Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Letters

Insurance company tried to avoid paying

My heart just broke to read in the March 25 cover story in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times about Carol Montgomery and how she has suffered from the horrible car accident. What was most surprising was that her accident was almost a carbon copy of mine.

Slow speed, a car turning left and not that big a crash. My suffering was different than Carol's. I was told by the insurance company lawyers that such a slow-speed impact could not cause whiplash. Carol's whiplash paralyzed her!

What I learned through all this was that whiplash is real. It hurts, and it's forever. We are not frauds. I was accused in front of a judge and jury of trying to win the lottery and raise everyone's insurance rates. I did a little of my own detective work.

Personal-injury lawsuits are one-half of what they were 20 years ago, and insurance companies are making a killing on their profits.

Through it all my lawyer stood by me and believed in me, and we won. The jury made them pay after they refused for more than three years. I can't imagine where I would be without my lawyer. I hope Carol has a good lawyer, too.

Edna Solari
San Jose

The Vasona substation site makes sense

I attended the meeting on April 6 on the proposed PG&E substation, and was astonished to be personally confronted by one of the participants. She and others from the Newell Avenue and Charter Oaks group spent much of the evening contending that it was never their intention that the substation inconvenience, displace or run additional powers lines adjacent to alternative site properties. That they were not attempting to shift their burden to their neighbors.

So I picked up a transcript of the March 23 meeting, and here is what I found they actually said:

That they personally had located, identified and driven PG&E people to see better alternative sites.

That rather than have the substation near them as planned, it would be better to tap into the transmission lines for an alternative site and/or acquire additional right of way, displace neighborhood residents and generate additional EMF. Have gathered up to $35,000 for attorneys' fees in an attempt to frighten or influence PG&E toward alternative sites.

Now in spite of all that was said April 6 to the contrary, I continue to feel that these groups are attempting to shift their burden to their neighbors.

As to the group's contention they were unaware of the substation plan when they bought their property, if the manager of Courtside admits they knew what they were getting when they bought, then how is it the residents did not?

Therefore, I am in favor of requesting that PG&E proceed with the current proposed site.

The original Notice of Public Hearings we received from the Town Clerk's office stated, "Each of the alternatives will require the construction of additional overhead high voltage lines," and "Construction of these lines will require PG&E acquisition of additional rights of way, including properties currently occupied by single-family dwellings."

In closing, I would like to commend the Los Gatos Weekly-Times on a fair and impartial summation of the situation and the manner in which you've approached it.

Jim Babb
Los Gatos

Good Samaritan was a reminder

The day before St. Patrick's Day, I lost $200 in front of the Los Gatos bicycle store. After detecting the loss I checked back with Bryan, the store manager, but he could only tell me that a nice lady inquired if anybody had lost something. So I left my name and phone number in case the lady called back.

The next day, lo and behold, the phone rang, and a cheerful voice said, "Here is your good Samaritan."

I was confused, then surprised and then plainly happy. So we met Jack and Cheri Vodden of the fondly remembered Los Gatos lumberyard.

It made me feel so good, especially to be so lucky to live in this area.

Gerhard Rehkugler
Saratoga

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