The Blue Pheasant, according to the new potential buyer Ray Shafazand, is a "Living Legend in Cupertino."

After listening to the presentation from Mr. Shafazand at Cupertino's council meeting, I find it hard to believe that a Greek restaurant with belly-dancers and flamenco dancers will be able to survive in Cupertino. Especially if Mr. Shafazand enacts his proposed $25 cover charge, so he can offer free valet parking service.

If he enacts a $25 cover charge, he will not need valet parking, as the parking lot will be guaranteed to be empty.

The Blue Pheasant was closed for six weeks for re-roofing, and recently reopened. After the first rain this week, I noticed three white buckets neatly placed at various locations. When I asked what the buckets were for, I was told the new roof leaks.

I hope that roofing contractor, who I'm sure was paid with taxpayer dollars and took an extraordinarily amount of time (six weeks to put a roof on), does not try to solicit me for a roof when my house needs re-roofing. I might slam the door so fast, that I might crack my doorframe. Where did the city find this slow-motion roofer?

The reason the Blue Pheasant is a living legend is because years ago the decor and ambiance that provides a very relaxing atmosphere was established and maintained. This, combined with good management and very personable employees who made the customers feel like they were kings and queens, has been maintained for the past 30 years.

If a new owner tries to change this ambiance, not only will the living legend in Cupertino be destroyed, but it will suffer financial losses, and the city will have to start all over again with a new proprietor. New restaurants have a very high failure rate.

If it works do not try to fix it.

Tom Pomposo

Cupertino

If Blue Pheasant has cover, some won't come

If the new guy, Ray Shafazand, who wants to buy the Blue Pheasant lease is going to start charging a cover charge to get into the Blue Pheasant, this patron of almost 28 years will stop going there even though I really do think of myself as "upscale" clientele.

Jim Carlisle

Cupertino

'Free' sign after garage sale adds to trashy look

The citywide garage sale is a lot of fun for shoppers and gives residents a chance to get rid of unneeded household items. But afterward many of our neighbors leave their leftover furniture, appliances, and toys in front of their homes. They seem to think that putting out a "free" sign absolves them of any responsibility for cleaning up the unwanted junk. It all just sits out on the curb or street for days and days, looking terrible and trashy.

Why can't these residents make suitable arrangements for disposing of their junk? What consequence is there for people who leave their unsightly junk out? Let's all protect the beauty of Cupertino's neighborhoods!

Lisa Scott-Ponce

Cupertino

Eliminate predators' food, sightings of them will go

Coyotes. Cougars. Bobcats. It seems we're seeing more predators these days.

It's time for us to think about their place again. As the species at the top of the chain, we have the choice to live with them or eliminate them from our neighborhoods. Since we're all part of a larger ecosystem, there will be consequences if we choose to eliminate coyotes and other mid-size predators--including more rodents, possums, skunks and smaller predators such as feral cats. Eliminating an existing coyote population frees up territory--territory with attractive food--for other coyotes that will come to fill the gap.

In the Oct. 20 issue of the Courier there is a photo of a coyote with the ends of its paw spread in a leg-hold trap, demonstrating one solution to the "problem." At first glance perhaps the coyote appears sly or mean. Take a closer look. Apply the Golden Rule. The animal's paw hurts. The animal is afraid of what's next. He's cringing, looking up at the top animal in the ecosystem.

We can make another choice for the animals in our neighborhoods. Predators define their territory based on where they find food and shelter/cover. Eliminate these and predator sightings will go down, rodent and feral cat populations will stay in check and we'll have more of the wildlife we consider beautiful like robins or cedar waxwings. We can take simple steps. Use trashcans with tight lids. Feed and keep pets inside. Clear brush. Bang a pan to make coyotes unwelcome. These actions will keep us and our pets safe and our wildlife in balance. Let's solve the problem in our neighborhoods before someone's beloved pet is killed.

For more information on living with coyotes and other wildlife, please visit www.wcsv.org. For the past 10 years, the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley, a nonprofit that rehabilitates sick, injured and orphaned wildlife for cities in the South Bay Area, has worked with San Jose Animal Services, the California Department of Fish and Game and other agencies to put together programs to promote coexistence and support the diverse wildlife we enjoy.

Let's try a better approach to wildlife in our neighborhoods.

Leslie Larson

Cupertino resident and board of directors member of Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley

Writer cites buildings that were problematic

Helen Wiant suggests in her Nov. 3 letter to the Courier that the signers of the CCC initiatives must not realize that their passage would have precluded the Armadillo Willy's (too close to the street) and Apple (too tall) buildings.

I've resided in Cupertino for 29 years, I signed the initiatives, and I beg to differ. The first building originally housed a Barclay's Bank, then a salad bar restaurant, and finally, Armadillo Willy's. Aesthetically, it has always been incompatible with the surrounding structures.

The Apple buildings were part of the first assault on the mountain views previously available to Cupertino residents. They at least were set back from the adjoining streets, but now the new high rises peering over Stevens Creek Boulevard have obliterated that feature.

The two buildings cited by Wiant symbolize the problem that the CCC initiatives address.

Charles Taubman

Cupertino