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July 29, 2005
Affordable housing not really so
I am a resident of Seneca Highlands, a complex of 57 townhomes off North Ventura Avenue in west Ventura.
These homes have been arbitrarily designated as affordable housing under the auspices of the city of Ventura — not the Housing Authority, only the city itself.
It is important to note I never qualified by income to purchase this unit, nor did many of my neighbors qualify. We also did not know at the time of purchase that our homes were covered by the intense restrictions of affordable housing. Furthermore, there are affordable housing units here that belong to a doctor from Santa Barbara and are rental/income property.
For those first-time homebuyers and potential qualifiers for the city’s affordable housing program, know that many units are being occupied by people who did not and do not qualify and that some units are being used as investment property. The rents for those townhomes by no means reflect affordability standards.
Is this true, you ask? Does the city of Ventura know about this? Yes, it is, and yes, they do.
— Kathleen M. Garcia, Ventura
Posted by Rick Larsen at 03:55 PM
Similarity of names problem
Re: your July 24 article, “Guardian for disabled accused of theft, fraud”:
My name is Esther Anaya; however, I am not Esther Anaya Torres. My name may sound familiar as The Star has been following the investigation of a county employee who is charged with embezzling $93,000 from the disabled.
It just so happens that my name is Esther Anaya and I also work with disabled individuals. I work with a private nonprofit agency that funds support services for developmentally disabled individuals. I have worked in this field the better part of 10 years.
The article in the July 24 paper has made many professionals in my field, personal contacts and others question my morals and ethics, since they are mistakenly assuming that I am Esther Torres-Anaya.
This has been a great devastation for me and my family, as suddenly my professional and personal character have been questioned based on the article and the potential misconduct of someone with a name almost identical to mine.
My family, neighbors and most friends immediately knew this was a grave coincidence of similarity of name. I am also thankful to my co-workers who have managed to put a humorous spin on the name similarity and also for those individuals who knew, based on previous contacts with me, that the article was referring to someone else.
I decided to write this letter to clarify that the article is referring to another Anaya who works in the social service field.
— Esther Anaya, Oxnard
Posted by Rick Larsen at 02:24 PM
‘Illegal’ is key word
Re: Frank Moraga’s July 29 essay, “A state of disagreement”:
I haven’t been to Flagstaff, Ariz., recently, but I suspect that Arizonans’ thoughts on Mexican immigration are similar to mine and that Mr. Moraga either doesn’t understand the matter very well or he is deliberately dissembling.
The objection of almost everyone I know on the matter of Mexican immigration is that we strongly object to illegal immigration — not immigration, but illegal immigration, and not just illegal Mexican immigration, but all illegal immigration. It always amazes me how “immigration advocates” get away with the use of the term “undocumented aliens” to soothe the harsh moral reality of illegal immigration.
I would appreciate it if The Star’s director of diversity, whatever that is supposed to mean, would do a column discussing immigration from everywhere, not just Mexico, and include in his analysis his and The Star’s views on immigration versus illegal immigration.
— Richard S. Hawley, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:48 AM
Farmworker truths
Re: Laurie Charnley’s July 28 commentary, “Gleaning inspiration from migrant workers”:
As I was reading Laurie Charnley’s commentary about fruit and migrant farm workers, I think my heart began to bleed. But as I stopped wringing my hands and my tears dried up, I came to my senses.
All of us work hard for our families. Farmworkers are not the only ones who wake up before traffic starts or make sacrifices for their children. So I am not going to feel guilty when I order a salad or pour ketchup on my fries, as Ms. Charnley seems to suggest.
We live in a free country; the days of slavery are over. If these workers do not want to work in the fields, they do not have to.
The simple fact is that many, if not most of them are illegal immigrants, arriving here in such great numbers that they are depressing the wages for themselves as well as for legal citizens of this country.
The suggestion that they make only 70 cents an hour is also nonsense. The sneaky manner in which she slipped this item into her commentary is a testament to her skill as an English teacher, but it also makes me worry about what she is teaching our children. According to the California Institute on Rural Studies, the average farmworker in Ventura County makes $8 per hour; hardly enough to grow rich from, but this is more than many legal citizens make. In fact, base pay for a new Army enlistee is only $1,142.70 a month, and these boys and girls are in the Iraq desert right now, with their lives on the line.
So while Ms. Charnley may place on farm workers an almost heroic status, I don’t. When I order my BLT, I am going to take that lettuce and tomato for granted, just like others take their freedom for granted.
— Dalius Stropus, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:44 AM
Protecting artwork
Re: Angelin Lucht’s July 28 letter, “Artwork is just fine”:
Angelin Lucht supports Attorney General Bill Lockyer’s decision to display a painting in the Sacramento Department of Justice building that shows a star-spangled map of America being flushed down a toilet with a caption reading “T’anks to Mr. Bush.”
According to Lucht, the artist is “a true patriot” and is simply protesting against what President Bush is doing to America. She defends this art as being protected free speech and believes that the real problem lies with neoconservatives with “extremist views” who want to censor public opinion.
Fair enough.
Constitutionally protected free speech gives each of us the right to express our views, even if they may seem offensive to some. But I have to wonder if Bill Lockyer would have allowed this painting to be displayed if the art instead depicted an image of the Quran being flushed down a toilet. Or does free speech only apply if the “art” is politically correct?
— Tony Sereno, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:34 AM
Street left mangled
I am extremely unsatisified with the poor quality of work done on Presidio Drive.
A Simi Valley Public Works inspector gave it the O.K. He really stabbed us in the back!
We finally had our street repaved nicely a couple of years ago. Then his people came in and did a job that involved tearing our nice street out and leaving it in much poorer quality than they first found it. They only repaved one side of the street, not the entire street! The side that had more scarring and painting was left ugly and undone!
After working on our street for about three or four months, all they had to do was to take one more six-hour day and complete the job! It’s inexcusable, disgusting and unforgivable!
With the price of real estate these days, you would think that they could at least make the street look nice to go along with the overpriced cost of some of these homes.
Anyway, this company and this city should come out here and finish the job right. They should have some kind of American pride in their work and in their city. They left us a major eyesore. We didn’t even want this to start with! They should have repaired the street properly, and, at the very least, repaved the entire street and put it back to the way they found it when they got here.
Now it has survey paint all over the place. It has cracks and ruffles in the asphalt from the big rigs speeding and braking up and down it for months. It has scars from the trenches they dug across it and only patched. There is no reason for this not to be done right! We built better streets in Baghdad!
Nobody on this street is happy with this poor excuse of a job.
— Sean Swayze, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:29 AM
Filipinos must act
Re: T. Maya Teague’s July 27 commentary, “Are Filipino people addicted to national uprisings?”:
It is sad and unfortunate, but following its history, one can only say they are getting there.
Teague hit the nail on the head. I truly share her sentiments. Nothing is new with regards to what is happening in the Philippines. It gets so sickening to hear the same unrest going on all over again, all for the same reason, and the unreasonable way people wish to resolve it.
The way it is, everyone does things for their own personal reasons. The mighty hope to get mightier at any cost, the rich wish to become richer no matter what, and the majority could not care less. It’s survival of the fittest, so they say.
Weakened morale, coupled with shortage of good statesmen, do not bode well for the Philippine citizenry, which may very well be considered the root of all evils that prey upon everyone, enabling them to make the wrong decisions.
Unfortunately, no one can help them overcome this but themselves. At this point in time, one can only hope for a miracle to happen — and soon — for the Philippines to stand a chance of getting back the credibility and grandeur it once had and for every Filipino to enjoy the prosperity and security they so deserve.
This letter may be the miracle that will wake them up to do the right thing.
— Socorro G. Mercado, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:17 AM
Tales of the camera
Ever see those cameras at traffic lights? They’re a good idea, right? Wait until you get a notice that your car, driven by a friend, was photographed going through a red light.
The notice included pictures showing the driver to be a lady. Since I’m a guy, it was obvious I wasn’t the driver. Included with the notice was a form to complete if I wasn’t the driver, requiring the name and address of the driver. I completed the form, put my stamp on their envelope, and mailed it to the named company in Phoenix — Phoenix? I gave the notice to the actual driver who, wanting to be a good citizen, paid the fine. Should be over, right? Wrong.
Two days ago, I received a notice from the Ventura County Municipal Court with a phone number to call if I had questions, which I did. After 30 minutes on hold, I got a live person who, claiming no responsibility, told me I had to call the Oxnard Police Department.
When I got through to them, I was told — now sit down because this is unbelievable — that because my friend paid the fine, it messed up their system, and now I had to physically go to the Oxnard Police Department and fill out yet another form. When I asked the officer to fax me the form, he refused, telling me I had to physically go to the Police Department, and until I did, the not-so-friendly officer said he would not be able to dismiss the charges against me.
When I asked what happened to the first form I had filled out, he had no answer. He just repeated what I had to do and told me it my friend who was at fault because she had paid the fine.
My final question to the officer was, “Have you ever seen monkeys playing with a football?” He hung up.
It’s a legitimate question, don’t you think?
— Dick Massa, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:02 AM
Time for new IKEA
Re: your July 29 article, “Changes in store for county shoppers”:
After reading the article about the closing of the Robinsons-May at Pacific View Mall, I once again had one word pop into my head: IKEA.
Why doesn’t the owner of the mall pursue an IKEA store for the north end of the mall? That store would bring in customers from all over the area. The closest store to us now is in Burbank. I believe that people would drive down from Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and the Conejo Valley and bring business to Ventura.
— Bonnie Bowsman, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:52 AM
CAFTA vote wrong
I am very disappointed in Rep. Elton Gallegly’s vote for the Central American Free Trade Agreement, HR3035.
The bill, as passed, exports American jobs to foreign workers who will remain exploited. Once again, Wal-Mart, Target, and other merchants win, while American jobs become more scarce and lower paying.
As American jobs flee, and illegal aliens invade the Southwest, Gallegly’s vote for legislation that encourages these trends is certainly not in my interest, nor that of my neighbors.
In many ways, the Republican Party appears to be waging war on the citizens of the United States of America. Jobs, the economy, freedom, education, aid for the old and helpless — the Republican Party has negatively impacted each of these.
However, Republicans have certainly helped the rich become richer and helped the government become larger and more repressive. I’ll refrain from mentioning the Iraq war.
Once again, Gallegly’s action certainly does not represent my views, nor that of my neighbors. Hewing to the Republican party line may not be helping you here at home.
— Karl Keller, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:47 AM
Women’s rights limited
Recently, I saw a bumper sticker that said, “It’s a child, not a choice,” and I respect that person’s opinion, even though I am pro-choice. I wouldn’t want to blow up their gas-guzzling SUV or suicide-bomb their church just because of their opinion. Yet it seems the world is full of people trying to dictate the laws of the universe according to their beliefs, be they Christians, Muslims or corporate-minded worshipers of the almighty dollar.
Self-righteous indignation is now leading our nation in a transformation of all kinds of rights and privileges we have struggled for and now stand to lose. One may believe a child is not a choice, and now, in some states, women have no choice because pharmacists do not have to fill prescriptions for birth control, according to some members of the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee.
In hearings on July 25, U.S. Rep. Steve King, a Republican from Iowa, told a witness who had been denied the right to purchase birth control that “she had no right to her prescriptions, she only believed she did.” Marilyn Musgrave, a Republican representative from Colorado, said, “It was a minor inconvenience risking an unintended pregnancy and nothing compared to the conscience of a pharmacist.”
So an unintended pregnancy is nothing, and once the child is born, feeding it and caring for it is a cakewalk, never mind the poverty, the lack of housing or jobs.
Most women understand what their capabilities are and know that having a child is a huge responsibility that is certainly easier with the support of a loving husband, but this is not always the case.
Women who seek birth control are being realistic and responsible. Have we regressed so far backwards that women have no right to protect themselves from an unwanted pregnancy?
Rape and incest happen, and so do unintended pregnancies, and by pushing these babies out into the world, what are we creating? Many are born in joyfulness, yet many are born into pain. Right now, thousands of children are dying in Niger of starvation. Do you think these women need birth control? They cannot feed their children, so they are born, suffer and die.
Anti-choice representation is now in Washington working diligently on changing a woman’s right to choose to have a child or not. These same people support the war in Iraq, which kills babies every day. What hypocrites!
I thought that the United States was better than other nations, where women’s rights are extremely limited by religious taboos in a male- dominated society and where it is acceptable to torture and kill them if they disobey the rules. I guess I only thought I had the right to protect myself from pregnancy.
— Candace Hull, Ojai
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:41 AM
Practical unity of life
Every contentious issue, from marital disputes about treatment to international disputes about treatment, has a common ground. The common ground always includes the objective of “the greater good.”
In a marriage, it might be the mutual desire to have a loving and supportive relationship; in international relations, it might be the desire to prosper through increased trade.
What I see happening too often is a jump to a conclusion of what will create that common good, followed by all the energy and attention being poured into forcing that “solution” onto everyone.
At that point, it seems the original objective, which everyone agreed on, gets lost. So now, instead of working together for a mutually supportive marriage, the parties are fighting over what they see as an unfair division of spending money; or countries are fighting over weapons inspections rather than building what really allows peace and mutually beneficial cultural and trading relationships.
The solution, I believe, is to realize that in focusing on the common goal in areas that we are directly involved in, we are a living example that no one can substantially benefit long term at another’s expense, and that it’s not possible to help another without simultaneously helping everyone, including ourselves.
This is the unity of life made practical, as I see it.
— Scott Friedman, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:12 AM
July 28, 2005
Beliefs play major role
Re: Ken McElroy’s July 28 commentary, “Justices must act on case law, not personal beliefs”:
Mr. McElroy has a strange view of the Supreme Court. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that Supreme Court justices must “act on case law.” In fact, beyond establishing its jurisdiction, the Constitution is absolutely silent on what the court may or may not do.
Since the very first court, the justices have interpreted the Constitution and its relevance to the laws of the land. Their role in the judicial process and interpretation, of course, rests absolutely on one’s personal beliefs.
Unless McElroy is willing to claim that every Supreme Court in U.S. history has been “wrong,” he is demanding that the institution abandon its own legacy. Indeed, the most important cases in American history have turned on the justices’ interpretations and not on the black letter of the law. Perhaps McElroy can explain the case law “obeyed” by the Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803) or McCullough v. Maryland (1819).
But of course McElroy is not interested in the actual history of the court. His is just another arch-conservative voice pining away for a mythical past in which judges did not “legislate from the bench.” That concept, which is central to the conservative project to remake America, is meaningful only to those ignorant of even a basic reading of American political history. It’s also an absolute lie.
McElroy and his conservative kin are eager to have the Supreme Court legislate from the bench, so long as it legislates their way.
— Russell Burgos, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:09 PM
Atheist speaks out
Re: your July 25 article, “Public officials don’t just represent churchgoers, atheist says”:
I was disappointed that The Star chose Stuart Bechman to be the “poster boy” for those of us who don’t believe in a Supreme Being, with the possible exception of Diana Ross.
The Star mentions as an “interesting fact” that Mr. Bechman served as the 2004 Green Party congressional nominee for most of Ventura County, but a more interesting fact might be that Bechman has long served as a Sunday school teacher at the United Church of Christ in Simi Valley. I’ve never heard of any other “atheist” serving as a religious educator in a Christian church, and I’m not sure why The Star failed to share this fact with readers, unless, of course, it wasn’t familiar with Mr. Bechman’s religious leanings.
Another reason why Mr. Bechman may be an inappropriate “poster boy” for atheists is his combative history in opposing the display of the historic cross in Simi Valley. I daresay your average atheist would simply prefer a more “live and let live” approach regarding our differences with our fellow citizens.
Considering that Mr. Bechman serves as a Sunday school teacher in a religious organization dedicated to teaching people about the man who died on the cross, the former congressional candidate appears to many of his fellow atheists as something of a gadfly who can’t seem to make up his mind.
— Jay Redig, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:01 PM
Electric rates unfair
My son owns a small screenprinting shop in Camarillo with two full-time employees. He has no air conditioning or heating.
On July 5, he received his Southern California Edison bill, which increased 89.1 percent over the prior month. Upon calling Edison, he was told these are summer rates and the California Public Utilities Commission had authorized the increase. His small business uses approximately the same amount of electricity each month, summer or winter, and an increase of this amount is staggering.
It appears the CPUC is encouraging Edison to rip off the small-business owners by doubling their rates for the summer months. The bill should be based on usage, and the small-business owners should not be penalized to help pay the air conditioning costs of large companies.
Between the CPUC and workers’ compensation insurance, I can see why California businesses are moving to other states to get relief.
This entire situation is mind-boggling. The CPUC is allowing a large company to increase its profits at the expense of the small businesses that are the backbone of our economy.
— Frank J. Lisak, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:52 AM
Roberts’ rules
Re: Julia Gregg’s July 27 letter, “Critical focus needed”:
Ms. Gregg is absolutely correct to demand that the media and the Senate dig deeper into Supreme Court nominee John Roberts’ past.
A judge of just two years, Roberts’ career has been spent representing the interests of the corporate elite when he wasn’t busy keeping the Reagan and Bush I administrations out of hot water.
While he is being marketed as non-controversial, Roberts is really one of the gang. He scrambled to Tallahassee, Fla., faster than a fighter jet on September 11 to help Jeb Bush hijack the 2000 presidential vote recount. That sort of “legal brilliance” resulted in putting the Supreme Court in a position to decide the race, not something of which our founders would have approved.
As more information comes out indicating Roberts’ hostility to women’s reproductive freedom, religious liberty, free speech, environmental protections and individual rights, there is one case that I find particularly troubling, as do many legal scholars and human rights advocates.
Just four days before Bush nominated Roberts, the three-member appellate panel on which Roberts sits overturned the lower court’s decision in Hamden vs. Rumsfeld. The lower court had ruled that the president cannot contravene the Geneva Convention by setting up a separate legal system that fails to protect due process rights of people affected by Bush’s Global War on Terror. This ruling shows that Roberts would gladly grant Bush extra constitutional powers, effectively making him judge, jury and executioner, putting him above the law and unchecked by the Constitution.
At a time when many think President Bush and others in his administration should be impeached for fixing the facts around the policy to support an illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, no one should consider giving the president additional powers. The Senate should not confirm Roberts, whose genius would use the law to gut the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
— Nicole Johnson, Oak Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:48 AM
What’s in a name?
Re: Colleen Cason’s July 20 column, “Center’s lakes are watered down”:
I enjoyed Colleen Cason’s humorous column regarding the new Thousand Oaks retail center named The Lakes at Thousand Oaks.
I noticed a few angry letters in response that seemed to miss the point. Ms. Cason was not complaining so much about the center itself but pointing out the developer’s penchant for water in his projects and the inaccurate image that the name evokes.
I agree with her that people want nice shopping centers, not strip malls, but describing projects with fanciful terms to make them sound like Disneyland North is a common ploy. She hit the nail on the head when she stated that developers usually name their projects for what they annihilated to build them.
A perfect example is Moorpark’s “North Park Village and Nature Preserve,” a 1,680-home development proposed for northeast Moorpark.
The pristine 3,586-acre parcel is already zoned as agricultural/open space and includes a major wildlife corridor. The developer wants to amend the city’s general plan and rezone the property to build this massive project. After the homes are built and the roads paved, that land can never be open space again. The remaining portion of the land that is mostly unbuildable anyway will be the “nature preserve” that he is “giving” to Moorpark residents as a part of this project. What a bonus!
At least the residents of Moorpark will have a chance to vote on the fate of this project next February. I believe that they will send a message to developers that we won’t be fooled by the flowing verbiage.
— Suzanne Wilson, Moorpark
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:42 AM
Revamp the court
We definitely need better Supreme Court judges.
The eminent domain ruling, Kelo v. New London, has undermined the property rights of every American. This decision has expanded the meaning of “public” use when it comes to confiscating property to include the taking of land for private uses, something forbidden by the Constitution!
You don’t think there is something rotten with these judges on the bench? You want more of their ilk? God help us! This is not the America I grew up in!
Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor concluded, “Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party ... the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more.”
Wake up America! This should be illegal, and yet, there’s not a whimper from the press.
— Ann Telling, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:26 AM
Don’t forget a helmet
I am outraged by the number of young adults I see riding bikes and skating without helmets. I drive by the skate park daily and have yet to see a teen wearing any kind of protective equipment.
I work in a neuro/trauma intensive care unit, and from experience, I can say the car always wins.
I love seeing the kids outdoors and think it’s great the skate park gives teenagers in my neighborhood a place to hang out. I just don’t want to see these kids in my unit.
I would like to remind parents that when they send their children outside to play, make sure they’re safe.
— Candice Zimmerman, R.N., Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:19 AM
Find alternative fuel
Re: Ralph Burquist’s July 25 letter, “LNG facility needed”:
This letter supporting the liquefied natural gas industry off the coast of Ventura County contains erroneous statements.
He suggests, “Would it not be more sensible to take the gas from a fully reloadable supply that is only 13 miles away, than many hundreds and possibly thousands of miles away?” Where does he imagine the “reloadable” supply comes from?
Actually, BHP Billiton plans to transport LNG for thousands of miles. Tankers full of liquefied natural gas would be scheduled several times a week to offload non-renewable fossil fuel, process it back to a gaseous state, and send it to land through large pipelines off Ventura County shores.
If BHP Billiton has its way, they would bring California closer to imported fossil fuel dependency. Instead, how about stopping dependency on imported gas? Californians could put their efforts and funds toward renewable forms of energy, starting with solar energy. The sooner we start, the better off we will be.
Let’s push to embrace a more wholesome life with truly clean air, healthy oceans and protected coastlines.
— Doris O’Connell, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:15 AM
Navy pilot wronged
A former Ventura resident, Navy pilot Lt. Britt Boughey, war-tested in Iraq, recently became the victim of an unappreciative civilian.
Lt. Boughey, whose parents and brother still live in Ventura, was moving his family from Lemoore to his new base assignment in Virginia when irreplaceable personal property was stolen.
Lt. Boughey had contracted with a licensed car carrier service in Victorville and arranged to have his two vehicles moved across country. Two days into the trip, Lt. Boughey was informed that one of his cars was reported as missing and presumed stolen. This was not an ordinary vehicle. It was a prize 1956 Chevy Belair, which was a gift to him from a family friend for Lt. Boughey’s dedicated service in Iraq for his country.
Working from his new base in Virginia, Lt. Boughey is calling upon an old friend and mentor, U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly, to assist him in getting help from Victorville law enforcement authorities, as well as the U.S. Border Patrol.
Lt. Boughey called upon the congressman because Gallegly had assisted him earlier on in getting into the U.S. Naval Academy. The fact that Lt. Boughey is currently on active duty, teaching new pilots how to navigate over the skies of Iraq, severely restricts his ability to help facilitate the return of his property.
Of equal importance to the actual theft is the fact that the 1956 Chevy Belair had Department of Defense stickers on the windshield. Lt. Boughey is very concerned that if this car got into the wrong hands, it might be able to pass onto a military base by unauthorized people.
Whether Congressman Gallegly can help Lt. Boughey now, or whether public opinion kicks in to help, it is a sad commentary when the best that an active serviceman can get from a fellow American is to have his property stolen while he defends the very country that the thief operates in. That’s just wrong. I thought you all might want to know.
— Allen Robert Carrozza, Ojai
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:08 AM
‘Honest appraisal’
Re: Richard Larsen’s July 26 essay, “Honest appraisal, please”:
An honest appraisal would be to inform the readership that the very reason for even being in Iraq was based on a pack of lies.
The Downing Street memos state that the intelligence for going to war was being fixed around the policy. No one in the Bush administration refutes the memos. There were 300 meetings nationwide on July 22, the third anniversary of the Downing Street memos, that were attended by thousands of Americans, yet there was no news coverage.
The entire Rovegate scandal is really about the smear campaign launched by Karl Rove against Ambassador Joseph Wilson because Wilson’s report on the fact that no yellow cake uranium was sold to Iraq proved that Bush’s reasons for war were at best baloney. We are at war in Iraq because Bush wanted to go to war and they lied to go to war. Bush has committed high crimes and treason. As many as 100,000 Iraqi people are dead, and the carnage continues daily.
Recently, The Star celebrated its 80 birthday, and it was pointed out that The Star’s credo espoused by its founder, Roy Pinkerton, in 1925 is “to print the news honestly and decently and fearlessly.” An honest appraisal would be an indictment against the entire Bush administartion.
— David McGarry, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:58 AM
Say no to energy bill
People from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara: Speak up now! E-mail Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today to oppose the energy bill that is expected to be signed this week. It gives the federal government power to put liquefied natural gas ports off our coasts, whether our cities or state approve or not.
According to lawyer Tim Riley’s Web site, TimRileyLaw.com, the risks of disasters classified as “most severe” are real: a 30-mile- radius fire cloud or worse could result from tanker collisions, terror attack, earthquake, risky old oil platform, violation of safety regulations, or accidents.
Don’t let them experiment on us! Protest now!
— Stanley C. Semokaitis, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:49 AM
A veteran’s worries
“Veteran.”
This word applies to me and about 25,000,000 more. My legs are weak, my back sore, my age has caught me. There are others better off than me and others a lot worse, and there lies the problem.
When I was drafted in 1966, the deal was: Give 20 years and get medical care for life! And a pension!
A lot of guys bought this — me, too! I believed my country and did my thing, and so did a lot of other guys. Now we’re left twisting in the wind while the government is on a crusade to save the world. There’s no money left to bolster vet care. What happened to the deal?
I guess we all should have gone to Canada. Those guys who did are laughing while we twist in the wind.
My son goes to Iraq next month. My advice to him: Shoot first and don’t believe any promises made by anyone. The government has earned this reputation, and it’s pretty shabby!
— Gregory A. Hammer, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:43 AM
July 27, 2005
Odd wartime behavior
When our fleet was destroyed at Pearl Harbor, our president’s first thought was not to give aid and comfort to the enemy. He did not call the Japanese ambassador to arrange to have any of the royal family and friends who might be stranded here safely delivered home to Japan. Nor did our president have, as honored house guests, the Japanese royal family at his home during the war.
What makes this acceptable wartime behavior for our president, George Bush? Now we are told that an investigation is under way into whether the Saudi diplomat Prince Bandar’s wife paid the families of friends of two of the suicide pilots who destroyed our twin towers! Is this the reason Prince Bandar has decided to resign? It’s certainly more diplomatic than President George Bush having to take action and expose our real enemy.
— Elinor Greer, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:18 PM
Stay tuned for an ad
Re: your July 21 article, “Products get their pitches on television”:
Thank you for printing this excellent exposé. We all know it’s going on — advertainment, the embedding of advertising into programming — but we’ve grown accustomed to its face and have developed an unhealthy tolerance for it.
I rarely watch network television as I refuse to be bombarded by the barrage of ads. When I do watch the networks, I usually watch two or three shows at one time, switching between them during commercials. It’s crazy.
Likewise, I find it quite annoying and disruptive to the program I’m watching to see promotional crawls and pop-ups about upcoming shows.
And why do newscasts devote so much time to telling us what’s “coming up, after these messages”? Just report it, already!
It’s only a matter of time before television programming evolves completely toward the direction it is going and overtly operates as a medium for which a product’s promotion is its primary mission, instead of entertainment or learning. Unfortunately, we’ll all be watching.
— Paula Messina, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:05 PM
Exit strategy needed
President Bush started the Iraq war with false evidence. It is a war that has killed more than 1,500 Americans and maimed lots more of our young soldiers.
Not one American is against supporting troops, and no one should be addressed by anyone as being a disloyal American.
This war will continue well past Mr. Bush’s administration, as no valid exit plan has been forthcoming.
Moreover, the terrorist activity is clearly not governed, nor has it ever been governed, by Iraq as we observed in the latest activity in England.
Further, the Iraq politicians are relying on Americans to protect them.
Bush has been involved in lots of other diversionary actions like the Supreme Court, the Rove case, the Middle East, etc., but none of these actions can take away from the importance of getting our troops out of Iraq.
Perhaps he has not opened his thoughts to examine other ways to end this war, one of which is to close the Iraq borders for a time to help reduce the bombings, and second, to tell the Muslim world that the Iraq people who have been killed and hurt are fellow Muslims. Perhaps that will help change their minds to support our troops and help find the culprits in the name of their Quran.
We all must pledge to write to Bush and to tell him it is time to have an exit strategy before his administration ends.
— Leonard Weber, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:52 PM
Lies and deception
Why is it that accountability is so evasive in the Bush administration? Lies about the reasons for going to war have damaged our reputation as a nation, and thousands of people have lost their lives. Iraq was not purchasing weapons materials from Niger, and there were no weapons of mass destruction. We had warnings from people like Ambassador Joseph Wilson, but the Bush administration already had an agenda for war. They only needed a palatable reason to feed the American people.
Karl Rove, who is indeed a mastermind of propaganda, knew just what to do to silence the truth coming from Joe Wilson’s reports. He leaked information about Wilson’s wife, a CIA undercover operative, and jeopardized her safety and the safety of this nation, thus committing a crime, which at the very least should be punishable by the loss of his job. President Bush promised to fire anyone who was found to have leaked the information. Do you think he will? Do you think he should? Do you think he knew?
One thing is for sure: The truth doesn’t seem to be surfacing much on many issues facing this country. The deficit isn’t troubling to the present leadership, and why should it be after the record profits and tax breaks corporate America is experiencing? Environmental protection laws are being phased out because they don’t support corporations. The president doesn’t believe in the latest scientific reports about global warming. He doesn’t have to.
Bush doesn’t have to keep his promise to fire the person who leaked Valerie Plame’s name, and he surely doesn’t have to hand over to Congress any documents concerning Supreme Court nominee John Roberts.
I can’t wait for the latest spin in the next chapter of “Lies and Deception.”
— Candace Hull, Ojai
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:37 PM
Cruise ignorant, naive
I’m writing regarding mental illness and the potential damage that naive and ignorant Tom Cruise has done to the scientific psychiatric community and all of the mentally ill people and their families that these doctors help.
First, Cruise is not a doctor. Why anyone would believe someone who only has acting credentials but no doctorate in mental health is beyond me. Cruise should be ashamed for ignorantly giving medical advise without a doctor’s degree.
Over and over, intelligent scientific tests, observations, and studies have shown that chemical imbalances do exist in some people. This is not something “make believe,” like the fictional writings of Scientology’s L. Ron Hubbard that Cruise believes in.
As a graduate in psychology from the University of California-Santa Barbara, and also one who has a number of bipolar acquaintances, I assure you, most bipolars do need to stabilize on medications. The bipolars I know who are taking meds and getting psychiatric counseling are very “normal” and are doing very well in their lives. The right meds do work.
Some of the bipolars I know who are not getting psychiatric care or taking their meds are pathological liars, are ending up in jails, or doing one stupid and self-destructive thing after another. One even has eight or more abused and abandoned kids by different mothers and has also been in and out of 12 jails! This man has destroyed his life and those of his family members, and all because he refuses his meds and the psychiatric help he so desperately needs.
But, today’s laws cannot force bipolars to take meds. It is entirely up to them, and the last thing a bipolar needs to hear is ignorant Tom Cruise saying that meds aren’t necessary. Untreated mental illness costs our society millions of dollars and clogs up our jails and courthouses.
Famous people in the entertainment industry have no business misusing their fame to expound on something they have very little educated knowledge about.
I can’t help wondering how many people naive Tom Cruise has hurt because today they are not taking the meds they so desperately need to stay sane, rational and calm. Cruise’s outspoken ignorance may have even caused some poor person’s suicide because Cruise told them not to take their meds for thier depression.
We should all remember that actors are only actors and nothing more. Cruise has no business giving anyone medical or psychiatric advise!
— Rachel Douglas, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:32 PM
Benefits of natural method
Re: Kathy Matthews’ July 26 commentary, “Simple birth control needed”:
This is to inform readers of the benefits of natural family planning.
The couples who use NFP learn to recognize the woman’s physical signs of her individual fertility pattern. As she approaches the fertile time in her cycle, a woman experiences changes in cervical mucus, basal body temperature and the cervix itself. The couple can then use this information to avoid or achieve a pregnancy.
The scientifically proven effectiveness of NFP methods in avoiding pregnancy rivals that of pharmaceutical products. Also, these methods of fertility awareness have been taught successfully in Third World countries because of their simplicity.
Virtually every woman can learn to read her own body’s fertile signs. Many couples choose to use these natural methods to achieve pregnancy as the time of a woman’s peak fertility can be easily recognized. NFP allows couples to work with the natural rhythms of the woman’s body without having to control their fertility artificially. This means that neither the man nor woman bears the burden of exposure to harmful chemicals or surgery. Through information and cooperation the couple together shares the responsibility for their fertility.
The ability to conceive a child is a beautifully orchestrated process. Fertility is a gift to be appreciated, not a disease to be corrected.
To learn more about natural family planning, contact The Couple to Couple League at www.ccli.org, The Family of the Americas at www.familyplanning.net, or The Billings Method at www.billings-centre.ab.ca.
— Debbie Raab, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:11 PM
Value ‘real men’
Re: Kathy Matthews’ July 26 commentary, “Simple birth control needed”:
I couldn't agree more with Kathy Matthews’ article.
I am a good Republican in favor of abortion because I do not believe that all males take their fair share of responsibility on birth control.
Having been married nearly 60 years, I have gained a lot of knowledge and, I hope, wisdom, in observing the behaviors of males and females.
I have never had the need to have an abortion, but I believe that if a woman is alone and has no place to turn, she should be able have an abortion legally in this country and be treated as a first-class citizen, and not have to resort to a back-alley abortion where all sorts of consequences may occur.
As Ms. Matthews states, I do not believe that males take their share of responsibility for risked pregnancy. I believe every child needs a father, and if he/she doesn’t have one, their personalities can be skewed. It is a “real man” who takes responsibility for new life he creates. We don’t have enough “real men” in this country.
As for birth control, females are the ones who bear the brunt of the responsibility. As Ms. Matthews relates, there are nearly always side effects to preventive medications. A “real man” who doesn’t want to create a pregnancy would undergo a vasectomy. If a man doesn’t want to create a pregnancy but will perhaps want to at a later time, he will take responsibility in the pregnancy prevention process.
I do admire “real men!”
— Dorothy M. Jacobson, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:04 PM
Medication dangers
Re: your July 25 obituary for Tim Howe:
I’m writing in response to the obituary for the 20-year-old man who died from taking Oxycontin for the first time. It was very compassionate for his family to include this information in the obituary, in hopes that the information will help others.
According to the latest national study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, about one in five teenagers has abused a prescription painkiller. That’s more than have experimented with Ecstasy, cocaine, crack or LSD.
The report from this recent study showed that close to half of all teens believe using prescription medications to get high is “much safer” than street drugs.
This young man’s story illustrates the fallacy of this belief. Not only do many young people think that prescription drugs are safer, but close to one-third of the teenagers surveyed said they also thought that prescription painkillers were not addictive. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“Ease of access” was cited as a major factor in teenagers trying the medications, with medicine cabinets at home or at friends’ homes a likely source, the survey found.
Parents and others need to know that prescription drug abuse is a growing trend in the United States and to take appropriate steps to educate themselves and their teens about the dangers of abusing prescription and over-the-counter medications. An excellent source of current information can be found on the Web at www.theantidrug.com.
Tragedies like this young man’s death will occur, despite our best efforts. But there are things we can all do to decrease the frequency. Specifically, set a good example by using medications only when necessary. Keep an inventory of what you have and monitor it. Don’t keep medications around if you don’t need them, and keep all painkillers, sedatives, and stimulants in a place where only you have access.
— Ruth Cooper, Coordinator, S.A.F.E. Coalition, Ojai
(S.A.F.E. Coalition works to create a Substance Abuse-Free Environment for youth in the Ojai Valley. — Editor)
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:12 AM
Top Hat’s big picture
Re: your July 19 article, “Save Top Hat, backers ask Ventura council”:
The Top Hat Burger Palace in Ventura on Main and Palm streets is indeed a part of Ventura’s valued past. Nostalgia and emotion alone should not be the sole criteria, however, for deciding what might be the best thing to do.
The easy proposals to simply move it to another city-owned site seem to ignore the possibility that such a plan might involve significant costs. Who pays for it and what the taxpayers should contribute are factors to consider.
Councilman Neal Andrews’ comment that the city should not subsidize a potential move, as reported in The Star, frankly did not capture the essence of his actual comments in the council discussion. He made it clear that he is as sympathetic to the continued presence of the Top Hat as the rest of us. He simply wanted everyone to understand that there were some pretty fundamental public policy issues involved, and they needed to be owned up to by those suggesting quick solutions. Thank goodness he has our tax money as a concern also.
Councilman Andrews has a unique role on the council because of his years of business experience and his knowledge of budgets, management techniques and evaluation. Time after time we see that he is the one who actually reads the tedious and sometimes tricky financial reports and, in general, pays attention to the details that are often too time- consuming for the unskilled.
He also shows a keen sense of responsibility to all of Ventura’s citizens in relation to managing the city’s limited funds. Every dollar spent to save the Top Hat has to come from funds that otherwise would pay for the police, the Fire Department, streets, social and cultural programs, the environment and the many other areas of city concerns that the council is active in.
I hope that The Star, the council and the rest of us will wait for the council’s study before deciding on a course of action.
— Warren Faue, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:02 AM
Tactical error?
Re: your July 15 article, “Base supporters blast realignment plan”:
I think the presentation by Point Mugu supporters to the Base Realignment and Closure Committee may backfire.
If I were on the BRAC Committee and had to listen to retired Rear Adm. George Strohsahl and others tell us our analysis was flawed, our conclusions in error, and our committee work poor in general, I would be highly insulted and irritated. As a committee member (hypothetical) who had spent much time on the effort, I would probably change my recommendation to immediate base closure.
— William Wolny, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:47 AM
Talk to a veteran
As a Red Cross volunteer and a Vietnam veteran, I drove to Ventura from Thousand Oaks to volunteer my services for the 13th Annual Ventura County Stand Down. When I arrived at the National Guard Armory on Saturday morning, I could tell right away that there were too many Red Cross volunteers manning the sign-in desk. I was issued a red wristband and decided to look around and make myself useful.
I scoped the whole operation out a number of times and was very impressed at the nearly 20 agencies that were providing so many services needed by the 100-plus homeless vets.
While not providing some type of service for the veterans, the volunteers were either alone or talking to each other. At the same time, when the homeless veterans were not engaged in conversation among themselves, they were either sitting or lying alone in their cots under the tents that were set up.
What to do? Should I go engage in small talk with other volunteers or go home? I decided to do something no one else was doing, as far as I could see. I approached two vets sitting at a table under a camouflage tent covering.
I sat down and started a three-way conversation that lasted a good two hours. While conversing with Dwayne and Andre, I got to know them, and they got to know me. I asked them both to rate their lives on a 1 to 10 scale and was blown away when Dwayne said 10 and Andre said “crap.”
Dwayne said he was living in a seedy hotel room in downtown Los Angeles, and he was happy with a bed and a roof over his head.
Andre was out on streets and preferred that to being in his friend’s environment. Andre told me he used to sleep in his van until one day it was towed away while he was still in it and could not afford to take it out of storage. He was living on the street with a small income from various government sources and was still making child support payments to a daughter in Tennessee who was 11 years old. With tears in his eyes, he said the last time he saw Gabriella was when she was 2 years old.
They both pointed to a police car that had pulled up outside the gate and said they “are our worst enemies. They harass and ticket us every chance they get.”
I can’t possibly write all the dialogue that the three of us shared, but one thing was clear. They both told me that I was the only one there who had taken an interest in them as human beings and who cared enough to ask questions and not give them unsolicited advice.
When we parted company, I know I felt better, because I got to bond with total strangers and shared parts of my life with them as well.
I would suggest that at next years 14th Ventura County Stand Down, getting to know the homeless vets as people should be a goal for the many volunteers who show up. Small talk between volunteers is nice, but interacting and getting to know those vets, in my opinion, is far more rewarding for everyone concerned.
— Harvey Youngman, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:41 AM
Pilots are being selfish
Re: your July 13 article, “Damaged plane glides to safe landing in field”:
The frequency with which private planes encounter mechanical problems, low fuel or human error and land on city streets, private property or freeways is appalling. These pilots not only endanger our lives, livestock and private property, but themselves as well.
Why don’t they check the soundness of the plane mechanically, the fuel level and assume a sober state of mind prior to takeoff?
They are not heroes. They are selfish drivers.
— Vincent Burns, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:34 AM
Exit strategy for Iraq
It’s about time we Americans woke up to the fact that Muslim extremists will never stop their murderous reign of terror so long as Christian coalition forces and civilian personnel who are trying to help in rebuilding Iraq remain in Iraq.
The radical Islamic clergy throughout the Middle East continues to spew their hatred toward Americans and their allies in order to stay in power! Not only do they encourage the killing and slaughter of Americans, but of their fellow Muslims as well. They think nothing of killing innocent women and children in the name of Allah.
If Allah is truly a messenger of peace, why are the other Arab nations throughout the Middle East acting as observers, rather than participating in helping to stop the terrorists wherever they may be?
It’s about time for all the moderate and civilized nations of the Arab and Muslim world to stand up and defend the good name of Islam and Allah from the sadistic few who are giving all Muslims a bad name.
This is an Arab problem that needs to be solved by all Arab and Muslim nations throughout the world.
On Jan. 2, all the appropriate consulates in every coalition country should be notified that as of June 30, all coalition forces and civilian personnel will have left Iraq. This will give those countries that really need to stabilize the region six months to get ready to help their fellow Muslims.
Those who have military can provide the forces; those that don’t can offset the cost. So no one country has control, this campaign for peace should be under command of the United Nations.
If anyone has a better exit plan, I would love him or her to speak up!
— Robert LaMacchia, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:30 AM
Teachers are special
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger keeps referring to our teachers as a special interest that must be broken.
They are the wonderful men and women who commit their lives to relatively low-paying jobs in an underfunded education system just so that they can teach our children. They get up early, work hard, and often stay late, not because they are paid extra, but because they are committed to making sure children have the best possible education.
I also believe teachers are very special interests because they freely contribute so much to our children and our society. Unfortunately, the governor thinks those who gave large cash donations to his campaign are more special.
It is time to show Schwarzenegger that the real stars in California are our wonderful teachers by voting no on the governor’s wacky propositions which will cause more problems than they solve.
— Isabel Serrano, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:26 AM
U.S. isn’t secretive
Re: Richard Larsen’s July 26 essay, “Honest appraisal, please”:
Richard Larsen wants the Bush team to be more open on Iraq problems, even though the Bush team has been more open and honest to the American people on military issues during a time of war than any other administration in American history.
Short of publicizing in advance the daily schedules of our military, our battlefield tactics and the names and addresses of Iraqi security forces, there is not much more information the Bush team can share.
What we really need is for the terrorists to be more open on why they kill innocent people, including Iraqis, civilians, children, women, the elderly and those simply working to help others. There is no apparent sane strategic explanation for their actions.
However, the Bush team made it clear why we are at war in Iraq. Even people against the war generally make their positions clear. The only variable not clear is the goal of our enemy, unless their goal is simply to kill or control innocent people.
Reasonable people understand the difficulties in developing a military plan to deal with an enemy who has no sane strategy. I think Mr. Larsen is really looking for reasons to criticize the Bush team rather than an honest evaluation of the problems in Iraq to help expedite the job that needs to be done.
Mr. Larsen also suggests that the Bush team has an arrogant disregard for those dying. To the contrary, the Bush team has made the tough decisions to act against a ruthless enemy who has no regard for human life. Taking a stand when others are afraid and uncertain is an act of courage, not an act of arrogance.
Americans, Iraqis, and other people from around the world stand with the Bush team. Mr. Larsen should join us.
— Curtis Carson, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:21 AM
July 26, 2005
Frenzy over Rove
It is fair to hold Karl Rove responsible for his actions, but the rhetoric and rage appear to be way ahead of the facts in this case.
The only bright spot in all of this is that with a little bit of luck, our elected representatives will be so caught up in their frenzy they will not get around to approving a liquefied natural gas terminal in the middle of an international shipping lane and a military test range.
— Jim Kaness, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:00 PM
Don’t sell spray paint
The increasing problem of graffiti is not just in Oxnard, it’s countywide.
If the City of Oxnard spends $700,000 annually dealing with graffiti, why doesn’t it stop the problem at the source and ban the sale of spray paint altogether? The county should do the same. Yes, you must be over 18 to purchase it now, but taggers of all ages have no problem getting it, either finding it in their parents’ garage or buying it at stores that sell to anyone.
No spray paint for sale, no more graffiti. Problem solved. There is no good reason to sell spray paint to the public. If you can’t paint with a brush or roller, buy an air compressor and air brush and get the same results as a “rattle-can.” Sure, the paint manufacturing industry will cry foul, but who cares? We are the citizens who must look at the graffiti, pay for its cleanup and face devaluation of our neighborhoods that repeatedly get tagged.
—Michael Rivers, Piru
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:56 PM
Profile objectionable
Re: your July 25 article, “Public officials don’t just represent churchgoers, atheist says”:
I subscribe to The Star for news, not social commentary.
Would someone tell me what is newsworthy about this article? To me it is nothing other than one more abomination by the Old Media on its way to becoming the Gone Media.
I am sure there were plenty of truly newsworthy events you could have chosen to report on but did not.
How about that young man down the street struggling against all odds to become an Eagle Scout? How about the two college-bound Venturans who have started their own Web-based business and having amazing success? How about the young girl who noticed that an older woman at the ATM at Wells Fargo forgot her cash withdrawal?
Instead, you report on a local atheist who feels public officials just represent churchgoers. You’ve got to be kidding me. I urge you to find 10 churchgoers who even remotely think elected officials come anywhere close to representing them.
— Brett Tibbitts, Somis
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:52 PM
Old parks need funds
When the Ventura Community Park opens, what is going to happen to all the other established parks in Ventura?
Reportedly, the city has $400,000 right now to contribute to the next phase of the Community Park. Would it be possible to take some of those funds and upgrade the facilities we already have?
I was at Camino Real Park last week. I went into the restroom to wash my hands and was appalled to discover there was no soap dispenser. No soap dispenser in a public bathroom! I have to wonder if the other parks are lacking as well.
There’s no soap with which to wash your hands, but there’s $400,000 to put toward a brand new park? This one is a real head scratcher.
— Jennifer Lawrence, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:44 PM
Journalism available
Re: Jeffrey Dransfeldt’s July 25 commentary, “College journalism cuts blunt experiences”:
Mr. Dransfeldt had very positive experiences to relate regarding his training and the professional support and assistance he received in the Ventura College journalism program.
We are always pleased to hear when students achieve such success academically and vocationally as a result of their time at the college. It is our hope that in time, we will be able to reinstate the journalism program and the printed and online versions of the Ventura College Press, so that more students will be able to advance through similar educational and internship opportunities.
The college is committed to enhancing student learning through partnering with employers in the community, and we have been justifiably proud of the Ventura College journalism students who have interned with the Ventura County Star and other media.
Students considering enrolling in journalism this fall may select from four journalism courses, all California State University transferable, at Moorpark College and have the opportunity to work on the districtwide college newspaper. I would encourage anyone interested in this very important profession to do so.
— Dr. Robin Calote, President, Ventura College
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:20 PM
Naked toes a real bear
Re: your July 24 article, “Putting a foot down on flip-flops”:
As a university intern serving my second summer internship as a paralegal intern at Naval Base Ventura County’s Judge Advocate General’s Office, I, too, found myself in a footwear dilemma.
I was invited to a formal retirement ceremony at Point Mugu and forgot to bring my black dressy shoes. Although I was not in flip-flops per se, I was wearing white sandals without ankle straps. Upon my arrival to the ceremony, I was the only female civilian standing with the uniformed officers. I felt totally out of place with my “naked toes” exposed for all to see — so much so that I turned down an offer to sit in the front row with the JAG staff to view this special ceremony.
When officers asked why I did not sit up front, I revealed my concern about the absence of appropriate footwear, especially while photographs were being taken. I didn’t want my ten-toe darlings to stand out amongst all the covered feet.
A few days later, I smiled while reading about the hullabaloo regarding the Northwestern University’s women’s lacrosse team’s visit to the White House.
After reading The Star’s article, several questions came to mind.
Who was responsible for setting up the White House photograph?
Was dress code information provided to the team’s coach before the visit so the team would know what is considered “appropriate”? After all, attending a White House event should be an “educational” experience, and since dress codes are absent from many of our schools and attire etiquette is rarely taught nowadays, you would think the White House staff would want their young guests to be better prepared.
Lastly, why weren’t the women with the closed-toe shoes placed in the front row before the photograph with President Bush was taken?
Just for fun, after my Navy ceremonial dilemma, I wrote the following poem to show us how very humorous and necessary women’s naked toes can be.
Naked Toes
They wriggle in the sand
Jiggle in the sun
Everybody knows them.
Snuggle when I run.
Tussle under cooling sheets
Nestle into slippers
Part of pretty precious feet.
Cherished little dippers.
Naked and delightful
In flip-flops all around
Everybody knows them
They needn't make a sound.
In acrylic orange
Ready for a swim
Dip them into water
A dancing mood they're in.
Each one wiggles satisfied
Plain and simple rows
Everybody knows them
My naked little toes.
—Lisa Barreto,
Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:04 PM
Abuse is nothing new
Re: your July 24 article, “Guardian for disabled accused of theft, fraud”:
This article should be an eye-opener for most who do not have a clue about public or private guardians.
The theft by Esther Torres, who worked in the Ventura County Public Guardian’s Office, is nothing new to advocates and those who have been affected by guardianships.
As an advocate for the prevention of abuse of the elderly, I thought the abuse of the elderly in long-term care facilities was the national disgrace; however, the abusive behavior of both public and private guardians throughout the country far overshadows abuse of the elderly in care facilities.
More media coverage of this issue is needed in order to educate the public to beware and take care of your end-of-life wishes of who will care for you and your finances before some third party does it for you.
— Carole Herman, Founder, Foundation Aiding The Elderly, Sacramento
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:53 AM
Solar to the rescue
While driving past the San Onofre nuclear reactors, I noticed with some irony that their emergency sirens are powered by solar panels, so that in the event of a nuclear accident, the sirens will still have power.
I’d like to suggest that we get rid of these very expensive and potentially dangerous nuclear reactors and replace them with inexpensive, safe and reliable solar panels on rooftops throughout California.
Most people already know that California’s new Million Solar Roofs Initiative, SB1, has strong bipartisan support and is very likely to pass this year, bringing solar into the mainstream and replacing the need for far more expensive large and polluting power plants.
Most of us probably do not know that now is our chance to influence the outcome of the most significant federal legislation for solar energy in more than two decades. Both the House and Senate have passed their own versions of the energy bill, and their combined conference committees will attempt to hammer out the final bill in a few short weeks.
The Senate version, containing a 30 percent tax credit for solar energy, is much preferred over the less generous House version.
Now is the time to take action and tell your House representative and senators to support clean, renewable solar electricity and the solar tax credits. Every letter and call counts!
Solar power will create millions of new jobs for American workers and reduce air and water pollution and global warming while increasing energy independence and security.
— Michael Lind, Ojai
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:43 AM
Artwork is just fine
Re: your July 21 article, “GOP calls on Lockyer to remove painting”:
Recently some Californian Republicans have voiced extremist views that, if widely accepted, could damage our free speech rights, specifically our right to criticize the government.
This story concerned one painting in an exhibit in the cafeteria of the Department of Justice Building in Sacramento. The cartoon-like painting shows a “star-spangled map of America” being flushed down a toilet. A pair of cowboy boots stands on the floor. The caption reads “T’anks to Mr. Bush!”
GOP spokeswoman Karen Hanretty and other conservatives have demanded its removal. However, the reasons given by Hanretty and the political attitude behind them are troublesome and all too common among neo-conservatives.
In The Star article, Hanretty appeals to “common sense decency.” In reality, common sense and decency are very difficult to define. Common sense tells me, for instance, that any exhibit of art would likely express diverse ideas and emotions.
Then, on a July 23 TV news show, Hanretty gave another often repeated neo-conservative argument against free speech. She said this painting is in a public building supported by the American taxpayers who shouldn’t have to see this art. Hold on! It’s in the cafeteria, not the main lobby. And — news flash! — Democrats and Independents pay taxes, too!
Hanretty’s final argument, in The Star, is that this artwork is “blatantly offensive to people who think that America does not belong in the toilet.” Of course America does not belong in the toilet! The artist is arguing that America is sliding into the toilet thanks to Mr. Bush. “Down the toilet” is a common expression for things gone terribly wrong.
Granted, most Americans wouldn’t want this art in their homes. But as a piece of political art, it is an appropriate means for an artist — as a true patriot — to protest what he, along with many other Americans, feels President Bush is doing to America.
— Angelin Lucht, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:34 AM
Homes need books
Re: Frank Moraga’s July 22 essay, “Taking education home”:
Educator Denis O’Leary is wrong about some details but right about the important issues.
The figures O’Leary gave Frank Moraga about books in the home in the United States are not quite accurate. The average American family has an average of 137 books in the home, not 300, and the average Hispanic family with limited English-proficient children has 26, not 15.
But this is still a big difference, and it means a lot. Fewer books in the home means less reading, and less reading means that children do not learn to read as quickly or as well.
In addition, studies also show that many children have little access to books in school — California has the worst school libraries in the United States — and in their community, as California is near the bottom of the United States in quality of public libraries.
O’Leary’s efforts to enrich children’s access to books is exactly the right thing to do.
My hope is that his “Literacy Through Dictionaries” project will expand to include books. There is no question that dictionaries are very useful, and every home should have one. Research and common sense tell us, however, that most of our vocabulary knowledge does not come from looking up words in the dictionary. Most of it comes from reading itself. As we see new words in context, we gradually acquire their meanings.
Extensive reading is a very efficient and pleasant way of building vocabulary, as well as developing reading ability, writing style, and spelling.
— Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeritus, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:28 AM
Cars in a garage?
I recently noticed something very unusual while driving around the neighborhood.
Amid houses where cars were parked on the street, I saw one house that actually had two cars parked in the garage and none on the street! When the garage doors were open on some adjacent houses, I noticed that the spaces built for garages were obviously converted into mini-storage facilities full of old furniture.
I wonder if the use of garages to store cars is becoming a new phenomenon, or if those folks just haven’t caught up with the modern way of life?
— Dick Randall, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:20 AM
Critical focus needed
Up to now, the focus has been on what a nice guy John Roberts is.
Last week, Judge Roberts did not “recall” being a member of the secretive far-right Federalist Society.
The July 25 Washington Post published an internal directory of the Washington chapter of the society. Judge Roberts is listed as a member of the chapter steering committee!
This episode demonstrates that the media and the Senate must dig into his record for an accurate picture of a man who could be on the Supreme Court for decades.
— Julia Gregg, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:17 AM
Boating center costs unknown
By Jonathan Ziv
Re: your July 16 article, “Effort fails to eliminate boating center funding”:
The article mentioned that “some beach residents and environmentalists” oppose the project’s western shore site and favor an alternative location on the eastern shore.
While that may be true, the fact that Habitat For Hollywood Beach’s hundreds of supporters hail from throughout Ventura County and even from neighboring counties discounts the characterization that opposition is from just a few NIMBYs living across the street from the project.
But the main points of fact missing from the article were these:
Assemblywoman Audra Strickland, R-Moorpark, did not alone author the letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger requesting that the budget line item authorizing funding a west side Boating Instruction Safety Center in the harbor be killed. The letter was also cosigned by state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Moncia, who represents a portion of Ventura County.
Both Strickland, a freshman Assemblywoman, and Kuehl, a 10-year veteran of both houses of the state Legislature, cite support in the letter for the Sierra Club’s continuing position against funding the westside BISC.
The Star reported the Sierra Club’s actions to request the BISC funding be pulled in a July 1 article, “Sierra Club lobbying against boating center.” Local Los Padres chapter opposition to the BISC has now been joined by state Sierra Club lobbyists.
Both letter writers, along with a growing list of fellow legislators, are pointing the finger at state Department of Boating and Waterways for its prejudiced actions during both county and Coastal Commission hearings on the project.
Strickland’s and Kuehl’s letter to the governor states: “It is our firm belief that this site was selected due to inaccurate and incomplete advice from the Department of Boating and Waterways. Because of their advice, any serious consideration for safety and environmental impact was greatly hampered.”
During the Coastal Commission hearings on the BISC, Strickland’s efforts were helped independently by Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, who asked the commission to consider an alternative location on the eastern shore of Channel Islands Harbor if the western site was not found acceptable.
The commission had been presented with substantial evidence from boating experts hired by the Channel Islands Beach Community Services District that the east side alternate site for the BISC was viable and even preferable to the western site in several regards, including safety, reduced cost, lack of environmental impacts, and future ability to raise maintenance and operational costs. Those BISC directors’ reports were covered in a March 16 Star article, “Studies back boating center on east side.”
That the commission voted with a split one-vote majority to approve the BISC on the western shore despite the evidence is, in part, what prompted Habitat for Hollywood Beach to file suit.
Lastly, the July 16 article states that Boating and Waterways has “agreed to pay most of the project’s $6.2 million cost.” The Legislature and the governor are the only bodies that can authorize expenditure of state taxpayer funds for the BISC on any location.
Each year the BISC planning and construction stages must be reauthorized. So far, only preliminary plans have been approved for funding. While the two lawsuits by HHB and the Beacon Foundation challenging the faulty handling of California Environmental Quality Act issues are for now holding up approval of any further expenditures by Department of Finance, ultimately the more than $3 million left to the state to contribute to construction is very much at the discretion of the lawmakers and the governor.
The actual cost of the BISC and who is paying the majority of the bill for a state-owned, state-constructed and state university-operated facility is no longer known. The $6.2 million estimate of costs is years old. Anybody following news articles about skyrocketing construction costs due to rising prices of building materials knows that the building could never cost the same as back in 2002 when estimates were last done.
The actual costs when the facility is perhaps built in 2007-08 will be closer to $8 or $9 million. However, the state’s contribution is static. That means that Ventura County taxpayers will be responsible for the $5 million or $6 million lion’s share of the cost of this state facility if and when it is finally constructed.
— Jonathan Ziv, of Oxnard, is president of Habitat For Hollywood Beach.
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:09 AM
Are Filipinos addicted to uprising?
By T. Maya Teague
The Philippines and Filipinos are on the verge of a people’s revolution, yet again. Ho-hum.
It is tempting to respond to such news with an apathetic shrug, given the fact we have seen this all too often. It is becoming a bad habit, wherein every few years Filipinos are compelled to stir things up in the homeland.
Like a seasonal national disorder, it is almost predictable in its pattern and frequency. But the situation unfolding in Manila these days demands more than a mere rolling of the eyes. Rumors of another coup are swirling like tidal waves, amid charges of electoral fraud, payoffs and racketeering.
It was déjà vu last Wednesday when protesters gathered once again to enthrone and ordain a movie star, Susan Roces, the widow of President Gloria Arroyo’s last political rival. All of a sudden, Roces is the one who will lead the country out of its inordinate suffering, the one who will raise their standard of living, cancel their humongous debt, put food on their tables and keep pace with the rest of prosperous Asia.
Any time now, the “masa” (general public) can storm the palace or barricade government and military buildings, while the president will be quietly whisked away to an undisclosed place of exile. And then what?
Can this nation really afford another uprising? Its depleted resources and weakened morale, coupled with a grievous shortage of good statesmen, do not bode well for its citizenry. While it is deplorable that Arroyo and her family are embroiled in scandals that are potentially damaging, the alternative is scary, very scary — one that offers only more hopelessness.
Filipinos have a tendency to act in momentary anger, without much thought to long-term consequences. But history has proven that this whimsical and irrational urge to overthrow government has not helped their cause at all.
In fact, the rush to replace imperfect leaders at the first provocation has only intensified the difficulties of its people, as each anointed icon turns out infinitely worse than the ousted one.
Over the years, we have seen a parade of frightfully inexperienced movie stars and widows take over the highest office as well as local townships, during which we also saw the country collapse into a morass of poverty, suffering and widespread corruption. Aren’t these the very reasons they sought change?
Perhaps the general populace ought to be reminded that movie action heroes perform well only in movies, and that political widows are ill-equipped to sign trade agreements. Real-life governance demands of its rulers the highest intelligence, solid experience, absolute honesty and tremendous work ethic.
In times of unproductiveness, unemployment and inactivity, a people’s revolution is often seen as the answer to all of life’s maladies. Idleness, they say, is the parent of sin. In this case, it is the mother of rebellion.
Fueled not by ideology or patriotic conscience, but by sheer boredom, a people’s revolt waged on impulse creates only mythical heroes and imaginary saviors and almost never culminates in national well-being. My country of birth, the Philippines, cannot afford such a mistake at this time.
— T. Maya Teague, of Camarillo, is the former president of the Filipino-American Association Camarillo. He is a columnist for Kapitbahay, the only Philippine newspaper in Ventura County. His e-mail address is Tmayateag@yahoo.com.
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:55 AM
July 25, 2005
Lakes not for everyone
Re: Rick Lemmo’s July 22 letter, “Lakes will be an asset,” responding to Colleen Cason’s July 20 column, “Center’s lakes are watered down”:
The Civic Arts Plaza’s Twin Lakes also can boast non- identical opinions.
Rick Lemmo’s critical assessment of Ms. Cason’s column is the perfect example of egotistical righteousness. He has elected himself the authority of good taste and dubbed the extravaganza around our governing buildings the only community gathering place in town. There are probably plenty of sheep to support his opinion, knowing his boss, Rick Caruso, has won all sorts of awards for “building things up.”
When will developers start facing the fact that some people might rather enjoy, let’s say, a horseback ride with some friends in a natural open space setting than shopping at a black and white store after a Botox treatment?
Caruso’s developments aren’t the caviar in the dish for everyone. Diversity for the people in Thousand Oaks and the support for all venues will keep this a desirable place to live.
When we see equal tax dollars being spent on projects such as Two Winds, the public equestrian center at Waverly Heights Drive, and an effort to keep some of the semi-rural environment for our town, then maybe we can be happy for Rick Lemmo and his associates.
Meanwhile, The Star should give Colleen Cason a raise. I read and enjoyed the article twice, and I buy The Star. My team loved it.
— Marilee Ullmann, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:34 AM
Stop using word ‘race’
Would it be possible for the news media to stop referring to ethnic groups as a race? In today’s world, the word “race” is no longer acceptable. We are a planet, full of people who come from different ethnic backgrounds. To refer to any group as a “race” does nothing but cause divisiveness.
Rejoice in the diversity that makes us strong. Reject the designations that only serve to weaken that strength.
—Laura Snead, Moorpark
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:23 AM
Rove story isn’t over
Since July 19, most of the big news has been about John Roberts’ nomination to the Supreme Court.
Let’s not forget the other big “R”: Karl Rove. Rove and other White House staff allegedly outed a CIA agent in retaliation for her husband’s criticism of President Bush’s Iraq policy. This action compromised our national security.
While Roberts is currently in the news spotlight, Rove needs a bright light, as well.
— Julia Gregg, Simi Valley
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:20 AM
Problems with panel
The Moorpark Redevelopment Agency is forming a project area committee. The panel is to study the needs of the designated area and then advise the agency.
The MRA commissioners took the easy route in the formation of the committee by not appointing its members but having them elected, but by whom?
There are four categories to which a voter must belong before he or she can vote. A voter must be a residential owner occupant, residential tenant, business owner or existing community organization. It sounds simple enough.
But what happens if a voter belongs to more than one category? Do you get to vote more than once? If not, what category is the voter eligible to vote in? Who decides? Does the voter choose the category or does the city?
When that question was asked at the last City Council meeting, Assistant City Manager Hugh Riley said that any voter can only vote once, and if that voter can’t decide what category to vote from, then the city will decide.
That is saying a voter may only be represented in one category. If he or she chooses the home, then his or her business wouldn’t be represented. It sounds like taxation without representation, since taxes are paid on both the home and business. Isn’t this the reason we revolted against the English?
There’s another point to consider. Each category will have a designated number of seats. How can an eligible voter make sure he or she is properly represented in each category in which they may be eligible? It’s a violation of the principles of representative government. For example, one can compare this to a city council election in that, when there are two or more seats open, a voter will have two or more votes.
The residents of the agency’s area are being denied the same rights as city voters have during a city council election.
— William Poleri, Moorpark
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:16 AM
Striking a nerve
Re: Susan M. Murata’s July 25 letter, “Applause for Caruso,” responding to Colleen Cason’s July 20 column, “Center’s lakes are watered down”:
Did Susan Murata forget she lives in Simi Valley? This project is in Thousand Oaks, last time I checked. Does she work for Rick Caruso?
Maybe next time, Simi will get one of Caruso’s strip malls.
It seems Ms. Cason’s column struck a nerve somewhere. It just goes to show you that some people don’t have a sense of humor.
Keep up the good work, Ms. Cason!
— Dave McDonald, Oak Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:08 AM
Jesus wouldn’t kill
Re: Carlotta Barnes’ July 25 letter, “Absolutely right on Iraq”:
How curious it is for me when religious people say it is OK to kill in Jesus’ name. All we have to do is close The Book and look into the sacred heart of Jesus and find the answer.
Ms. Barnes and so many people forget why we Americans are so hated in the world. Look into our history of supporting dictators all over this planet who have abused the basic human rights of their own people.
Of course, I am not surprised when, here in America — a country founded on genocide of the native people — religious people still have this blinded-by-the-light attitude. If you call yourself God-fearing, you had better be afraid because Jesus would never kill.
— Ray Vasquez, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:56 AM
Pets need our help
On Sunday morning, July 24, my husband and I got in the family car to go to the store. Approaching Vineyard Avenue and H Street, I noticed a small runaway Chihuahua mix running loose at that busy intersection. We pulled over and tried to catch the little guy. He had a collar on, so he obviously came from someone who took care of him.
We ran and drove for blocks trying to get him, but he was very quick. He doubled back on us and ran right back onto Vineyard. We prayed, but it was too late. He got a direct hit from a car. The car turned around and went back, but the dog was dead.
The point of this tragedy is: Please take care of your babies — all the time. They’re Houdinis, and if they find a way to get out, they will. Double check your fences, gates and doors. They’re innocent, and they need our help in surviving in this urban environment. Don’t take their lives for granted, please.
— Azusa Scherzinger, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 10:36 AM
July 22, 2005
Poker draws full house
Re: Marcos Breton’s July 21 Arts & Living commentary, “If poker is a sport, it’s time to fold”:
Wow! Marcos Breton sounds so angry! He seems to know a lot about televised poker, so if he hates it so much, why does he watch?
He asks, “Who are these people?” Well, I’m one of them. I’m 70, have two master’s degrees (both of which were earned with a 4.0 grade point average), and a professional license. My husband and I started playing live casino poker three years ago, and we manage to win enough so the entertainment is well worth the cost — about $40 a day so far this year. (I call it spending, not losing.)
We have so much fun! Sometimes we play a home game with a group of our bridge-playing buddies, and it’s hilarious. After 50 years as a bridge player, I’m astonished to find I like poker better than bridge.
If Mr. Breton thinks it’s not “thrilling competition,” he has really missed the boat.
We keep seeing the same players at the casinos, and none of them appears to be homeless or undernourished, so I don’t think they’ve “gambled away the mortgage.” Occasionally, we’ll see a “chain-smoking, booze-swilling lout,” but rarely.
Poker keeps our minds sharp and our emotions stimulated. It makes us very alive! Both are extremely important in our declining years.
Many of the players we see on TV have doctorates and have had successful business careers.
I presume Mr. Breton was being extreme in order to be humorous, but give me a break! Couldn’t he be a little more accurate? There’s a whole world of poker out there he doesn’t have a clue about.
— Jackie Rago, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:14 PM
Text should reflect law
I was deeply troubled by the action of the Conejo Valley Unified School District board on June 28 when four of its five members voted contrary to the public’s plea for support of traditional family values in our children’s textbooks.
Parents aren’t asking that any religion be pushed, simply that the text reflect the laws of our state: Marriage is a legal and personal commitment between a woman and a man.
Be sure, these members will not have my vote when they are up for re-election. Only Mike Dunn was willing to vote the will of the parents whose children are suppposed to be served by this board.
There must be more to this story. I hope that our local journalists will dig deeper to find the motivation that lies behind these votes. We’re waiting for an explanation.
— Cheryl Bisera, Newbury Park
Posted by Andrea Howry at 01:00 PM
Racial bias evident
Re: Roger Hernandez’ July 21 essay, “Put Hispanic on high court”
This essay is a fine example of racially biased writing.
Mr. Hernandez writes, “In a nation of more than 40 million (and growing) Hispanics working to figure out where to sit at the table, it’s even harder to ignore a Supreme Court candidate’s ethnicity.”
What he really means is that he has trouble ignoring a candidate’s ethnicity.
Mr. Hernandez assumes that if a Supreme Court justice is not Hispanic, he or she will vote against Hispanic interests. Alternatively, he believes that a Hispanic justice will vote in favor of Hispanic interests.
This racially biased thinking is completely unacceptable in good judicial practice. Would Mr. Hernandez want the president to appoint a mentally retarded Supreme Court justice to represent the interests of the mentally retarded? Or a schizophrenic justice to represent the mentally ill? I doubt it.
Mr. Hernandez should remove the racially biased lenses through which he sees the world. Many of us want to see all races bloom fairly and vigorously in the garden of democracy. He is more than welcome to join us.
— Kirkland Gable, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:56 PM
Cost-effective park
Many Oxnard citizens read about the City Council in The Star and listened to the City Council meeting on television last Tuesday. We heard about “unkept promises” of the City Council, costs of operating a swimming pool, “prohibitive costs” of constructing a sports park, and reasons why the City Council might have to vote to change the zoning from a “sports park” to “residential” at the corner of Oxnard Boulevard and Gonzales Road.
It seemed that the citizens who spoke from the neighborhood initially simply wanted an open grassy field in which their children could play after school and on weekends. These hardy people had been seen with their children playing soccer on the unimproved open fields this last spring.
The city staff and the developer who wants the zone changed so he can build more than 150 more homes provided the impetus for the concept of a swimming pool and T-ball fields solely to entice the audience to accept the construction of more overcrowded housing in the area.
At a prior council meeting, during the Big League Dreams agenda item, the city staff debated with the council about the costs for improvements to College Park. The council even asked for costs if the “BL Dreams Stadium” was excluded from the design. The contentious figure given by staff ranged between $7 million to $12 million, and the mayor indicated his disagreement with those high figures.
Since the Northwest Sports Park is a much more modest concept, let us use the $7 million figure to approximate the costs for the city to construct a “sports park” in the corner between Oxnard Boulevard and Gonzales Road.
The annual debt service (annual mortgage payments) required to pay off bonds could be reasonably estimated. In this situation, we can use a 20-year bond with a 4 percent interest rate for municipal bonds or certificates of participation. The annual mortgage payments for the bonds would be approximately $515,000. The amount would probably be a little more due to such esoteric costs as bond counsel, capitalized interest and underwriter fees, but even with these items the total debt service should still not exceed $549,000 per year to pay for the improvements to the open fields.
We know that changing a zone designation is a privilege and not a right. If the council does not change the zoning for the property, it has no market value except as a public park, hence there is no cost associated with the property itself.
It is interesting that the City Council is willing to pay $2,000,000 per year for the golf course (for both the bonds on the course and the bonds to improve the parking lot for the hotel next door) even though less than 3 percent of Oxnard citizens ever use the golf course, plus $1,600,000 per year for 25 years for the Theater Project, plus another $1,103,000 per year for the debt for Big League Dreams.
Yet they are not willing to spend less than half of the smallest amount for a much needed northwest city sports park.
Could this simply be because no private operator has come forward with whom the city could “negotiate” a deal that would end up costing you twice as much as the half million dollars estimated above? Could it be that unless there is a private concern interested in taking millions of your tax dollars out of the city, the council just isn’t willing to consider the possibilities?
Good call by Councilmen Tim Flynn and John Zaragoza. It appears at least they are thinking about the citizens they represent.
— Ventura Fernandez, South Winds Neighborhood Chairman, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:46 PM
Missing some senses
One of Judge John G. Robert’s opinions upheld the arrest of a 12-year-old girl who ate a single french fry on the Washington, D.C., subway.
Both the arresting officer and Roberts failed to understand the age-old wisdom: “Average people have five senses; smart ones have two more — horse and common.”
— Anthony R. Miller, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Rick Larsen at 12:43 PM
Animals need space
Re: Daniel Hayes Pearson’s July 17 letter, “Marine mammal rehab facility is needed”:
Living in the beach area for the past two years, we enjoy the beautiful sunsets each day.
However, one day last week, one of the most distressing things we saw was a man on a ski boat chasing a seal in open water beside the wharf. When the seal finally dove to get away from this boat, I motioned to the man with my arm to leave the seal alone. It was only then, when he saw us watching him, that he disappeared toward Ventura Harbor.
Later the next day, we came back to the beach and saw a seal that was marred by boat scars on its back.
Another time a young seal was on the water’s edge and some volunteers had put some yellow tape up to mark the area and warn people that a young seal was in the area and to keep their distance. Sadly, it seemed to do just the opposite. Many people with dogs and cameras came to see the seal in distress.
Happily, Mr. Pearson’s letter will make people aware that marine mammals need their space to live along with people on our crowded beaches.
— Peter Dane, Ventura
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:37 PM
Poker is a good deal
Re: Marcos Breton’s July 21 Arts & Living commentary, “If poker is a sport, it’s time to fold”:
These are the types of articles that force the public to search for intelligence outside the world of the newspaper industry.
The first thing that hit me was all the reference to the physical appearance of the players. Perhaps Mr. Breton should switch to celebrity poker, where the prettier people play to satisfy his need for superior superficial viewing.
Better still, how about switching to a ballgame, where only God knows how many of the players are high or under indictment for various acts of violence or sitting on the bench for whatever breach of ethics or behaviorial conduct.
If Mr. Breton really wants to contribute, how about reviewing some of the “family” sitcoms and looking into the phony caricatures created by the writers. I’m a parent, and I never knew how much smarter my offspring were than me or my wife until I was enlightened by the networks.
Instead, Mr. Breton chose to review people who had to be operating on minimal sleep time, were focused on winning the big prize (not on personal appearance) and were interviewed without a script when completely exhausted.
Yes, I enjoy poker on television because, in the long run, the competition offers a much more distorted view of the world along with a whole lot more dishonesty.
Also, my grandson is learning a lot about the practical use of math that will come in handy sometime down the road.
— Bob Gzyl, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:32 PM
Possible solution?
For more than 10 years I keep getting this inspiration in meditation, and now I get to send it to the newspaper.
Placing nuclear waste in concrete blocks and dropping those blocks into active volcanoes may render the material non-radioactive as a result of the tremendous heat and pressure inside volcanoes.
If someone has the resources and interest to test this out, I’d love to know if it works.
— Scott Friedman, Camarillo
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:22 PM
Troops earn a discount
I had the good fortune of golfing with a young man who is an active Seabee stationed in Port Hueneme. We had an enjoyable round of golf at the River Ridge Golf Course and after “bogeying” and “parring” several greens, we got into a long conversation between drives.
He told me that he has served for the last four years in several countries, including Iraq, and he will soon be sent to Africa.
I asked the young man if military personnel received a discount for golfing, and his answer shocked me. He said no!
This young man and many other military personnel are risking their lives in different countries in order to protect our American way of life, including the luxury of us being able to play golf and not worry about being attacked or harmed in our home communities. The least we can do in this golfing society is to give our military personnel, our protectors, a great discount whenever and wherever they wish to play golf. I would prefer that we could let them play for free; however, I am certain that our protectors of the money coffers, the City Council, would never allow that.
What I am asking is that we can at least give them the same rate as we do our seniors and, if possible, let them play for free on a limited basis.
I understand that our system depends on making a profit, but think about it for a moment: What if our golf courses were filled with real bunkers instead of sand traps? Then none of us could enjoy the luxury of having a round of golf.
I am requesting that the Oxnard City Council, Ventura City Council and other surrounding city and private golf courses offer great discounts to military personnel. We often see banners and signs stating “Support our Troops,” and this request to lower golfing green fees, I believe, is a minimal way to show our support for our troops.
— J. Alex Pulido, Carpinteria
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:15 PM
Proud to be Democrat
Let me give a few reasons why I feel strongly about my party line.
I don’t have to lie about a war under false pretense. I can go to bed at night knowing I didn’t create a deficit now $333 billion strong and growing. I know I won’t sell my assets to some foreign country even though they wouldn’t sell theirs.
I won’t steal millions of hardworking average citizens’ assets, like some WorldCom executive, allow an ever-increasing illegal migration to enter this country and do nothing but turn a blind eye, or skyrocket the price of gas to line someone’s pocketbooks. I won’t allow the banks to take advantage of student loans, taking money from our school system never to be repaid.
Watergate is just the tip of the iceberg compared to what’s really going on! Just imagine what a better place this country would be if we controlled both houses and the president’s seat.
As they suck the oil from this war they called justified, our troops lose their lives or their limbs and the wives cry for their loved ones and the children can’t say goodnight to their fathers. It’s just a matter of time before they drop the big one.
Can we really say we’re safe with what’s really going on? I’m proud to be a Democrat and an American in these hard times, even though my party didn’t create this mess we’re in!
— Paul Whaley, Oxnard
Posted by Andrea Howry at 12:04 PM
Absolutely right on Iraq
Re: Joy Hamlat’s July 22 letter, “War isn’t right”:
I always enjoy letters that quote Jesus’ “Blessed are the peacemakers.” I'm waiting for one that quotes Jesus’ sayings like, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the Earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34).
Sometimes the sword (or today’s weapons) can be used in a cause that is righteous. If all the Islamofascists rush to Iraq — since it has been reported that many of the so-called insurgents actually came from other countries to fight us “Crusaders” — and get decimated there rather than cause trouble here, I think President Bush was absolutely right in going into Iraq.
— Carlotta Barnes, Ventura
Posted by Rick Larsen at 11:46 AM
Not your typical ranch
On a recent trip to the mall with my 14-year-old girl, I was browsing the T-shirts section in the Ventura Anchor Blue store. Many of the styles include advertisements for various products (Trix), artists (Hendrix), or towns (Newport Beach). Imagine my surprise when a cute little pink T-shirt designed for a teenage girl sports an advertisement for the Mustang Ranch!
Now maybe I’m way too informed to be shopping at Anchor Blue, but isn’t the Mustang Ranch a house of prostitution? Why would any responsible company sell a T-shirt to teenage girls advertising a bordello? Is the wearer supposed to be a customer or an employee?
I left the store without buying anything and will continue to boycott the store until I get a response from the company assuring me they were grossly misinformed in regard to the implications of selling Mustang Ranch wear.
— Terri Ferro, Santa Paula
Posted by Andrea Howry at 11:45 AM