-mandated 30-day deadline. The board and district must be proactive in approving this charter. The district is legally required to approve a legitimate charter application, and the CAPE application exceeds all necessary requirements. If PVSD does not approve the charter, an appeal will be submitted to the county, which has been very supportive of other charter endeavors, or the state, which strongly supports charter schools. CAPE’s approval is inevitable.
By approving the charter and letting CAPE get underway, the district will know exactly how many students to accommodate for the upcoming 2007-2008 academic year and be able to start district restructuring with CAPE in mind. Delaying the unavoidable only leaves the district to scramble to continue to figure out how to address the needs of this community, prolonging the state of flux and uncertainty that it has already brought upon so many Camarillo families, especially those from Los Senderos.
Why wait? The district should approve CAPE now.
— Gloria M. Miele, Ph.D., Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:38 AM
Pelosi filled a void
Re: Dan K. Thomasson’s April 10 commentary, “Speaker Pelosi’s trip to Syria sent the wrong message”:
Thomasson couldn’t just make this a professional commentary, he had to stoop to name-calling and personal attacks. This is what the right always resorts to, and it is so old and tired.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was not “wandering” around Damascus. She was escorted by delegates from the Syrian government and participating in real dialogue with foreign leaders, conveying messages that were actually supportive of Bush’s own statements.
Thomasson further rants that too many cooks spoil the broth. Well, in this case, we have no cooks at all. Bush and Co. refuse to engage Syria, so she did the right thing by getting out in front by laying the groundwork for the future.
Thomasson goes on to say, “Our foreign relations are difficult enough without being tweaked by someone who is the chief political opponent of the person assigned to carry them out.” The person assigned to carry them out refuses to do so. Bush has no desire and certainly no experience in improving our relations with anyone. Calling Pelosi a novice in the intricate and Byzantine world of foreign affairs is disingenuous and an attack on her experience and character.
Finally, Thomasson ends with the usual attitude from an insecure man that she is the first “woman” speaker and therefore has her hands full with “domestic” matters. Get over it. She has arrived and is doing an excellent job as a leader, and that is what bothers Mr. Thomasson and his ilk.
Jan. 20, 2009, cannot come soon enough.
— Carolyn Crandall, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:28 AM
Don’t roll the sprawl ball
Measure A7 is the kind of threat we need to fear most if we are to keep the Santa Clara River Valley from becoming another San Fernando Valley or Canyon Country.
Measure A7 seeks to include 6,578 acres of land in the watersheds of both Wheeler and O’Hara canyons west of Adams Canyon. This is in direct violation of recently reaffirmed greenbelt agreements between Santa Paula and Ventura.
A7 broadens its reach east into Santa Paula Canyon. Encroachment into these watersheds encompasses more than 1,100 acres — almost two square miles of the 10-square-mile footprint A7 covers. The “Adams Canyon Expansion Area” no longer conforms to the boundary described by its namesake.
These facts are spelled out in the title and summary pages of A7’s text and are supported by maps in Exhibit A. The map provided by Measure A7 sponsors leaves a lot to be desired in terms of legibility, but it conforms to same boundaries as Pinnacle’s Measure Y of last year. We all had access then to a detailed aerial photograph with a boundary overlay showing clearly the acreage spilling out of Adams into these other watersheds.
The rationale A7 gives for extending into these watersheds is so that “good planning practices” are preserved by not “dividing or bisecting legal parcel sizes,” according to Section 2-A(8).
Who says these are good planning practices? When you’re talking of acreage this massive, watershed management is of the utmost critical importance. By ignoring this fact and suggesting otherwise, A7 aggressively seeks to put other parcels in the canyons west of Adams, as well as farmland south of Foothill Road, at greater risk for development.
That is the danger with this initiative. That is how the sprawl ball gets rolling. That is what we should all fear most if A7 passes.
— Charles Spink, Santa Paula
(The writer is with Santa Paulans for Smart Growth. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:20 AM
Where’s our sense of humor?
Re: your April 10 article, “Imus draws two-week suspension for racist radio remark”:
I don't know if what Don Imus said was in fact offensive or just simply descriptive because I have yet to see any actual video footage of the game and the team members he was referring to. Certainly, radio personalities will try to paint a picture in the minds of their listeners in order to describe a particular scene in a way to relate it accurately and possibly with some humor so as to hold an audience.
What I do know, however, is that this country is losing its sense of humor due to its intolerance of politically incorrect speech.
If many of the Rutgers team members do sport a lot of tattoos and are generally rough looking in their appearance, then Imus’ words may in fact be accurately descriptive. Certainly one could describe Dennis Rodman in that manner. So why don't the media show us the video footage of what Imus was commenting on so that we all can judge for ourselves if he was out of line in his description. And saying that you look a certain way doesn't necessarily follow that you are a certain way.
I don't think he meant to be offensive.
— Leonard C. Snebold, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:03 AM
Thick skin required
Re: your April 10 article, “Imus draws two-week suspension for racist radio remark”:
Don Imus did overstep the line of taste, but what's new? It's his stock in trade. He treated the Rutgers basketball women to the same acid-tongue sarcasm, just as others routinely get treated. One can only be insulted to the extent one wishes to be.
Would Denzel Washington or Oprah Winfrey react with other than pure bemusement if a racist ran up to them and screamed the N-word? Minorities in America will only be equal when they accept getting equally made fun of as others. White men seem to shoulder the ridicule and soldier on. Are blacks wimps searching for any perceived slight as a sure sign of racism? Do blacks need to define themselves by how whites might speak? I do not lose sleep if I'm referred to as a nasal-sounding cracker.
For Imus to apologize on the radio to Al "Tawana Brawley" Sharpton is pure hokum. Sharpton, a charming and loquacious orator who is the Don King of civil rights, never apologized for inciting a riot where Hasidic Jews were killed, and the Brawley fiasco is legendary for his haughty and steadfast denial of his wrongdoing.
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., is quoted as saying, "Who says 'hos' publicly?" The embarrassing answer is simple: the people who coined the phrase to begin with — black ghetto youths who created "gangsta" rap. Where is the congresswoman's outrage there? Bill Cosby, we need you more than ever.
The overwrought contention that this has been "ruinous" to the Rutgers athletes is pure politically correct theater. With Sharpton and Jesse "corporate extortionist" Jackson leading the mob of wimpy white liberals and wimpy black leaders, this is nothing more than a black-led media lynching. This isn't about the color of one’s skin, but rather the thickness of it.
— Leland P. Hammerschmitt, Ojai
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:58 AM
April 10, 2007
Meters bad for Ventura
What is this — the third time in 20 years that the city of Ventura has tried parking meters? The first two efforts failed, and the city had to pay to rip these meters from the ground.
I rarely have trouble finding parking in downtown Ventura. I may have to walk an extra block, but that is good exercise, and it gives me the opportunity to window-shop at my leisure. Put in parking meters and I won't be visiting any shops other than the specific one I came to shop at. The merchants will love the loss of business.
Congestion? No! It’s a matter of money! It's just another way for Ventura to get more money. Does it matter that the merchants are not on board with this idea? No. Does it matter that the cost to maintain and repair these meters from weather and vandalism is more than what they generate? No.
I lived in a city with meters on every business street and some mixed-use streets, and complaints abounded about the number of meters that were out of order. Ventura merchants will surely love those empty parking spaces.
The multilevel garage was supposed to alleviate parking congestion downtown. Nobody uses it; it’s another wasted dollar. So Ventura wants to install parking meters to force people to use the garage, bringing with it more crime to the downtown area: auto break-ins, since the garage is not in the open air, in sight of the public; and muggings, since people will have longer walks to their cars with packages in their arm. Wait until Christmas and shorter tempers — "I was 10 feet away! You could have waited before writing that ticket!"
But there's that money again. The meters may not be that expensive to use, but I bet the fines for going over the time limit will be astronomical. That’s more reason to stay away from downtown Ventura. The merchants will surely love that, too.
— Clyde Shaver, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:24 PM
'Disastrous’ process isn’t over
Re: your March 26 editorial, “Charters are real options”:
This piece was right on the money for many reasons, most notably that the Pleasant Valley School District board succeeded with its vote at the March 22 meeting in having scores of people share the pain of this school closure process. I think every reader would agree with the editorial’s assertion that “it’s hard to imagine a more disastrous school-closing process.”
The fact that this editorial focused on the charter option being pursued by Los Senderos parents is telling. It is obvious to so many people, not only within PVSD but to residents countywide who are following this saga, that the board is completely out of touch with the community it serves. They and their staff have alienated teachers and parents from numerous schools, they continue to withhold information or give vague explanations, and the only logical option for disheartened parents and frustrated teachers seeking accountability is to get out from under the district via a charter school.
As Los Senderos parents — along with many others from the district and beyond — work to get the charter petition passed for Camarillo Academy of Progressive Education, I am hopeful that The Star will continue its coverage of this story as it unfolds. The board’s decision to close Los Altos, close Los Senderos, move Los Primeros to Los Senderos and designate it a magnet, eliminate Santa Rosa’s middle school grades, designate Rancho Rosal as an open philosophy magnet, and, lastly, to leave Camarillo Heights precariously positioned for imminent closure was hardly the final word on this “disastrous” process.
— Kay Wolverton Ito, Camarillo
(The writer is chair of the CAPE Information Committee. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:10 PM
O’Reilly hits new low
Re: Bill O’Reilly’s April 7 commentary, “The Rosie factor may lead to the comedian’s downfall”:
Apparently O’Reilly doesn’t have enough to worry his fevered mind about. He’s now taking shots at Rosie O’Donnell.
He claims that “O’Donnell’s snarling demeanor made a lasting impression on many people, a harsh impression. Now her image is damaged beyond repair.” Given O’Reilly’s snarling demeanor and the harsh lasting impression he’s made on, at the very least, 50 percent of the population, one can only hope his comments are a self-fulfilling prophecy. Beyond that, he gives O’Donnell way too much credit. Most of us see her as no better or worse than O’Reilly, but as just another hack with a pulpit and an exaggerated sense of self-importance.
It should be noted that Mr. O’Reilly cites a “Popular Mechanics” book as debunking the so-called “inside job” conspiracy theory regarding the U.S. involvement in the 9/11 tragedy. While I’m no conspiracy theorist, and I certainly don’t believe this country had any part in crashing planes into the World Trade Center, I do find O’Reilly’s use of this particular publication as proof interesting. This is the same magazine that had us all using flying cars and living on the moon or Mars in Plexiglas domes by 1980.
Actually, now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense in light of O’Reilly’s past ravings.
— Jay Aronow, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:05 PM
A7 will cost Santa Paula
Pinnacle Development and its local boosters are trying to get Adams Canyon into Santa Paula again despite the voters there defeating their attempts twice before, most recently in April 2006. And to that end, there are a lot of false claims being made and false impressions being created.
I am surprised at how many supporters of Measure A7 do not know that if the City Urban Restriction Boundary is not moved, Pinnacle will only be able to build 34 homes in the county. Pinnacle's supporters are telling people that the county will allow 495 homes. The county Planning Department will tell you it is only 34.
Some of Pinnacle's boosters are saying it isn't Pinnacle behind the latest campaign to move the CURB and that Pinnacle might not be the developer. Why then does this supposedly "citizen-driven" campaign's literature promote the same plan Pinnacle was touting last year? Only this time the projected revenues to the city are down 75 percent from $20 million to $5 million.
Bob Gonzalez, who a year ago was working for Pinnacle Development, is now a City Council member in Santa Paula and Pinnacle's biggest cheerleader. He likes to tell people that Santa Paula is underfunded (as many cities are) and that this Adams Canyon project will save Santa Paula. That is wrong and false. The project will cost Santa Paula. In the end, Santa Paulans will pay higher taxes and assessments to maintain this 6,000-acre gated enclave that Santa Paulans will be locked out of.
If a development of some kind will help Santa Paula, then let's get a project in or next to Santa Paula, not something a few miles from town whose sprawl will cost us. And let’s get a partner we can trust, too. Vote no on A7.
— Laura Menchaca, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:57 PM
McCain shows his arrogance
Last week, Sen. John McCain paraded his entourage down the streets of Baghdad, proclaiming them safe and that the "surge" was working. It only reminded me of President Bush's equally obscene gesture of 2003, when he staged a photo-op on a U.S. battleship and declared "Mission accomplished!"
If we read the fine print of McCain's visit, we realize he only stayed there but an hour. In that hour, sporting a bulletproof vest and surrounded, like bees to a comb, with more than 100 heavily armed soldiers, he declared streets safe — something we don't even have in this country. If cameras had panned out further, they would have seen cross streets cordoned off with tanks and armored vehicles, and, panning upward, would have seen the Apache helicopters whirring overhead, packed with missiles. Meanwhile, during that hour, four soldiers died in vain, protecting McCain's bid for the presidency.
So what has McCain's obvious deception and "bring ‘em on" attitude done for our troops entrenched in this war? We can see it in Iraq's response: hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets and calling for an end to the U.S. occupation and declaring a Shiite war on our military. Worse, the message was delivered by the ever-popular Muqtad al-Sadr. In effect, like Bush, McCain has only intensified the war and delayed an inevitable civil war, while placing our troops in harm's way.
Deception, invasion, occupation, incarceration, torture and now McCain's arrogance, coupled with the corrupt handling of billions of dollars for the rebuilding of Iraq, have ruthlessly lost the hearts and minds of the people who live there. And thus we have lost a war that should have never been ours to lose in the first place.
It's time to withdraw our troops and bring them home safely and end these shameful years of American history.
— Grant Marcus, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:51 PM
Rosie-bashing is wrong
Re: Bill O’Reilly’s April 7 commentary, “The Rosie factor may lead to the comedian’s downfall”:
Amazing to me that this man who trumpets himself as honest and denies "spinning" anything can write such a diatribe about Rosie O'Donnell.
First of all, she did not claim or propose that the World Trade Center tragedy was a conspiracy by our government. The question she has raised involves WTC Building 7, which many of us had never heard about, and its collapse without benefit of a plane crashing into it. She is asking questions, not pontificating, as Mr. O'Reilly does every day.
O’Donnell is very clear about her love of this country and her serious concerns about the erosion of the "will of the people." She is not alone in her concerns or fears. She speaks intelligently and with knowledge. She stands up where others just shake their heads and figure there is nothing that can be done. The personal attacks and character assassination are methods used to sidetrack what she is trying to get across. She is a patriot and a philanthropist.
Dissent is welcome — or heretofore has been — in this country, and I applaud those with the courage to speak their conviction. We can disagree without hate and vitriolic speech.
— Lee Karageorge, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:28 PM
Empowering women
Re: Kathy Matthews’ April 6 commentary, “Repeal gag rule on birth control”:
I want to thank Kathy Matthews for her very fine commentary for women's rights around the world as to birth control. As anyone who knows what happens in this world dominated by the men in power, women who do not have control over their own bodies do not have any type of freedom. I applaud her for saying what is needed to President Bush and to all who seem to hold "women as hostages" to promote their own agendas.
— Peggy A. Poehler, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:21 PM
Dreaming of civility
Re: Richard Larsen’s April 10 essay, "Good manners do count":
Mr. Larsen is so right. He articulated what many of us are thinking as we read all the ad hominem attacks, hysteria and hyperbole that constitute so many letters to the editor these days. My colleagues at other institutions tell me there are studies out there that contrast letters to the editor from 10 years or 20 years back with the present. Scholars are finding a significant correlation between opposition writers (on just about any issue) and a lack of civility, supporting evidence and logical reasoning while affirmative writers (on just about any issue) are more likely to provide verifiable facts, rational argument and respect for the other side.
So far, nobody has been able to point a finger at the cause of the increasing incivility, but I suspect it has a great deal to do with the smear tactics that have replaced actual debate over issues at every level of politics. Winning at any cost seems to be the over-arching end.
It is very difficult to shape behavior in any meaningful way all by your lonesome, but I commend The Star for setting and enforcing standards. Folks do want to be published and will modify their behavior in order to achieve that goal. They might even be willing to actually research the facts and write well-organized arguments instead of resorting to merely characterizing their opponents as corrupt, crazy or credibility-deficient. Well, at least we can dream, can't we?
— Beverly Merrill Kelley, Ph.D., Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:56 AM
Californians never learn
Re: your April 10 article, “Lands Commission rejects LNG terminal”:
California shot itself in the foot one more time. With the world's natural gas reserves dwindling, and North America having only 4 percent of these reserves, the State Lands Commission nixed a critical source of clean energy. Controller John Chiang feels there are too many minorities in Oxnard who will be forced to breathe polluted air, while Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, positioning himself for the next run for governor, believes Al Gore will come riding in with a renewable-energy, short-term solution to California's growing energy problems.
The facts are that by 2015, the United States will have to import 940 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas per year. By 2020, this number will double. The sources for LNG will be Australia (BHP Billiton), the Middle East, Russia and North Africa. By getting onto the ground floor with BHP, we would have avoided having to deal with unfriendly nations later on. Since LNG is the only practical means of moving natural gas from one region to another, the countries and states that have existing terminals will be in the catbird seat, since approvals and construction can take up to eight years.
Hasn't California learned its lesson? Are our memories too short to remember the energy catastrophe five years ago?
— George Niznik, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:49 AM
‘Mallard’ ducks an issue
Re: Bruce Tinsley’s “Mallard Fillmore” comic strip:
Most people label me a liberal, but I love Mallard Fillmore's dour attacks on liberals. His recent homily denying man's impact on climate, however, is about as humorous as a denial of the Jewish holocaust. Making fun of people, if done right, is funny. But sticking one’s head in the sand and proclaiming the sky is yellow and the sun is blue is not the least bit ducky.
— Peter Wilson, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:32 AM
Interfaith talk promotes peace
With so much negative news coming from the Middle East, it's hard to imagine we can do anything here in Ventura County to make a positive change in the region.
Yet we can.
On April 17, an interfaith dialogue will take place in Westlake Village with a panel of holy men — one Muslim, one Christian and one Jew. The discussion will focus on the impact of belief and values on behavior. It is free and open to the public.
Attending will be 20 teenagers — half are Arabs, and half are Jews — from Haifa, Israel, who are in Ventura County for two weeks to learn how to promote peace and understanding in the Middle East. Attending the interfaith dialogue will show these teens our support.
The event is part of Project Triumph, a 10-year plan of Conejo Valley Rotary Clubs and the Rotary Club of Haifa, to teach Middle Eastern young people how to bring a peaceful future to their part of the world.
The event will be held at the Church of Religious Science, 880 Hampshire Blvd., Westlake Village, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. For more information, please call 805-276-6899 or go to www.projecttriumph.org.
Who knows? Many of these young peacemakers may become the future leaders of the region, and our support may have indeed been the catalyst for change.
— Ilan Migdali, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:23 AM
April 09, 2007
LNG has good history
I have been briefed on plans to put a liquefied natural gas facility 13 miles off Malibu, just east of the Ventura- Los Angeles County line. They will import the gas from Australian gas fields. The gas is cooled to 275 degrees below zero to a liquefied state and then transported in ships that are essentially huge Thermos bottles. It will be heated back to gas off the shore of Malibu, then piped to Mandalay Beach and tied into the Southern California Gas Company line near the power plant. What makes this type of operation practical is that gas can be transported in a liquid state 700 times more than in a gaseous state.
It is an extremely safe operation. LNG ships have been supplying Japan and South Korea for years with no accidents. There is an LNG receiving plant on the Charles River in downtown Boston that has been there for many years.
In any man-operated system, there is always a chance of an accident. Being 13 miles off shore, there is no way that it will be a danger to the "movie stars." Their main gripe is that it might spoil their view.
The reason it is off Malibu is that it has to be out of the Point Mugu missile range of Naval Base Ventura County.
Something has got to give. We are running out of gas.
— Bob Immel, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:33 PM
We need natural gas
Do you want another energy crisis — rolling blackouts, increases in your utility bill? Probably not.
Though, chances are, you don’t want your energy to come from coal. You probably don’t want a nuclear power plant in your back yard either. Solar, wind and other “green” energy would be ideal, though the renewable market is still not in a position to meet the demands of California consumers.
While you think about this, let me remind you that our state’s population is increasing each day. Our economic prosperity and quality of life are dependent on reliable, high-quality and reasonably priced energy.
The solution is simple and obvious: natural gas. The California Energy Commission has made “reliable supply of reasonably priced natural gas” a priority.
The Cabrillo Port liquefied natural gas proposal will bring us this desperately needed fuel. This plan meets the highest environmental impact and safety standards. It will provide the perfect bridge fuel as we transition into using “green” energy. It will carry with it dirty externalities of coal or the inherent risks of nuclear.
The Cabrillo Port will bring us the energy we need, when we need it, in a safe and environmentally responsible way.
— Kirk Burnett, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:23 PM
Cabrillo Port a good plan
I live and work in Ventura. And, I’ve been following the Cabrillo Port discussion for the last three years. At first, I wasn’t sure what to think about it. That said, I’m now a supporter and intend on showing my support at upcoming hearings and encourage others to do the same.
Why? Cabrillo Port will address our short-term energy needs as we transition to renewable fuels. In addition, they have gone out of the way to address environmental concerns. They have even agreed to mitigation that goes above and beyond what is required of them.
In addition, please consider the alternatives. Our state could consider building a nuclear power plant. I’m not sure we want that in our back yard — or in our state. Conservation efforts will only take us so far. Renewables, like wind, solar and biomass, are going to take some time to get going on a larger scale.
From what I’ve read, the California Energy Commission has also said we need liquefied natural gas to meet our state’s need for natural gas. It’s no wonder. LNG is clean-burning, safe and can also be used to power clean-burning vehicles.
Let’s do it. I urge you to show up and support Cabrillo Port. It’s the right solution.
— Robert F. Burnett, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:19 PM
Editorial on target
Re: your April 8 editorial, “Conserve, don’t buy into LNG”:
I thank The Star for this editorial. It is encouraging to see that The Star’s editors are well informed of the health, safety and environmental dangers posed by BHP Billiton’s Cabrillo Port liquefied natural gas facility off our Ventura County coast. I have great respect for The Star. It has demonstrated the value of a local newspaper.
Many in our community are working in various levels on alternative clean and renewable energy source proposals, such as solar, wind, etc., and on conservation, as The Star recommends. Defeating LNG proposals will enable us to move forward on these proposals. Three cheers for The Star! Muchas gracias! Thank you!
— Lupe Anguiano, Oxnard
(The writer is a volunteer with Protecting our Environment. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:13 PM
Scores don’t tell the story
The 2006 Base Academic Performance Index, which includes information on similar ranking schools, was recently released. The data should be reviewed with caution, as the data does not give an accurate comparison of how our school, Loma Vista Elementary School in Ventura, is performing when compared to schools with similar demographics — ethnicity, socio-economically disadvantaged, English learners, students with disabilities, Gifted And Talented Education, parent education levels. The report will not inform you of the following:
Our deaf students did not count in the number of students with disabilities tested, as they were provided with modifications on the test. Sign language was the modification provided, which they rightfully and legally deserve under the federal law. We incurred the “fail” scores of the students who received modifications, yet the state refuses to count our students in the participation rate data shared with general public.
The 100 schools listed in the similar ranking schools with Loma Vista do not have county-operated special education programs with students outside of the home district, whereas Loma Vista serves six school districts and approximately 23 students who reside outside of the Ventura Unified School District. However, by virtue of the flawed assessment and accountability system at the state level, the scores of students not residing in Ventura Unified are counted in Loma Vista’s scores. Yet the scores are not counted in the participation rate at the school and district level.
This current system not only punishes our school but has the detrimental impact on school morale and ultimately squelches the celebration of growth and joy of learning and teaching.
The No Child Left Behind Act is up for reauthorization this year. I am asking each member of our school community to take the time to question the current accountability system of NCLB. We can support the NCLB concept that academic achievement and growth should be valued and celebrated; however, the punitive approaches currently utilized by NCLB hinder the academic progress of our children.
As Congress considers the 2007 Reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, we have an opportunity to have our voices heard. Please take time to write to our local legislators. Our kids count. All of our kids count.
— Linda DuBois, Ventura
(The writer is the principal of Loma Vista Elementary School. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:06 PM
Science vs. speculation
Re: Scott Harris’ April 8 commentary, “Beliefs don’t make you right”:
Mr. Harris makes several false statements and arrives at false conclusions as a result.
First, you cannot compare science of 2,000 years ago to modern-day science, which came as a result of the scientific revolution and utilizes the scientific method. It was not science that made a claim of a flat earth and geocentric solar system, but the Christian church. It was not until Galileo and Copernicus arrived and introduced the heliocentric system that the church made an attempt to alter its teaching, even after threats on Galileo.
The scientific method, through its rigorous testing and validation process, is foolproof. Yes, mistakes can be made, but they will surface and be corrected. If Mr. Harris had watched “60 Minutes” on CBS recently regarding a detailed report on global warming testing conducted by scientists in Antarctica, he would have seen visual evidence of global warming effects — in real time — that have been documented for the last 40 to 50 years. He would also have observed some of the techniques and science behind how they are able to verify the concentration of pollution dating back decades. It is not on whim or speculation that they arrive at those conclusions, but very detailed testing to which Mr. Harris is oblivious.
So no, Mr. Harris, those are not beliefs, just as the atomic theory, theory of gravity, theory of relativity, and evolutionary theory are not beliefs, but facts. Don’t confuse the use of the word “theory” in layman’s terms with the scientific use of the word “theory.”
— George Pohoski, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:58 AM
District practices ‘mathemagic’
Re: Ken Moffett’s April 4 commentary, “Doing the right thing for all PVSD students”:
The Pleasant Valley School District presents “Mathemagic”: “Our Title I schools outperform our schools of greater socioeconomic wealth in the similar schools category — meaning that compared to other students of similar circumstances, our Title I schools are held up as models to other districts.”
Let’s look at the numbers. Yes, PVSD’s Title I schools outperform their non-Title I schools in the similar schools category. The Title I schools rank 2, 6, 6 and 9 compared to similar schools (median 6, mean 5.75). The non-Title I schools rank 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6, and 7 (median 4, mean 4.25). No, that does not mean that compared to other students of similar circumstances they are held up as models to other districts.
A ranking of 1 or 2 is considered “well-below average;” 3 or 4 “below average;” 5 or 6 “about average;” 7 or 8 “above average;” and 9 or 10 “well above average.”
PVSD has two schools of 12 above average. One of those is Title I, hardly “model.” The state has actually identified the 476 Title I programs they consider models — see the 2007 “Title I Academic Achieving Schools List” on the Department of Education Web site. Standard and Poor’s has identified 103 California schools making progress toward narrowing achievement gaps between student groups — see schoolmatters.com.
No PVSD school is on either list. Suggesting that Title I students are at the heart of PVSD’s recent decision-making is just another attempt to disorient us and make numbers disappear. I’d expect a little awe from a show I’ve paid thousands to see. Instead it’s just the same tired curiosity about what they’ll pull from their hats next.
We deserve better performances.
— Kim Marra Stephenson, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:50 AM
‘Unworthy of the U.S.’
Re: your April 7 editorial, “What’s behind the gag order?”:
I thank The Star for focusing attention on the Australian-born Guantanamo Bay detainee, David Hicks. The editorial drew attention to the deal made with Hicks that confined him for another nine months and then releasing him in exchange for his silence on conditions surrounding his imprisonment. The editorial noted that charges of torture shadow the Gitmo detention facility. It noted that Hicks hardly seemed like one of the "worst of the worst," as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld put it, or, as Vice President Dick Cheney called the Gitmo detainees, “the worst of a very bad lot."
If Hicks is such a danger to the Western world, as the administration has asserted, why is he only being made to serve out the remaining nine months of his sentence? Shouldn't he be locked away forever?
Despite the administration's pronouncements, Hicks may have been in the company of people with little capability or will to inflict danger on the American public. As news sources have reported, of 490 prisoners held at Gitmo, 55 percent are not determined to have committed any hostile acts, and only 8 percent were characterized as al-Qaida fighters.
Yet, the Bush administration insists on the need to protect the American public by asserting that, since these people fall under their classification of "illegal combatants," they can be detained indefinitely without evidence, without trial.
Some prisoners at Gitmo should remain detained as prisoners of war. We need to know who among the prisoners are "the worst of the worst."
The process of an administration creating and assigning persons to extra-legal classifications needs to be repudiated by Congress.
The Star's editorial calls the gag order "unworthy of the United States." The entire handling of these "illegal combatants" has been unworthy of the United States.
— Fred Burgess, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:45 AM
Tower would bring traffic
I went to the tower’s developers meeting March 17. The presentation was very professional, and the tower, as now designed, looks very impressive. I was originally opposed to the tower in any shape or form. However, after hearing the presentation, I was not so certain.
The one factor that kept coming back to me was the traffic. I kept asking myself how one could mitigate an additional 500 to 700 vehicles on Ventura Road. The only way to begin is to widen it. This means all the trees along Ventura Road will go. In addition, there would be more traffic lights. At the end of the day, there would be more traffic delays, pollution and noise along Ventura Road, Surfside Drive and Hueneme Road. The congestion would, of course, spill over onto the adjacent roads, freeways and communities as well. There is no way that the impact could be considered anything other than severe on our communities.
For me, the bottom line is we cannot allow a project that would overwhelm our beautiful cities and communities. While the developers and some of our neighbors may believe the project will solve our problems, I believe that we as are capable of addressing any problems that arise without creating a new series of problems — the first and foremost is the destruction of our environment and culture. If we allow this tower, more will certainly follow thoughout the county.
I believe that the Port Hueneme City Council is capable of managing the city without the burden of this project.
I am asking all the citizens of Ventura County to join me in voicing our opposition to this unnecessary and burdensome project.
— Don Buck, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:34 AM
Conservation isn’t enough
California's energy future is based on supply and demand: When demand is more than supply, the lights go out.
California's energy demand is increasing, and we expect 40 million people by 2010. For each additional person who lives in California, we increase our demand for energy by 6,732 kilowatts per hour.
To make sure that we meet demand, we can either reduce it somehow or increase supply. To cut demand, we would need to boost our state's conservation efforts. Since California already conserves better than any state in the nation, the decreases in demand will not be enough to keep the equation balanced.
Our other option is to increase supply. California is an innovator when it comes to energy policy. We are currently introducing programs to increase our use of wind, solar and other renewable energies. This plan is going to take some time, but we are getting there.
In the meantime, our best option is to increase supplies with a fuel that is clean-burning and readily available to us before demand exceeds supply. It is right in front of us. The Cabrillo Port proposal for liquefied natural gas will provide us a clean-burning source of natural gas that will meet 10 percent of our daily demand for energy. It will also provide energy needed to help get the renewable industry off the ground, resulting in more supply.
We often hear of "externalities," another science word. In simple terms, this is the impact energy has on the environment. This proposal will leave a minimal footprint, and it exceeds safety and environmental regulations. Consider the other options: dirty coal or nuclear.
Let's balance California's energy equation with one simple calculation: Cabrillo Port's liquefied natural gas facility. It makes sense for California.
— Frances Fischer, Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:26 AM
Are we ready for a mess?
Has anyone explored the idea that with the sea levels rising, there's going to be a lot of pollution coming with it? Some of the most densely occupied areas on Earth are along its shorelines. Along with that population comes land in the form of petrochemical plants, shore facilities and very old storage areas.
Contaminants are leaching into the ecosystem now and are ready to be overwhelmed by rising sea levels because it would cost the operators too much to clean up after themselves. Worldwide, the bulk of operators in these areas will walk away and leave the mess to take care of itself, just like they're doing today. Superfund cleanup is an expensive prospect under "normal" circumstances, and there isn't enough money to even begin cleaning up the entire world's coastlines in time to avert this disaster.
Could the resulting pollution influx kill off life in the oceans altogether? When the Hyperion sewage treatment plant has its periodic accidental release of a few thousand gallons of raw sewage into Santa Monica Bay, just the elevated bacteria count completely freaks people out. What's going to happen when, worldwide, untold gigabarrels of oil, pesticide, fertilizer and stashed, stored, forgotten, discarded and abandoned chemicals and every other kind of effluent known to man are released by the rising waters to mix with a river of abandoned sewage in our oceans?
It seems like it has been a serious problem in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina came through. There's a lot of really nasty stuff out there, and it will start going into the water a long time before the water hits its new high mark, and it's all going to make a heck of a pretty mess.
— Dennis Zuls, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:17 AM
Easy ways to go green
The eye-opening documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” currently airing on Showtime, is an excellent realization of the fate of our planet. Narrated by Al Gore, it is a sobering account on the very real global warming that has been taking place for the past several years.
It is a highly recommended show for those teetering on the line as to whether all the talk of global warming is real.
It is very real.
Many may ask, “What difference can I make?” They should recall many years ago the announcement of the deterioration of our ozone layer, largely due in part to the usage of aerosol products, most of which have since been banned. This “minor” action helped reverse the damage.
In continuing to strive for existence on our planet, we must rise together to secure our future.
The choice shall be simple, and it begins with you and me:
— Use energy more efficiently, and switch to energy-efficient light bulbs.
— Purchase only fuel-economic vehicles.
— Recycle.
— Use green energy.
— When asked whether you want paper or plastic bags at the grocery store, choose paper only. San Francisco has recently forbidden plastic bags in its city markets.
The choice shall be simple, and it begins with you and me.
— Natasha L. Jones, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:11 AM
Street vendors in a bind
There is a new game in Simi Valley. It’s called “Shake down the street vendor.” Here is how it is played:
The City Council passes an ordinance that requires street vendors to move their operations 500 feet every 10 minutes.
A police officer must spend at least 10 minutes waiting to see if a street vendor — with a valid seller’s permit, by the way — moves his vehicle the ordered 500 feet; that’s more than an average city block. When they don’t move fast enough or far enough, they are ticketed.
To be in compliance with the new city ordinance, the street vendor approaches a nearby homeowner and is granted permission to set up in a private driveway, off the public street.
The police officer returns to ticket the vendor again, the same day, because now the seller’s permit, which was legally obtained and paid for, does not list the “new location” address of the driveway where the vendor is selling.
Are we still living in the United States of America, or is Simi Valley working to create its own little police state-within-a-state? And don’t our police officers have anything better to do, like keeping our streets safe from real criminals?
To be perfectly honest, I hesitated to write this letter in the first place, because I have to wonder if the city will look for a way to target me for practicing my right to free speech in the same way they are targeting street vendors the right to make a living.
— JoLynn Hinger, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:01 AM
The real hostages
When we elected George Bush for the second time, I was sure we had elected a jackass. I was mistaken. We elected a mule.
Our president insists on victory in Iraq. There can be no such thing as long as al-Qaida exists, and they certainly don't need Iraq for a base. They have the whole world. The best we can hope for is containment.
In a recent news conference, Bush said that if we were to leave Iraq without victory, the terrorists would be emboldened and follow us here. When asked about this, he replied that he couldn't be specific as to what they were planning, but they surely were planning to hit us. On that matter, he couldn't be more right, whether we are in Iraq or not.
The irony is that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad frees the British hostages while our troops are held hostage. President Bush said that it would be our troops and their families who would suffer if Congress refused to allow him to go on with his madness.
Enough, Mr. President, enough! Bring them home!
— Bob Conti, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:57 AM
Traffic change doesn’t work
Whose brilliant idea was it to change the traffic flow on the northbound Highway 23 offramp at Olsen Road? Obviously, someone didn't take into account the volume of traffic during afternoon rush hour. The signal was recently activated, as well as a change in the traffic pattern on westbound Olsen Road, which causes exiting traffic to back up onto the freeway, creating heavier congestion by blocking the right-hand lane with stopped vehicles trying to exit. My normal commute from Agoura Hills to Simi Valley in the evenings lasts a maximum of 45 minutes. On April 4 it took 90 minutes to get home. On April 5 and 6 I took an alternate route home through side streets. I bet the residents along those streets are going to love the increase in that traffic flow!
I know the signals were added at the base of the Olsen Road offramp to increase the safety for people making left turns onto Olsen, but traffic on Highway 23 is difficult enough with the added construction. Now, this poorly thought-out solution is creating an even bigger headache. It must have been proposed and approved by people who don't use that exit or that freeway on a regular basis.
— Dawn Augusta, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:50 AM
LNG project brings pollution
The proposed Cabrillo Port liquefied natural gas facility would have catastrophic effects on property values throughout Ventura County.
Per the environmental impact report, the facility would be the single largest source of air pollution in Southern California, and this would feed directly into our confined air basin — essentially smothering us in smog, with Simi Valley and Ojai bearing the worst of it. All of this will happen so we'll be contractually stuck with higher natural gas rates compared to what will soon be available from Alaska via overland pipelines.
Imagine the worst smog days in Los Angeles or Riverside and picture that being here every day. This is because massive gas-fired heaters, equivalent to a major power plant, are required to warm up the super-cooled LNG and turn it back into gas. Perhaps worse will be the air pollution contributed by the tankers delivering the LNG, as a single ship is equivalent to tens of thousands of cars in terms of pollution.
This facility's pollution would destroy the environmental incentive to move here, not to mention the quality of life of existing residents. Every elected representative in this county, at all levels of government, should be opposed to this plan if they truly have the public's interest at heart.
— Bill Pratt, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:44 AM
Grocery strike bad idea
We’d better get ready to bag our own groceries if the union leaders keep their heads in the sand on this one. Are these folks really acting in the best interest of those they represent? Are they really “leaders” if they encourage a strike?
I urge union leaders to consider the costs of such an action and look at the big picture. Think about the impact on workers, grocers and consumers. Grocery workers should be taking a vote of no confidence in their leaders if they don't get back to the negotiating table fast.
The last union strike cost clerks jobs, lowered their wages and created hurt feelings among the customers. The "friendly" checkout clerk yelling obscenities at shoppers for getting bread and milk did not help customer relations. The bankruptcies, repossessed cars and financial disaster of a few years ago will revisit these clerks. Just like the media now provides news choices other than ABC, NBC and CBS, we, the consumers, have other choices than Vons, Ralphs and Albertsons. These chains will continue on. It is the workers who are shooting themselves between the eyes.
I urge the clerks to think about their families and their jobs, rather than union bosses. The lives that will be hurt are those of the clerks — union bosses just move on to other unions. As they strike, they should think of the U.S. auto industry and the steel industry. Unions killed them both, and the clerk’s job is next.
— Steve Frank, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:36 AM
Super-sized signs
A few weeks ago, the city of Thousand Oaks asked the Planning Commission to recommend to City Council size guidelines for the menu signs that line the drive-through lanes at fast food restaurants. City staff suggested some height and square-footage parameters, and the Planning Commission, acknowledging the need for specific standards, approved them unanimously but significantly reduced the sign sizes suggested.
Members of the commission cited the city's high-design standards and noted that a larger sign could be applied for through a special-use permit, as had been done in the past. The sign sizes recommended by staff would have left Thousand Oaks with signs larger than all but Palmdale in a survey conducted of 10 cities, including Westlake, Agoura, Moorpark, Camarillo and Calabasas.
City Council reviewed the Planning Commission's report that would establish the sign standards. Council members Claudia Bill-de la Peña and Jacqui Irwin agreed with the commission on smaller signs, both mentioning the need to consider community aesthetics as well as their faith in the work of the commission.
However, the majority of council — Andy Fox, Tom Glancy and Dennis Gillette — voted for the larger signs. Gillette was concerned that the signs needed to be big enough for senior citizens to see them. Logically speaking, if a senior couldn't see a Planning Commission-recommended 35-square-foot sign five feet from his car, then he probably shouldn't be driving in the first place.
Glancy mentioned visual clutter as a concern but then inexplicably voted for the larger signs.
Finally, Fox dismissed the smaller signs by stating that people going through a drive-through aren't there to see open space anyway.
Apparently, when it comes to fast-food restaurant signs in Thousand Oaks, Fox, Gillette and Glancy have a three-word philosophy: super-size me.
— Albert C. Adam, Thousand Oaks
(The writer is a planning commissioner appointed by Councilwoman Claudia Bill-de la Peña. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:30 AM
April 06, 2007
Water quality needs regulation
Re: your April 4 article, “County and cities cringe at proposed water rules":
It seems quite amazing that now, after decades of procrastinating and pooh-poohing the environmentalist, the government finally proposes strict rules for management of runoff in order to protect our most important resource: water. Yet, we seem to have a plethora of nonthinking folks in our county who take umbrage at this.
They say the new rules are counterproductive, could hurt present plans to clean up water pollution, would be prohibitively expensive, would take control away from local districts, would lower standards for grading during the storm season and would probably embolden the terrorists. (The last is my own addition.)
How could anybody with any common sense say trying to improve our water quality would be expensive? The other alternative would be to go on our merry way until all water sources are polluted beyond redemption. Water is a nonrenewable source. The amount we have on this planet now is the same amount that has always been here and will be the same amount as far into the future as you may want to go.
If we continue polluting the water, we will affect all life on this planet, equivalent to the mess we have now with the global warming. We were warned for years we were polluting the atmosphere. Did we do anything? No.
These folks who are adamantly against the new rules are using the same tactics that the Bush administration has been using, spinning the truth and trying to frighten the general public. Our beaches are so polluted, it is dangerous to go into the water.
Remember, if we screw up the water we have now, we ain't gonna get no more.
— Rellis Smith, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:47 AM
Drunk and undocumented
April 4 on the Pacific Coast Highway, the lives of director Bob Clark and his son were taken by a drunk driver. I, for one, remember Clark’s work on the holiday classic, "A Christmas Story."
The driver, Hector Velazquez-Nava, was drunk. He is also an illegal alien with no driver’s license. On the other side of the country, the debate about another illegal alien and drunk driver killing two teenage girls in Virginia triggered a firestorm interview between Geraldo Rivera and Bill O'Reilly.
The underlying issue is that too many politicians and political activists sugarcoat the law, that being in the country illegally is a federal crime. Just maybe, if the current immigration laws were upheld, these two girls and this director of a holiday classic and his son would be here today.
— Walter Bogaardt, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:42 AM
Safety trumps fuel economy
Re: Richard Larsen’s April 3 essay, “Bring on $5 a gallon gas”:
It doesn't matter if gas is $3 or $4 or $5 a gallon. Smart drivers will continue to buy SUVs and larger pickups because personal safety comes first.
Putting yourself and your family in a small car in a sea of bigger vehicles is foolish. Middle-class families will pay for the larger, more expensive vehicles by simply driving less.
And that's why we're seeing more and more SUVs and larger pickups on the road.
— Bob Munson, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:35 AM
Library needs more press
March 31 was a wonderful day for all of us in Ventura County. The grand opening of the Camarillo Library had been anticipated by thousands of people, and several thousand of them showed up for the opening ceremony. I suspect this was in part due to the nice “head’s up!” article The Star ran on March 30.
I’ve heard this library is the only new library in the county in 25 years. It has been said it’s Camarillo’s crowning achievement. All I know for sure is that I was there early, as excited as a child. I didn’t bring my camera because I knew I’d be there several hours, and besides, I’d just buy extra papers to send to my kids who have grown up and now live out of the county.
Big surprise, though. Every morning since March 30, I’ve grabbed my Star and looked for a big spread on the library. So far, there’s been nothing, no follow-up coverage. Is The Star maybe planning a separate supplement? I’m starting to lose hope!
— Stella Malabarba, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:30 AM
Where was The Star?
Prior to the 225th anniversary of San Buenaventura Mission on March 31, I have to say that The Star did a fantastic job in its publicity of this historic event. For some reason, there was absolutely no follow-up in the next day’s paper. That was the icing on the cake, so to speak. It was a failure on the part of The Star for not bringing to the attention of the people of Ventura County San Buenaventura Mission's grand finale. It was really sad.
— Jim Elwell-Martinez, Oak View
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:48 AM
Irradiated foods must be labeled
Re: your April 4 article: “FDA proposes softening labeling requirements for irradiated foods”:
Irradiating foods and not letting the consumer know about it is an absolute outrage! The Food and Drug Administration’s proposal is totally unacceptable! Those of us who do not want to purchase or ingest irradiated foods would lose our right to choose between irradiated and non-irradiated foods.
To read more about the dangers of food irradiation, check out: http://www.sustainable-city.org/articles/irradiat.htm. Also see “Nuclear Lunch: The Dangers and Unknowns of Food Irradiation” by Susan Meeker-Lowery and Jennifer Ferrara and the paperback book, “The Food That Would Last Forever: Understanding the Dangers of Food Irradiation” by Gary Gibbs. Dr. Gibbs has done an excellent job of enlightening us as to the recklessness of the FDA in approving the irradiation of food.
Illustrating this are these quotes from the book:
"Curiously, despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration has given food irradiation the green light, its own ‘Recommendations for Evaluating the Safety of Foods (Final Report)’ stated that 'chronic feeding studies which have substituted up to 35 percent of the normal [lab animal] diet with specific irradiated foods ... had to be terminated because of premature mortality and morbidity.' To put it plainly, the animals in these studies got sick and died."
"The people within the irradiation industry are very tight-lipped about their activities, and the FDA does not require them to disclose such information for the public record. Indeed, many aspects of the FDA's food irradiation policy make it virtually impossible for the consumer to find out just how much of the food supply is being irradiated, or to know where these irradiated foods are being used."
How can we trust a government agency (FDA) that acquiesces to industry while ignoring its own evidence?
— Ellyn Sutton, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:40 AM
Knolls project too dense
As a resident of the Santa Susana Knolls, I was encouraged by Supervisor Peter Foy’s pre-election pledge that would allow each community to have a voice in its land-use affairs and that he promised to make public safety his number one priority. To that end, I and my neighbors would direct his attention to an issue with dire consequences for our community: the proposal for high-density development on the Knolls Horse Ranch property.
The proposed 142-unit manufactured home development does not blend with the surrounding neighborhood. The higher density it entails will greatly increase the safety concerns of the entire community, and the proposal to widen Katherine Road from the project to the Santa Susana Pass Road will not meet the need for a secondary access.
Larry Williams, a fire prevention officer with the Ventura County Fire Department, has stated that if the developer can widen Katherine Road through the entire Knolls community, they will accept it as the secondary access for this project. This leaves the impression that the county is willing to change the lives and properties of an entire community in exchange for a new upgraded county road, which the county has no funds to repair.
I look forward to Foy’s response addressing these issues in the very near future.
— Roger N. Pearson, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:34 AM
Send message on April 14
Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon recently noted that, when he was coming of age at the height of the cold war, "Fear of a nuclear winter seemed the leading existential threat on the horizon." Now, however, he says, "The danger posed by war to all of humanity — and to our planet — is at least matched by the climate crisis and global warming."
There is a strong consensus among scientists around the world that human activities are a major cause of global warming. Given that consensus and the critical nature of the global warming problem, it is imperative that the world's governments take bold and immediate action.
The enormity of the issue can be intimidating for individual citizens. We cannot vote directly to change U.S. policy, but we can influence the policymakers.
One important opportunity for individual action arrives on April 14. On that day, Americans in all 50 states will participate in more than 1,000 different rallies to send the message to Congress, "Step it up, Congress! Cut carbon 80 percent by 2050." (See www.stepitup2007.org.) One of those rallies will be at the Thousand Oaks Library at 10 a.m. and will feature speakers discussing climate change.
Maybe we can't vote directly on our country's climate policy, but we can vote by our presence at an April 14 rally to tell our representatives that this most serious of threats requires urgent attention.
— David S. Ettinger, Oak Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:27 AM
Eliminate income tax
Re: Timm Herdt’s April 4 essay, “The few who fund the state”:
Herdt’s article reads as though the top 1 percent should be grateful they pay what they do, even though they represent a much smaller percentage as to the total state income.
His trivializing the issue makes it more difficult to understand that most people in the state do not pay their fair share, not because they do not want to, but because the politicians — Democrats and Republicans alike — have made a mockery of our current tax system.
It is time we switch to a sales tax and eliminate the current systems at all levels completely.
Unfortunately, people like Herdt make it sound like a game and do not address the problem we all face.
— Joe Laraneta, Westlake Village
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:03 AM
April 05, 2007
Charter school needed
Re: Ken Moffett’s April 4 commentary, “Doing the right thing for all PVSD students”:
Interim Superintendent Ken Moffett is trying to paint a picture of glee that he thinks is flowing through this community over recent school closures.
Does he really think staff and the families who have been displaced are feeling his “glee?” Is the Los Primeros Structured School happy to be moving and opening its doors to neighborhood children? How happy were Santa Rosa Technology Magnet School families who have sought legal counsel in regard to the loss of part of their program? Are Los Altos Middle School families happy with losing their school? Are Los Senderos Open School families so happy that a group of parents has filed for a charter school? At what school is Moffett finding all of the calmness he talks about?
Los Senderos families have been pushed off onto the Rancho Rosal campus as if that is what is deemed best of us. Our school program is not moving intact. There is no Everyday Math program at Rancho Rosal.
So far, the only positive thing that everyone is saying about our new “open” school is that it is a beautiful “state-of-the-art” facility. Is this “state-of-the-art” building going to teach my children in the open school philosophy like we currently have?
The Camarillo Academy of Progressive Education is going to be the form of alternative education that appeals to Los Senderos families. In just one week’s time, there have been more than 300 children put on the intent-to-register list for this charter school. CAPE is needed in our community to further our children’s education.
The Pleasant Valley School District board should approve the CAPE charter application. After all, in Moffett’s own words, “It is never the wrong time to do the right thing.”
— Kelly Ogg, Camarillo
(The writer is a parent of a student who attended Los Senderos Open School. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:35 AM
Hueneme: Learn from Ventura
The anti-tower naysayers and NIMBYs remind me of a missed opportunity.
Remember when there was a great opportunity for Ventura to have CSU Channel Islands located west of downtown on a hillside reminiscent of Pepperdine University’s gorgeous location?
A few loud and influential naysayers defeated the proposal.
Now it is located in the hinterlands of Camarillo, with no public transportation to the site, with little housing and no services. All the students must drive to class. We are now struggling with traffic as much-needed money for Ventura County’s roads is being funneled to widen the roads to the college, all at taxpayers’ expense.
Ventura would love to have had the college. Ventura would have been a natural as a college town, with a downtown so close to campus and the beach that students would be lining up for the opportunity to come here. It would have been great for business and the west side. Now the city cannot even pass what it says is a needed quarter-cent sales tax increase to pay for fire and police services.
What a missed opportunity!
Port Hueneme has the same opportunity. It can help itself and the neighboring community with a world-class resort and hotel and world-class housing accommodations.
The City Council shouldn’t miss this opportunity in Port Hueneme. It should be visionary and reap the benefits. The city will profit and prosper for long after members have left the council.
The tower will help with Port Hueneme’s looming fiscal deficit. It will vitalize, revitalize and encourage new business. It will give people a reason to come to the city’s beautiful beach. It will put Port Hueneme on the map. People will to learn to pronounce Hueneme, much less spell it.
— Dalius Gedgaudas, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:25 AM
Torture can’t be justified
The National Association of Evangelicals has approved an anti-torture statement that rejects cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of any kind and calls for the extension of basic human rights and procedural protections to all persons held in U.S. custody, regardless of circumstances.
I agree wholeheartedly with the NAE and call on each person reading this to look into the mirror, stare long and hard into your soul and ask yourself if you are contributing to the degradation of our society and our world by condoning or tacitly supporting the horrible treatment of other human beings by our government and its agents.
This is a very serious topic and one that is too easily brushed aside as being “not my issue — it’s not me treating them this way.”
If you are looking the other way because you’ve bought into the notion that we must somehow “fight fire with fire,” then you are just as guilty as the perpetrators. Anyone who takes part in this inhuman behavior degrades themselves to the level of the terrorists and, in so doing, degrades each and every one of us.
True courage demands that we do the right thing always. Torture is just another form of evil cowardice and can never be justified.
— Bob Dawson, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:20 AM
School peace club exemplary
Re: your April 4 article, “Peace club plans week of activities at Ventura High”:
Congratulations to the Ventura High Peace Club! The students who started it — Lauren Weiner and Lauren Steinbaum — as well as their faculty advisor, Mark Schmidt, deserve our strong support. Every high school in the United States should follow their leadership. Their exciting Peace Week program begins Monday, and they welcome interested community members. I commend them.
— William L. Hammacker, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:17 AM
Victoria requires open mind
I have listened to a lot of buzz created by the Ventura City Council in its proposed changes to South Victoria Avenue. Perhaps only Sanjaya or Anna Nicole Smith has created more buzz around the ol’ water cooler.
After reading about the concept in The Star, I must admit I was skeptical about the islands that would separate traffic lanes from business lanes, thus creating a more efficient means to Highway 101. The idea was new to me. In fact, I even scoffed at the idea, along with my friends.
Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Century City near Santa Monica. The route I chose had me driving on East Santa Monica Boulevard from the 405 Freeway. As I was driving, I saw what our City Council is envisioning.
Now my skepticism has changed. I saw the way the traffic was moving while still allowing business access. I thought it was great. My mind is now open, and I have conveyed my experience to my friends.
I think we’re all in agreement that changes are needed on South Victoria Avenue. I don’t know if the proposed changes are the solution, but I believe our City Council is moving in the right direction, only now I’m willing to open my mind and listen to them.
— Tim Brooks, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:07 AM
Predicting Doomsday
A brief Internet search shows a few of the predictions made 40 and 50 years ago.
In 1962, Rachel Carson’s book, "Silent Spring," predicted that pesticides — namely DDT — would cause "practically 100 percent" of the human population to be wiped out from a cancer epidemic after one more generation.
Paul Ehrlich was a prolific writer, with best-sellers like "The Limits to Growth" in 1972 and "The Population Bomb" in 1968. Here's a quote from “The Population Bomb”: "A minimum of 10 million people, most of them children, will starve to death during each year of the 1970s. But this is a mere handful compared to the numbers that will be starving before the end of the century."
"The Limits to Growth" stated that the world would run out of gold by 1981, mercury by 1985, tin by 1987, zinc by 1990, petroleum by 1992 and copper, lead and natural gas by 1993.
None of this, of course, proves that current doomsday predictions of a global warming disaster are wrong. They may be accurate — and maybe not.
Perhaps Woody Allen had it right when he reportedly made this statement at a commencement speech from the 1970s: “More than at any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”
That does sound like Woody, doesn't it?
— Ken Gates, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:02 AM
District can’t handle issues
Re: Ken Moffett’s April 4 commentary, “Doing the right thing for all PVSD students”:
After reading this commentary, I find it amusing that Ken Moffett is the superintendent of the Pleasant Valley School District and lives in Oxnard. Why should he care about Camarillo and the effects on the district or tracts where the schools are closing? He does not need to worry about the effects on his property values, like most of the citizens need to now.
More than half of the members of the school board live in Mission Oaks, which can explain why none of the schools in Mission Oaks were put on the block.
Are we parents going to be allowed to put our children into any of the schools in PVSD without being told that we are out of the boundary? Do we get a choice? Do I want my daughter going to a school that is going to be overpopulated, where she will have to go to classes in "portable" classrooms?
Closing schools will allow more money to go to the teachers, as many positions will be eliminated — teachers, maintenance workers, bus drivers, office personnel. Why would they choose to close a school where the district offices are located?
I feel that we should put unification on hold until we, as a district, can afford to keep our schools open and be able to maintain and run a high school. Why is the district allowing new schools to be built when we cannot afford to keep our established schools opened?
The school board members are elected into office. Can't we, the citizens of Camarillo, recall them? To me, private school is looking better and better for my 3-year-old daughter.
— Laura Kuhn, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:53 AM
Congress doesn’t need break
It is beyond my comprehension that Congress can take a "spring break" when so much important unfinished business is in limbo. How many of our troops get that kind of time off?
— Thomas E. Carson, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:41 AM
No Star at library opening
A brand new library opened Saturday in Camarillo, but regular readers of The Star never were informed. It was the most important item of the day, but The Star dropped the ball and did not report it. What happened? Or did The Star deliberately not report on it?
Here are a few facts regarding the library:
— Square footage: 65,000 square feet.
— Cost: $27 million.
— Number of state-of-the-art computers for residents: 50.
There is also wireless Internet access throughout the building, an ultramodern lobby, a children’s section and an adult area on the second floor.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:30 Saturday morning was attended by 5,000 residents.
I tried to enter the parking lot, but all spaces were taken, so I decided I would read all about it in the Sunday paper. I went out to the driveway, picked up the paper and looked inside. There was nothing, not even one word. I simply cannot understand what happened. I am wondering, was there a conspiracy against the library or simply a mistake on the part of The Star?
— Ed Sawoski, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:38 AM
You make it, we’ll spend it
Re: Timm Herdt’s April 4 essay, “The few who fund state":
This essay provided evidence of how pervasive the redistribution of income has become in California. Thirty percent of all personal income taxes are paid by 0.4 percent of the people, 42.7 percent is paid by 1 percent and 64.3 percent is paid by 5 percent.
Herdt pointed out that, "when Democrat Phil Angelides was talking about raising taxes on the rich to balance the state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s campaign tried to scare all voters into believing that Angelides wanted to get into their wallets.” The governor was right. He is also a hypocrite. It doesn’t appear he has met a multibillion-dollar bond to be paid with taxes in the future that he doesn’t like. Last November, he supported five bonds that will require $85 billion in taxes.
Schwarzenegger is driven by a lust for power. Our turncoat governor decided it is more fun wielding power to mold residents according to his values than allowing them the freedom to spend more of their earnings according to their own values. He wants to continue the march toward a more authoritarian government. He realizes that to do so, more taxes must be raised and redistributed to people and companies.
Herdt pointed out that increasing the top income-tax rate from 9.3 to 11 percent for 5 percent of the taxpayers would generate enough extra revenue to make up for the state’s deficit. Statements like that will get him a job offer from Schwarzenegger.
—Bill Stanley, Westlake Village
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:32 AM
April 04, 2007
Inspiring story
Re: your April 3 article, “Simi woman learns cancer she thought she beat is back”:
After reading the article about Robin Chibnik and how she is fighting breast cancer again, her name will be added to the shirt I will be wearing as I train and walk in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Sept. 15 and 16 in Long Beach. From reading the article, I know she has so much courage and love to get her through this again.
— Kelly Kolde, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:33 PM
Cost of coming home
Re: your March 29 article, “Retired general dissects war effort for T.O. audience”:
I thought The Star’s recap of Tommy Franks’ speech in Thousand Oaks was excellent. The Star captured most of what he said with the exception of his statement about costs. He said we have debated costs in lives, dollars and opportunities; however, the debate on the costs of “coming home” has not taken place.
— Ronald E. Hagler, Westlake Village
(The writer is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:28 PM
Don’t subsidize day labor
Re: your March 31 article, "T.O. arts groups fear end of city subsidies":
If it is the Thousand Oaks City Council's goal to "eliminate any and all subsidies," why don't they start by eliminating the annual $100,000 in taxpayer funds they are misspending to subsidize their unwanted day laborer site?
— Dawn Williams, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:24 PM
Don’t widen road
As if the threat of overdevelopment on the site of the Knolls Horse Ranch wasn’t scary enough, developer Colton Lee is now proposing a devastating, ill-conceived road-widening project that would tear through the heart of the very rural and woodsy Susana Knolls.
Colton Lee's proposal consists of 142 units of manufactured homes, basically a fancy trailer park with a pool, clubhouse and only one road in and out. Potential residents would be oblivious to the fact they are living on borrowed time in a high-risk fire zone.
It doesn't take much imagination to see what a terrible effect traffic would have on this rural neighborhood. As many as 300 more cars could be coming and going into the Knolls, across a very busy and dangerous railroad track. Add a catastrophic fire in the hills, like the one we survived in 2005. A very long train was stopped on the tracks because fire surrounded the track to the east, blocking escape on Katherine Road. Susana Pass Road was shut down because of the fire blazing on the pass. In essence, Katherine Road was shut down on the north and the south.
Three years ago, county supervisors rejected Colton Lee's apartment proposal as being too dense, unsafe and needing a mandatory secondary access. Now, in a desperate show of greed, Colton Lee proposes the secondary access for his square-peg-in-a-round-hole development. How? Rip out trees, take out driveways and gut the yards of residents on Katherine Road from the horse ranch through the Knolls. Instead of providing a mandatory, safe, secondary emergency access, Colton Lee is proposing the widened Katherine Road become two roads.
When did the profit of a greedy developer outweigh the lives of the residents who currently call the Knolls home? Since when did one road become two?
— Susan L. Wells, Susana Knolls
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:18 PM
Tower a ‘sore thumb’
As residents of Port Hueneme for more than 20 years, we have seen a pattern of growth we were proud to acknowledge. Now a structure is being proposed that would stick out like the proverbial "sore thumb.”
We are a small town — a village, really — and we love it that way. To put the tallest structure between Los Angeles and San Francisco in tiny Port Hueneme is absurd. No one is saying stop growth; just use common sense. We realize the city will have to find a way to use the property in a profitable way, but we hope they will see the folly of this particular venture. Let's go back to the drawing board and find a project we can all live with in harmony.
— Barbara & Robert Burnett Jr., Port Hueneme
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:11 PM
Stop irresponsible spending
Why hasn't the Democratic majority in the House and Senate put an enforced "surrender" date in the Iraq Accountability Act for pork? After all, they campaigned on putting a halt to irresponsible spending.
— Dick Schneider, Oak View
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:04 PM
101 isn’t the speed limit
Every day, morning and night, while on Highway 101, my car shakes from people flying past me, driving much over the posted speed limit. I, like many others, have children in the car and find this totally unsafe.
When there is no traffic, I drive the speed limit, never below it and honestly, maybe 5 mph over it. These people pass me at 80 or 90 mph, weaving from lane to lane to get where they have to be.
Just to let all of you know, the 101 sign you see on the freeway is not the speed limit!
I suggest these people get out of bed a few minutes earlier so they won't have to drive so recklessly and endanger the lives of everyone else.
I also hope the hand-held cell phone ban goes into effect soon. Why is it when people put the phone to their ear, they take their foot off the gas and drop down to 45 mph? They can't do two things at once.
I am also sick of drivers doing their morning "tasks" while driving. They should put their makeup on at home, pull over to read a map and eat their cereal before they leave the house. I have seen all of this while driving on the 101. There are accidents, some fatal, every day because of these people!
— Tina Zimmerman, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:00 PM
Unleash a dog, pay a fine
Although aware of the concerted efforts of a group of citizens to establish a dog park in Camarillo, I had not been an active participant in the process. It had never seemed a matter of much urgency. I live and walk my dogs in the unincorporated area of Camarillo Heights, enjoying a local park long used by the neighborhood as an unofficial hangout for dog walkers to let their dogs play in the long expanse of mostly unused green space known as Charter Oak Park.
Recently, a complaint lodged by a disgruntled woman whose dogs were sniffed by a couple of unleashed dogs while walking along the protected sidewalk launched a major campaign. Headed up by the (senior) Citizen Patrol to inform the blatant lawbreakers who allow their dogs a little freedom to play on the grass and share some social time in the late afternoon, the campaign is to publicize that there is a leash law in effect in the county.
After one such brief warning, an unmarked car pulled onto the park lawn and two county sheriff’s deputies stepped out and ticketed only me, although three other people and five other dogs were present. While the small sign indicated fines were from $25 to $200 for unleashed animals, I later received a fine for a whopping $340.
Now that the county has made its impact, the Citizen Patrol doesn’t bother us and the deputies don’t ticket us. We are back to our daily meetings, with dogs playing and no one really being bothered by what has always been an accepted practice in a mostly unused park.
In the meantime, we’re still waiting to see what place is acceptable to allow dogs to run and play, without the heavy hand of the law interfering and overassessing its citizens who are just trying to have a nice walk in the park.
— Nancy Nylen, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:52 AM
No mandate to end war
Every day, Democrats in Congress and their strategists repeat a phrase that is, without fail, faithfully regurgitated by the media. It is not a valid phrase, but it is repeated so often without challenge that it has taken on the false facade of validity. It’s time to rebut the myth.
The November 2006 election was not a referendum to end the war in Iraq. It is not the will of the people that funding be delayed or tied to withdrawal of troops. There is no mandate to end the war.
The elections of 2006 were local representative and senatorial elections, not national, presidential elections. Losses and wins were based on local issues and satisfaction or dissatisfaction with local representation. The reasons for not supporting incumbents were as diverse as personal scandals, disappointment regarding immigration stances, new constituencies due to redistricting, failure to abide by promises to be fiscally responsible and on and on, but rarely, if ever, for supporting the Iraqi freedom war. Few Americans consciously cast a vote or refrained from voting, thinking it would change the balance of power because their interest was their local representative. To portray the election otherwise is dishonest.
Iraq has become like Vietnam in one obvious way. The Democrats in Congress sought defeat and succeeded in destroying the valor and honor of the military veterans during Vietnam and are attempting to repeat that now. Silence by Americans toward their efforts in Vietnam allowed them to be successful. There will be no silence this time; there will be pushback. The recent Gathering of Eagles at the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial is just the first evidence.
Those Democrats who claim to be fulfilling the will of the people do not speak for me or like-minded Americans, and I'm tired of the false claim they do.
— Pam Waschbusch, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:32 AM
Gas gouging under way
A sure sign of spring and the coming of summer, along with blossoms blooming and temperatures rising, is the onset of gasoline price gouging by Big Oil. After the latest round of ripoffs come the now-expected grumbles of commuters. As surely as one season follows another, these grumblings are followed by the same lame excuses Big Oil puts out every year.
They cite taxes as a reason, which tells me they don’t want to dig into their obscene profits to pay them, so they let California drivers foot the bill. They complain about the difficulty in switching from a winter blend of gasoline to a summer blend, which tells me that, if they haven’t figured out how to easily do this after all these years, they are in the wrong business.
Unfortunately, California voters believed the specious arguments Big Oil spread when it spent $100 million to defeat Proposition 87 in November. If voters had not been so gullible, we would be accruing money to spend developing alternative sources of energy. One of Big Oil’s arguments against Proposition 87 was that, if it passed, gas prices would soar to new heights. It didn’t pass, and gas prices are soaring anyway.
Asking California politicians to intervene is useless. I have sent countless e-mails to Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, asking him to propose a bill that would institute the tenets of Proposition 87 into California law. Nava, who has long touted himself as a fighter for the people, has yet to even acknowledge my existence.
The only words President Bush has ever stated that seem to have a ring of truth are that America is addicted to oil. It is just unfortunate he seems perfectly happy to let those who supply the addicts have free rein in our country.
— John Darling, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:26 AM
‘A minimal footprint’
California should look to every opportunity to bring new sources of clean-burning, environmentally friendly sources of energy online to support our growing population. We have one of these opportunities right in front of us: the Cabrillo Port LNG proposal.
The Cabrillo Port LNG proposal, which is using state-of-the-art technology, will leave a minimal footprint on our environment. It will comply with state and federal environmental laws and will provide a clean-fuel alternative to vehicles that currently burn dirty fossil fuels, such as buses, public transit and waste haulers throughout Ventura County. This will leave our air cleaner than it is today and protect our children from asthma and other problems that result from bad air quality.
What are the alternatives? Nuclear? I don’t want that in my neighborhood. Do you? Renewable energy is in our near future, but we need something to sustain us until this new market is developed.
This Cabrillo Port project is an exiting proposal, and we’d be foolish not to take advantage of it. I strongly encourage our regulators and our governor to think seriously about our alternatives.
— Peggy O'Brien Brown, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:28 AM
Cabrillo Port right solution
Decisions we make today will have a direct impact on California’s energy future. We strongly support the BHP Billiton Cabrillo Port proposal, and we hope our state’s regulators and governor share in our vision.
California’s population is rapidly increasing. Our state’s population is expected to increase to more than 40 million people by 2010. While conservation is one way to control demand, it can only do so much.
Renewable energy is clearly the future of energy. California has ambitious goals to get us there, but we aren’t there yet. We need something to sustain us while we work towards this goal.
Natural gas is the perfect answer. The Cabrillo Port proposal is our safest and most viable option to meet our energy needs in the short term — satisfying 10 percent of our state’s daily energy needs.
California is a leader in so many ways. Let’s lead the way in energy, and make decisions that will sustain us now an into an illuminating energy future.
Support Cabrillo Port. It’s the right solution.
— Normond & Jo Ann Linder, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:25 AM
Try a tankless water heater
Liquefied natural gas is highly explosive. Tankless water heaters are energy-efficient and conserve about 50 percent of what regular water heaters use. LNG is being promoted by the Public Utilities Commission; tankless water heaters are not because they are too efficient for their standards. Why else would you give a rebate for something less efficient?
LNG is just going to give people a higher gas bill in the end, while tankless water heaters will last twice as long. If you still think you want LNG, then you haven’t grasped what a tankless water heater will do to keep your family safe.
Think of all the energy you will save with one. Do we really need LNG? Think of all that gas your water heater is using right now and how long it will be until you use that water after you’ve been at work for eight hours. Talk is cheap, but actions speak volumes. Replace that water heater, and we’ll send LNG packing.
— Paul Whaley, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:22 AM
Wind farm a mitigation
I have read with interest the pro and con arguments on liquefied natural gas. I have watched with chagrin at the back-pedaling of our environmental protection agencies. I shudder at the potential for a disaster off our Ventura coastline. One point seems to be missing. Nothing is perfect.
In a "risk-assessment," zero risk does not practically exist. The goal is to reduce risk to a tolerable level — communicating any residual risk to the user. Risk levels are reduced by "mitigation.”
The solution to the BHP Billiton conundrum is to make it a win-win solution for California. Billiton will make a nice profit from its LNG facility. If it would not, it would not make the investment.
California, led by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, should require Billiton to build an offshore wind farm adjacent to its proposed LNG terminal. That wind farm should be a minimum of 100 megawatts capacity. The state also should require Billiton to fund an ocean energy research station in Ventura County to stimulate the development of wind and wave power sources to mitigate potential pollution and risks associated with the LNG facility.
Scotland developed such a facility in the Orkney Islands. The research station is operated by one of the universities and is a test facility to prove commercially developed ocean energy and wind energy projects.
The Scottish facility delivers electrical energy to the Scottish grid while testing. Why not make Ventura into such a testing site? CSU Channel Islands is close to the coast. The test facility also could be located on unused or underutilized government facilities on the coast. The electrical power generated during testing would be delivered to the California electrical grid as "green power.”
— David Collins, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:18 AM
April 03, 2007
LNG puts ecosystem at risk
Re: your March 30 article, “Research ties killing of sharks to bay scallop decline”:
“Ecologists have known that reducing key species on land can affect an entire ecosystem, but this study provides hard data for the same thing in the ocean,” says lead author Charles Peterson of the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of North Carolina.
Perhaps the above information points out the tremendous harm BHP Billiton and its proposed liquefied natural gas terminal can do to the people and ecosystem along our coastline.
LNG is a health hazard. This terminal will produce 200 tons of air pollution per year for 40 years, aggravating health problems for our children and elderly, such as asthma and lung disease.
It has already been determined that the noise level produced by the LNG terminal will hurt whales, dolphins and other marine life. The connection between the LNG terminal and the studies and conclusions by Peterson should be obvious. BHP Billiton's LNG project will also destroy the very sensitive ecosystem on and off our shores.
LNG is bad for everyone!
- Ed Ellis, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:42 AM
Why there’s a deficit
Re: your April 2 editorial, “Budget offers modest extras”:
Today's newspaper media sinks slowly but sinks consistently into the black hole of nothingness. Is it any wonder why newspapers continue to lose money, continue to lose people's confidence and continue to lose value? The facts are before us: Newspapers go broke or they have to beat the bushes to find suitors.
The reason is as simple as The Star’s April 2 editorial. If it had been published on April 1, we would have laughed at it as being an April Fool’s joke.
The editorial stated, "Recall that when President Bush took office, the budget was in surplus and that surplus was projected to total more than $5 trillion over 10 years. The president decided that was more than enough to cover an ambitious program of tax cuts, and in short order that surplus disappeared and we've been in deficit ever since."
Not true. All financial gurus would correctly tell you that the present deficit is a result of overspending. They would go on to say the tax revenues have increased.
— Fran Jansen, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:29 AM
Bring our troops home
Re: Stephen E. Wright's March 25 commentary, “Seeing son leave home to fight wrong war”:
This commentary touches one's heart and is certainly relative to everyone who is a taxpayer and parent in this country.
In the article, Wright describes his son, Pvt. Wright, as a young 18-year-old high school graduate who has answered the “call” to fight for America's freedom. He argues that because neither the president nor members of Congress have children in the war, they aren't directly affected by the terrors of it. I must say that I agree - very much so - with this. Many of us who don't have any direct family members or friends in the military couldn't possibly understand the turmoil these families experience on a day-to-day basis.
I am also on board the “bring them home” ship. Wright, as many of us already know, points out the slow, if not still, progress in Iraq. How much longer must these families live wondering not if their child will come home after a night out with friends, but if they'll ever come home at all? Four years - for what? Being a soldier's parent himself is the backbone of his entire antiwar argument. Wright knows personally how difficult it is to let go of a child and struggle to keep a bit of sanity with all the worries on his mind.
Because none of the children of members of Congress will go to war anytime soon, nor will George W. Bush's two daughters, articles such as these should be sent to the president and to Congress now more than before so we don't lose even more “patriots.” Let them come home.
Many thanks to Wright for sharing his story.
- Yuridia Barillas, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:16 AM
Joe Luna will be missed
Re: your March 21 article, “Former County Fire spokesman Joe Luna, 60, dies”:
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Joe Luna, the former spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department. He has received many tributes and accolades from friends and colleagues. I know for a fact he deserves them, though I never met him.
My next-door neighbors are Joe's in-laws, Jess and Mira Beltran. Mira was my team mom when I played Little League at Sunset in the early 1970s. Jess is probably the friendliest man in town. Together, they are the sweetest couple anyone would want to meet, so having a son-in-law like Joe seemed only natural.
Last year, I asked Mira for Joe's number to ask his advice. My son Nick has dreams of growing up to become a fireman. I thought Joe might point us in the right direction. That night, I learned first-hand that people were right about Joe. He not only gave me tips, but he spent well over an hour with a complete stranger on the phone, excited for my son's dreams. He told me what to do, when to do it and who to contact when Nick was ready.
Joe told me to explain to Nick the rigors of the job, as well as the benefits. He advised what type of classes to take, at which college and where to concentrate his schooling. Lastly, after giving me several phone numbers, he directed me to let them know “Joe Luna asked me to call.” What a great guy to spend that much time with a stranger.
My condolences to his wife, Terri, and their family on this huge loss. My son may not end up being a fireman, but if he does, it will be in large part to a classy guy who said, "Tell them Joe Luna asked me to call."
— Roy Garcia, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:59 AM
It’s all relative
My postal carrier mentioned he had just returned from a vacation to the Yucatan Peninsula area of Belize. One of the trip’s highlights was the gas price in the area — only $2 a gallon. He called this to the attention of the tour guide, who mentioned that, while the gas is only $2 a gallon, the average hourly rate for a Belize worker is roughly $1.25 an hour. You can see how expensive it must be to the local economy. To that, the mailman said: “With our gas at $3.25 a gallon and the fact that I make $20 an hour, I guess it’s all relative.”
I guess it’s all relative. The words are so often spoken but yet undefended in this day and age of democracy — where “from each according to their ability to each according to their need” is not the order of the day, where a long-term civil servant has to pay out so much of his income to taxes that he actually compares his well-being and quality of life to a Third World country.
When are people going to wake up and realize that this country and this state are bearing the brunt of an illegal and improperly documented majority ruling? When will the middle class stand up for justice and the American way and defend its principles, values and rule of law? Far too many programs continue to bring hardship and toil among the truly definitive supporters of this nation — the middle-class worker. When you read about how much support and need there is in this region, remember, it’s all relative.
This is the state of California. Do your part to keep it from becoming the common Third World nation we are so close to becoming, in a relative manner of speaking.
— Troy Kuhlman, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:40 AM
Death not the only option
Despite previous failures, the California Legislature is again trying to legalize euthanasia under the guise of "compassion" with AB374, the Compassionate Choices Act. I fail to see how offering death to a patient is offering compassion. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with allowing nature to take its course and suspending unnecessary treatments when death is imminent. But offering lethal drugs to end a patient's life is an entirely different matter.
If a patient is suffering from pain, then why can't medicine be given to alleviate the pain instead? If the patient is suffering from isolation, then why can't he be comforted by friends and family? We live in arguably the richest country in history in an age of unsurpassed medical advances, and yet the best we can offer a suffering patient is death?
Surely we as a state and country can do much better, and we can start by urging our state Legislature to reject AB374.
- Noel D'Angelo, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:29 AM
Out of the shadows
There has been so much talk and confusion about illegal immigrants and why we can’t live without them that I thought I’d do a video project depicting bona fide American citizens doing all those jobs that "Americans won’t do."
The first place I stopped was a familiar fast-food establishment in Westlake Village. I asked the fellow who took my order if he would participate. My next question was: "You’re an American citizen, aren’t you?"
He said, "No."
Gulp.
You see, since he wasn’t working in the shadows but had taken my order and was taking my money, I mistakenly figured this was a job any American would do! I went on: "But you plan to become an American citizen, don’t you?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, he answered, "No."
It doesn’t matter whether you are Democrat or Republican or a whatever. If you are a citizen of this country, you are an American first. Our laws must mean something to us. That fellow has a job that my kid or your kid — somebody’s mom or dad trying to make ends meet — should be doing. It’s high time we call the Border Patrol to report illegal immigrants and not just ignore them. Also, we should report their employers to the appropriate government agency. We may even have to do a few of our own chores.
To me, there is no such thing as a job an American won’t do. Americans built this country by doing every job — especially the job of making it law-abiding. If "illegal immigrants" care enough about America and its laws to become citizens, they have every right to help us build this country, too. After my above encounter, I feel that if they don't care enough about her laws, they most certainly do not belong here.
— Michael Preddy, Westlake Village
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:26 AM
Ah, those elusive timelines
Re: Dan K. Thomasson’s April 3 commentary, “Democrats push irresponsible plan to end Iraq war”:
Well, they're at it again. The grand old flip-floppers are falling over themselves to declare congressionally mandated timelines for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq to be "unconstitutional," an unheard-of arrogation of power by Congress, a "stab in the back" to our troops and other like nonsense. Thomasson calls such deadlines "questionable" and "not viable," despite the fact that a majority of the public approves of them.
Funny how Republicans' positions on timelines have, shall we say, "evolved" with the party affiliation of the president and commander in chief.
U.S. Rep. Ben Gilman, R-N.Y., sponsored legislation in November 1993, House Concurrent Resolution 170, that established March 31, 1994, as the "date certain" by which President Clinton had to withdraw all U.S. troops from Somalia.
In the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996, H.R. 1530, the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives had no qualms about imposing "a timeline for withdrawal" on President Clinton's operations in Bosnia and Haiti.
In April 1999, Republican Reps. Bob Barr, John Doolittle, Dana Rohrbacher, and Tom Tancredo wrote in House Concurrent Resolution 82 that "the Congress hereby directs the president to remove the United States armed forces from their positions in ... Yugoslavia within 30 days."
Those sure sound like "artificial timelines" imposed while our "troops were in harm's way." Yet, almost paradoxically, the breathless AM radio crowd — the Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity/Bill O'Reilly Axis of Earfuls — didn't accuse the GOP of stabbing our troops in the back, of emboldening our adversaries or of undermining the commander in chief at the time, Bill Clinton.
Funny how that works.
— Russell A. Burgos, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:21 AM
April 02, 2007
Toss the locals a bone
Among both the hype and sound reasoning being used to promote the liquefied natural gas facilities off our coast, I have yet to hear anyone adequately address the question, "What's in it for us?" Not “us” as in "Californians" or "natural gas users,” but "us" as in "those of us who live on the adjacent coastal plains and hillsides.”
If this facility is going to be in our front yard, shouldn't we get something a little special in return? I understand there will be some general economic benefits. Some local businesses will benefit. Local governments may get a few more tax dollars. But these aren't really noticeable benefits that the average person can get a firm grip on and enjoy.
Here's the challenge for the corporate giants proposing these facilities. Offer the locals something concrete, something of benefit specifically to the local communities, maybe even with some benefits for visitors, too. How about cleaning our beaches? Offer to remove all the non-natural garbage from our Malibu and Ventura beachfronts once a year.
Don't stop there. How about power-raking the high-visibility public beaches monthly, like they do in most resort areas — say, any beach within a quarter mile of a public beach parking lot, excluding areas with endangered species. Now we're talking about a really visible public benefit. Yes, that will cost money. But BHP is going to earn a lot of money from these facilities, so it can share some. As a bonus, it gets good publicity out of it.
I am not suggesting a "public cleanup day.” My suggestion is that BHP Billiton spend some serious pocket change and pay for the labor and equipment to clean the beaches. Beach cleanup provides a benefit for the people the company will impact the most, and it addresses one item the company will for sure impact: the oceanfront and the view.
— Jess Stryker, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:30 AM
Whales, dolphins in danger
Picture this: 182 decibels slamming down a sound fixing and ranging (SoFAR) channel at 5,000 feet per second, destroying the hearing and vestibular function (inner ear balance), and rupturing the soft tissue of our dolphins and whales.
SoFAR channels exist in all oceans. Sound “trapped” in the channel can be carried hundreds of miles with very little loss of intensity. Sound caught in a SoFAR channel travels down until it is bent up by denser water at the bottom and bent back down by the less dense water at the top. The physics of SoFAR are dependent on the density of the water at the top and bottom of the channel. At our latitude, they are about 1,600 to 2,200 feet deep at the bottom of the channel and range up to the warmer waters of the surface.
BHP Billiton's floating storage and regasification unit is projected to be anchored in 2,900 feet of water — ample depth for SoFAR.
Migratory gray whales avoid sounds over 120 decibels in their migratory path. Sound has been suspected in the stranding of whales and dolphins and in the separation of mother whales from their calves.
BHP Billiton's environmental impact report all but ignores the impact of sound on our whales and dolphins and does not address the SoFAR channels at all. Yet tucked deep within BHP Billiton's Cabrillo Port EIR of March 2007, Volume II, is this statement, with no planned mitigation:
“Noise from construction and operation vessels or equipment could disrupt migration; interfere with or mask communications, prey and predator detection, and/or navigation; cause adverse behavioral changes; or result in temporary or permanent hearing loss.”
Our whales and dolphins are at grave risk.
— Eugene D. Hubbard, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:25 AM
The fixes are in
The tipping point is past, and the turning point is now. Also, the fixes are in.
Final public hearings on BHP Billiton’s Cabrillo Port are scheduled on Wednesday by the U.S. Coast Guard, on April 9 by the State Lands Commission and on April 12 by the California Coastal Commission.
Will the hearings present the real picture? Probably not.
U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is investigating what caused the federal Environmental Protection Agency to reverse itself, first declaring that this proposed BHP Billiton operation would violate California air pollution laws, and then turning around and saying go ahead, pollute away.
Another political move that doesn’t pass the smell test is the scuttling of Senate Bill 426 by the head of the state Senate, Don Perata, and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez. The bill in question required an evidentiary hearing to ascertain the need for increased natural gas in California. There was no way these two would let that happen.
Although figures and opinions will be bandied about in the upcoming hearings, the public will have been denied pertinent evidence, and transparency in government is foiled again.
One fact on record is that at the close of 2006, BHP had spent $2.8 million lobbying at the state level in the preceding 24 months. Another fact, according to the Environmental Defense Center, obtained by its requests through the Freedom of Information Act, is that the sum above is small in comparison to BHP’s expense of lobbying the feds and the EPA.
Power and greed are the ingredients for the Cabrillo Port installation. At a size of three football fields and with a 14-foot-high processing unit, this floating platform off the Ventura Coast will despoil a fragile ecological system contiguous to the Channel Islands, which support a wondrous habitat for sea birds, marine life and a passageway for migrating whales.
Walt Whitman’s poem, “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking,” presciently depicts the sea as a source of life and of inspiration and emulating the sound of the breakers, “death.”
— Mary D. Dodd, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:21 AM
‘The American fascist’
On April 9, 1944, while this nation was locked in a life-and-death struggle with fascism in Europe, the New York Times published a description of "the American fascist," provided by Vice President Henry Wallace.
The article read:
"The American fascist would prefer not to use violence. His method is to poison the channels of public information. With a fascist, the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public, but how best to use the news to deceive the public....
"They claim to be superpatriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest. Their final objective toward which all their deceit is directed is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjugation."
But for the date of publication, I would have thought Vice President Wallace was describing the Bush administration and the 21st century American hard right.
— Ernest A. Canning, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:11 AM
We’re not valuing our workers
Re: your March 29 article, “Circuit City to cut 3,400 jobs”:
“Outraged” is the best term I can find to describe my feelings about long-term employees of Circuit City being given pink slips. Veteran employees of 20-plus years had earned longevity salary increases through meritorious service in the range of $18 per hour.
Circuit City’s strategic analysis was that it would be better to cut these high-cost employees loose and suffer through short-term bad publicity. Form letters were sent to hundreds, maybe thousands, of loyal and long-term employees with a caveat they could apply for their old jobs after a six-month hiatus but at a new salary of $9 an hour.
Clearly, Circuit City is faced with a challenge to show profit on its bottom line.
My outrage is not so much directed at Circuit City, although I highly doubt the executives who framed this plan took a 50 percent salary reduction as a symbol to the cause. My concern is aimed at those of us who, through benign neglect, fail to protect the economic links (opportunities) that the everyday workers in this country have used for decades to access the beginning rung of the ladder into the middle class.
When corporations know consumers will frequent businesses that pay their workers a living wage and that we prefer companies that will not betray veteran employees, policies in these companies will reflect different “proworker” values. Can corporations show a bottom-line profit and, at the same time, reflect policies and practices that promote economic success for those who do the work? We’d better hope so, and we’d better start connecting the dots on this issue, which lead us right to the heart of the American dream.
Meanwhile, I, for one, choose to shop somewhere else.
— Robert Fraisse, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:07 AM
Women, girls need help
The situation facing millions of women and young girls in South Asia is appalling. I was shocked to think that with all the aid and relief programs put into place after the tsunami, a woman had to sell her kidney to make ends barely meet! This is unacceptable.
A great deal more attention needs to be given to this new information, especially regarding acts of violence. Both poverty and violence are grave humanitarian issues that should be investigated not only by the South Asian region, but by the international community, as well.
The United Nations Millennium Development Goals, agreed to by 191 countries in 2000, list as their number 1and 3 goals the eradication of poverty and the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women. The Borgen Project reports that it would take close to $19 billion annually to achieve these goals globally. So we know that the world can afford this improvement, since the total cost of the Iraq war is already over $340 billion. However, without the smart and just allocation of these funds, things will never change.
Billions of dollars to the tsunami victims in South Asia have missed the goal of helping its women and children. Leaders worldwide need to take interest in these uncovered conditions and stop the wasting of aid that could have done more.
— Moriah Kairouz, Moorpark
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:02 AM
An addict is an addict
Re: your March 31 articles, “Proposed smoking bans light up debate” and “Meth labs in county pose risks for kids”:
I thought it quite fitting to see the article regarding a smoking ban in cars with children opposite an article regarding children at risk from meth labs.
It's pretty obvious that SB 7 opponent Robert Best is an addict, plain and simple, defending his addiction, and the meth lab operators are addicts who feel the same way he does about government in their homes. He seems to be trying to protect some smokers’ ability to feed their addiction, and to put their addiction ahead of the health of children. I'm sure there were critics of child safety seat requirements also, and smoking in hospitals. Addicts put their need for chemicals ahead of anything or anyone else.
Maybe if Best and other smokers like him put their energy into quitting, this country would have a lot fewer cigarette butts starting fires, littering our streets and polluting our beaches and waters and a lot less sickness. Also, I wouldn't have to breathe and smell the stench of some addict polluting my air with the addiction.
How about if I walked around with a bottle of air freshener and sprayed it all around people smoking? Would they have a problem with that? Is it my right to do so? Maybe all nonsmokers who are disgusted every time we have people exercising their right to smoke outside a doorway to a store should do this. Wouldn't that be fun?
Just for the record, I used to smoke and stopped on my own because it was unhealthy, and I didn't want to be a slave to a chemical anymore. I went cold turkey, with no patches, no gum — just on my own.
— Belinda Brown, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:34 AM
No cuts, immigrants
Cutting in line — also known as line-jumping, queue-jumping, butting, budging, ditching or pushing — is the act of entering a line or queue at any position other than the end.
It has happened to all of us. It provokes rage and even violence.
Immigration, they say, has been good for America. It has added needed fuel to our economic engine. When we accept immigrants who come here to become part of our magnificent venture into freedom and to contribute to it, all Americans benefit from it. It’s when we allow the government to close its eyes to illegal immigrants that it becomes not only burdensome, but potentially disastrous for our country.
When illegals come here still owing their allegiance to their homeland — some to take advantage of our generosity, some to destroy our way of life — then we must put a stop to it.
The worst part for those all over the world who have been waiting for years for legal immigration is that the illegal immigrants are “bumping the line.”
As legal immigrants or descendants of legal immigrants — nearly all of us — we must raise our voices and proclaim that it is not immigration that is the problem. It is “hole-in-the-gate” immigration that deprives our government of the vital obligation it has to screen the new arrivals.
Immigrants must wait their turn and go through the process and not be permitted to go to the front of the line. In that way we can be protected against our medical, police and social systems being overwhelmed, and we can weed out those who would hurt our country or become a burden to it.
— Bernard Lehrer, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:25 AM
Hospice better than suicide
Re: your March 28 article, “Assisted suicide bill gains support as it clears hurdle”:
I was disappointed to read that the assisted suicide bill is gaining support in California. Many people support assisted suicide for the terminally ill because they have seen loved ones die undignified, protracted deaths, often after painful, intrusive, expensive procedures. People don't fully realize that there is another choice besides the above scenario or assisted suicide. That choice is hospice care.
With hospice care at the end of life, an entire team avails itself to provide the patient, their family and loved ones with comfort and support. The team includes a physician, nurse, chaplain, social worker, home health aide and volunteer, as well as other disciplines as needed, all specially trained in end-of-life care. Their goal is to ensure a peaceful, pain-free death. The team addresses and treats not only physical pain, but spiritual and psychological pain, too. Bereavement support and counseling is also provided for those left behind, for at least a year.
You cannot achieve as much by suicide.
The skin cancer patient quoted in the article said that assisted suicide “will allow me to leave my life with a kiss in a peaceful and dignified way." Hospice offers this as well, and more, and does provide for patients to die in their own home, surrounded by loved ones.
Medicare, Medi-Cal, and most private insurance pay for hospice, and agencies do admit nonfunded patients for humanitarian purposes.
Hospice is the best option for the terminally ill to die peacefully, pain-free and with dignity — not assisted suicide.
— Nadine G. Frankel, R.N., Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:18 AM
Gallegly bill helps animals
The Humane Society of the United States wishes to congratulate U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley, for passing a bill to strengthen the nation’s laws against dog fighting and cockfighting. The bill passed by a landslide vote of 368-39 in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Gallegly’s bill, the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, will provide felony-level penalties for interstate and foreign animal fighting activities and outlaw commerce in cockfighting weapons.
Animal fighting not only fosters unspeakable cruelty to animals but also spawns other criminal activity, such as narcotics traffic, illegal gambling, public corruption and violence toward people. Gallegly’s bill brings us one big step closer to eradicating the dog fighting and cockfighting industries.
When animal fighters can earn tens of thousands of dollars wagering on a single fight, a slap on the wrist is considered just a cost of doing business. Stronger penalties are needed to stop this organized network of criminal activity, and that’s why the National Sheriffs Association and 400 law enforcement agencies from across the country have joined The Humane Society of the United States in backing this bill. Thank you to Rep. Gallegly for working to give animal fighting the knockout punch.
— Michael Markarian, Executive Vice President, External Affairs,
The Humane Society of the United States,
Washington, D.C.
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:09 AM
Lighten up on medicinal pot
Re: your March 28 editorial, “Medicinal pot still in limbo”:
We know that Congress should do more to get marijuana classified as a Schedule II drug. But what is Ventura County doing about its lack of pro-medical marijuana doctors and no dispensaries? Why is this county so uptight about medical marijuana? Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Bakersfield all have Americans for Safe Access-recommended doctors and compassionate dispensaries. Why are we lagging? We have an abundance of sick people right here in our county who cannot get a medical marijuana identification card, a doctor's recommendation or compassionate care dispensary access. For some, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles are too far to go. Some are homebound.
It is sad to know I live in a county in California that is denying a natural medicine to our own community.
— Bobbi Geeson, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:01 AM
Grocery workers deserving
In the 2003-04 strike, I worked at the United Food and Commercial Workers union office honoring a fight that wasn’t my own. I observed struggles I didn’t have the power to change for the better.
If these past three years have taught the CEOs anything, it’s that what was unfairly taken away from the grocery employees only made them work harder to make up what they lost. As a supervisor, I see ill employees who can’t afford well-deserved healthcare.
Regardless of the new or remodeled stores, the remodel of the Vons on Seaward Avenue was canceled, even though it’s an old store.
If Vons wants world class customer service, priorities need to be rearranged in order to first give its employees world-class healthcare.
Generations of union workers are the career cornerstone of this country, and no good fight for a healthcare contract comes easy.
The big three grocery chains have a choice to learn from their mistake of the last labor dispute. Even retired store managers struggle with their pension. Grocery employees at the store level who work hard every day are the diamond foundation of the big three’s success, not the CEOs.
As a skilled writer, I am not afraid to give my fellow employees a voice. It’s time the diamonds come back to employees for a change.
— Carolyn K. Shimmel, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 09:52 AM
