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Letters
It'll be sad if drugstore goes
It is a sad commentary on the state of today's legal system that the Sixth District Court of Appeals took it upon themselves, without being present to hear any testimony of the parties involved, to overturn the ruling of the trial court judge and effectively allow a landlord to evict long-time tenant Ray Rossi.
Despite the existence of a signed lease agreement, in today's superheated economy where fixer-upper dumps sell for over $1 million, the landlord correctly figures she can rent her property (which has been a historic pharmacy in Saratoga for decades) for triple what Mr. Rossi can afford to pay her. So, out with a business that actually provides a vital service to Saratogans, and in with another worthless chain store or restaurant. I ask you, does Saratoga really need another restaurant? It does, however, desperately need the Saratoga Drug Store.
With it gone, Saratogans will be forced to use the only other pharmacy in town, Longs. While presently a physical wreck, even in the best of times it offers only long lines, a take-a-number mentality and no personal service whatsoever. I quit going there years ago after witnessing my doctor's office call in a prescription, telling Longs I would be there in 15 minutes to pick it up, and upon arrival, having a clerk tell me with a straight face that the doctor had never called in the prescription!
Instead, Ray Rossi and his staff know me by name, not my insurance number, actually remember what other medications I am currently taking and whether there are any interactions. They also offer delivery service to longtime Saratoga residents (read elderly), including Our Lady of Fatima, and always have refills ready when promised.
I am sure the justices of the Sixth District have never been to Saratoga, have never been forced to deal with the bureaucracy at Longs, and have no idea what this historic business means to our town.
Saratoga's citizens have galvanized to save trees, stomp out soccer fields in their neighborhoods; folks, this is an issue that affects the health and welfare of us all.
Can't we do something?
Nancy A. Leasia
Beauchamps Lane
Bumpy road to safety is worthwhile in SUSD
In 1997, Saratogans passed Measure D to renovate and repair Redwood, Saratoga, Argonaut and Foothill schools for seismic upgrades, safety repairs and modernization.
These projects are critical to the health and safety of our children. Our oldest school is 70 years old and was built in the 1920s. Our schools are so old, they don't meet current seismic, health and safety standards. The classrooms were built when asbestos was still commonly used as a construction material. The schools are worn from decades of wear and tear by students. Electrical, plumbing and heating systems are antiquated.
We've been working to complete these renovations on time and within budget. Along the way, we've experienced some "bumps in the road." We've learned how to better communicate with our neighbors, involve our parents and teachers, and reach consensus so that all Saratogans can take pride in our projects.
Recently, the Saratoga Union School District and the city of Saratoga reached agreement on key elements of our plans. This allows our repair/modernization projects to proceed with minimal disruption to children, and resulted from problem-solving among teachers, parents, neighbors and preservationists.
We recently conducted two successful Community and Parent open houses at Foothill and Argonaut schools to provide project updates. Our Facilities Site committees meet once a week. They've been expanded to include neighborhood representation, and every meeting is open to the public.
To obtain information about Site Committee agendas or meetings, call the principal's office at any of our schools.
Additional parent-neighbor meetings are planned at Argonaut and Foothill between now and the end of the year, during major milestones in the design process. Our community web sites are coming soon, and will include construction updates, schedules and "hotline numbers."
If you would like to participate in our school repair and modernization activities, call Paul Tipton, our facilities manager, at 867-3434, ext. 307. We welcome your input. Let's make every school one of which the entire community is proud.
Cindy Ruby
SUSD Board President
Septic systems are getting bum rap
Lately there has been a crazy rumor in Saratoga that all septic systems are bad, and sewers are good. I think it would be interesting to stop and compare our existing disposal systems.
As far as intake, the sewer system receives things like oil, grease, salad dressings, phosphates, sauces and detergents. These things never enter my septic tank.
Sewer systems get coffee grounds, partially ground animal bones and fat, poisons and condoms. These things would never enter my septic tank.
And the list could go on to include diapers, cleaning fluids, tampons, drugs and who knows what else. All of these are not welcome in my system.
The "extras" that go into my system are biodegradable laundry soap and biodegradable dish soap and certain chemicals that help Mother Nature do her job.
Now tell me, so far, which one of these systems sounds good and which one sounds not so good?
I've been on both systems, of course, and I find that one of the problems with the sewer system is that the mind wants to believe that when you flush, things disappear from the planet and go into never-never land. Unfortunately, that's not the case. And we users don't have any control over sewers but all the control over septics. When a septic goes bad, it tells you right now. And you fix the problem right now, with no harm to the environment. When a sewer system fails the results can be environmentally catastrophic and often too late to correct. In the paper, two weeks ago, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board alleged that a sewer plant violated treated waste-water into our San Francisco Bay. How many septics would it take, for how many decades, to even come close to 290,000,000 gallons of bad water?
The signs put up, along the Saratoga Creek, by a concerned Don Whetstone were good and responsible. It took forever and a day for the city to follow his lead. Unfortunately, there are good and responsible signs all over the bay saying don't drink the water, don't eat the fish and don't swim here.
So, things are not just one-sided; concerning the creek, without proof of a problem being a bunch of bad septics (or maybe a broken sewer line), it's wrong to say that one is all good and one is all bad.
Septics are getting a bum rap. No doubt about it. They deserve more respect for what they do.
Bert Martel
Fruitvale Avenue
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Saratoga, California Since 1975
