Saratoga News

Letters

Incredible issue of council credibility

In a recent letter to the editor, an allegation was made against a city council member that she had lost credibility because she supported No on Measure G. This is an amazing statement because it says to me that if I voted no, I have lost my credibility.

The Saratoga News recommended a No on G vote, the San Jose Mercury News studied the issue and recommended No on G. Most importantly, a grassroots group of individuals, local business owners, parents, seniors and community groups--outstanding people who believe in representative government and care about our community--recommended a No on G vote.

As I am in such good company, it doesn't worry me that I have lost my credibility. But I am amazed that people who took a position counter to the position of Yes on G are not credible. Incredible!

Ann Turner Peterson
Stoneridge Drive

Watch those tacky, cluttered store signs

One of the reasons we live in Saratoga is because our town is a special community with higher standards for business than neighboring cities. This is one of the reasons we have joined and actively supported our Chamber of Commerce and the Gateway Task Force to help plan the Saratoga-Sunnyvale Gateway Corridor.

However, we have noticed a decline in the exterior appearances of several Saratoga businesses, especially in the cluttered and tacky promotion signs in windows. For example:

* Excessive neon lights in windows such as the new restaurant China Sea, Chicken Salsa, Jake's Pizza, Olympic Pizza at Argonaut and the Buy & Save Market on Big Basin Way; and

* windows covered with all types of signs that create a cluttered, unattractive appearance. Stores selling wine, beer and lottery tickets--such as Argonaut Liquors and Stop and Save--are big offenders.

We encourage Saratoga residents to look at business appearances. Tell the city council and planning commission what you think of these signs and the job they are doing to meet the standards you expect of Saratoga.

Let's ask our elected officials and their supporters to get back to high standards for Saratoga before we look like the ugly clutter of exterior signs and neon lights on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road north of Prospect in San Jose.

Jack and Sue Mallory
Kirkdale Drive

Burning old tires is safe and efficient

In her letter of Sept. 4, Nancy Mautino's first two paragraphs describe the cancer death of a close friend in San Diego. Subsequent paragraphs are an apparent attempt to relate that cancer death to the burning of tire-derived fuel in the Cupertino Kaiser Cement Plant. But that cancer has nothing whatever to do with tire burning, let alone tire burning at the Kaiser Cement Plant.

We presume her idea is to arouse hysterical fears among local residents without even looking at the facts. There apparently is no dispute over the test data which indicates very little difference between burns with no tires and burns with tires as supplementary fuel (for technical reasons, only 10 percent of the coal can be replaced by tires). Further, if one actually looks at the data provided by two independent technical services, even the worst-case emissions scenario is minuscule in comparison with almost any other cancer-related Bay Area air pollutant, particularly auto exhaust. (The fact is, tobacco swamps every other cancer-causing source: air, water, chemicals, etc.)

The county discards about 260 million tires each year, piling up in landfills and tire dumps (subject to uncontrollable fires producing partially burned and therefore hazardous emissions). There are only about 40 cement plants in this country whose design will permit using tires as fuel. These plants could consume only about 80 million tires per year. That leaves 180 million tires per year to dispose of in some road asphalt, a few power plants, boutique products (sandals, swings, etc.) and dumps. We cannot think of a more efficient and safe way of disposing of this vast number of tires. Let me know if you have a solution.

Marjorie Ottenberg and Robert F. Wallace
Foothill Lane

Let's make this the cleanest campaign

I was glad to see that Jim Shaw, candidate for city council, has decided not to accept money from PACs in this election. These organizations have no place in the political process in Saratoga.

I would like to join Mr. Shaw in making the commitment not to accept PAC money. Ms. Burger and Ms. Wyman, why don't you join us and make this the cleanest campaign in Saratoga's history?

Stan Bogosian
Candidate for City Council, Lomita Avenue

How dumb do they think we are?

Saratoga's Measure L, the utility user's tax, is a sham. This tax violates Proposition 62, which requires a majority vote for approval of all local taxes. After the California Supreme Court upheld Prop. 62, residents formally requested that the Saratoga City Council stop collecting this illegal tax which had no voter approval. To forestall litigation, the city agreed to "place the city's utility tax on the ballot for the November 1996 election." However, L doesn't ask for voter approval of the present tax. Instead, it only asks voters to extend the termination of the tax by six months to January 2001. How dumb does the Council think we are?

As Yogi Berra said, "This is déjà vu all over again." The Council arguments contain the same falsehoods and scare tactics they tried unsuccessfully with Saratoga's Measure G. The proponents claim a NO vote will send "61 percent of your tax dollars...to other communities." That's ludicrous. Your total utility tax is less than 10 percent of your tax dollars.

The proponents say that a NO vote will "dramatically cut" Saratoga's "services, public safety and infra-structure." If we can't afford these services without an extra million dollars in taxes, why is the same Council talking about spending $2 to $6 million to purchase the Mountain Winery? How dumb do they think we are?

Los Gatos voters defeated their proposed utility tax by 4 to 1, and they haven't lost essential services.

The City Council presents no justification for this tax. They just want more money. Saratogans should vote NO on L and vote against Council candidates who support it.

Jeffrey A. Schwartz
San Marcos Road

How can Wyman be neutral on G?

A few years ago, City Council candidate Beth Wyman appeared at a San Jose Mercury News forum as an outspoken advocate for regional government. I would like to know if she is still a supporter of regional government and if she wants to bring that approach to Saratoga.

Also, Mrs. Wyman says that she wants to preserve and protect neighborhoods, but she told the Saratoga News that she was neutral on Measure G. How can someone run for Saratoga City Council and not even have a position concerning Measure G?

Betty Jo Stewart
Palmtag Drive

It's a blatant and outrageous falsehood

In a story about Measure G (Saratoga News, Sept. 4), Ann Marie Burger is quoted as saying she "had no involvement in the campaign or its finances." If Burger had nothing to do with the campaign against Measure G, Nixon had no involvement in Watergate and money had nothing to do with the outcome of the O.J. Simpson trial. Ms. Burger participated in the ballot statement opposing Measure G, and her name was used prominently on all of the anti-Measure G campaign literature. Further, the City Council kicked off the anti-Measure G campaign at a council meeting where they made fun of the measure and its supporters. Ms. Burger took a lead role in these festivities.

Ms. Burger is also quoted as saying that "Council members made a point of staying out of the Measure G battle." If that is true, then who was that disguised as Paul Jacobs representing the "No on G" forces in the televised debates?

Now that Measure G has won handily in spite of opposition from big-time Sacramento PAC money and being outspent 3 to 1, Ms. Burger would like to abandon the sunken ship and rewrite history. This is strongly similar to four years ago, when Ms. Burger first ran for the City Council. In that election, Ms. Burger's opponent, Meg Caldwell, was badly hurt by a last-minute racial hate-mail hit piece, which Ms. Burger and her colleagues Karen Tucker and Karen Anderson claimed to know nothing about. Of course, it later turned out that Anderson and Tucker actually had the hate mail flier printed, and that Burger had been centrally involved in meetings at which this despicable tactic was planned.

Saratogans should not support a candidate who has so little commitment to the truth.

Jim Stuart
Allendale Avenue

A clarification of sound wall height

In the Sept. 18 issue, a letter from Tony Hoffman commented on some of my sound wall predictions. I need to clarify his statement that only the lower five feet of a sound wall need acoustical treatment. According to my computer model, one would need to cover the lower half of the sound wall with a material that absorbs 80 to 90 percent of the incident sound wave to make a meaningful reduction in the sound levels. In the depressed sections, this implies that one would have to cover the lower 15 feet of the sound wall.

I very much doubt that a single layer of used tires would provide anywhere near the required attenuation. If you used additional layers of tires, you get greater attenuation, but there is probably not sufficient room to place enough layers.

Also, I have never had any association with NASA.

John Grebenkemper
Saratoga

Series was excellent

I thought your series on Saratoga High School was excellent. Unfortunately, for some reason, I missed the first of the three articles. Is there any chance you could send me a copy of the text of the first article via email? It would be much appreciated.

David Bellamy
DSABELL@aol.com

Bogosian has integrity

Stan Bogosian has lived in Saratoga all his life. He has a strong feeling for the beauty of our area, and he has been very active in environmental causes that strive to preserve the special characteristics of our city. Stan has also been a college instructor and a planning commissioner. He is a person of integrity and independence. He will be an excellent City Council member, and I hope that other Saratogans will join me in supporting Stan Bogosian in November for City Council.

David A. Katz
Saratoga

Fixing lights promptly keeps children safe

Kudos to Robert Kirk and the Saratoga Department of Public Works. I faxed them a note saying five of the walkway lights in Kevin Moran Park and on the Blue Hills Overcrossing had been broken by vandals. Kirk phoned that same afternoon, saying he was aware of the problem, had visited the park and was in the process of repairing the damage. Less than a week later, the damage was repaired, and all the lights are functional again.

Recently I learned from a neighbor that many years ago, when lights were first installed surrounding Kevin Moran, they were all quickly broken. She told a public works representative she was angry at the kind of children who would throw rocks and destroy those expensive lights. The representative said the damage was not done by children. He said mere rocks could not go through the "bulletproof" Lexan plastic lenses. It had to be someone very strong and determined, using a long steel pole to methodically destroy every one of over 20 lights surrounding the park: namely drug dealers who did not want their activities in the park made visible. The lights and posts were removed and never repaired. A new set of posts, wiring and lights were installed when the freeway opened. Two days before Blue Hills School opened this year, history repeated itself: the tempered glass lenses and bulbs on five of the new lights were broken. This time, though, their immediate repair sends a clear message that we are not going to take this kind of intimidation any more.

This kind of prompt attention keeps our children safe. Only by repairing these problems as soon as they happen--and if it reoccurs, as often as necessary until the parties responsible for the damage are either caught or give up--can this sort of damage be stopped permanently. So, thank you, Robert Kirk and the Saratoga Department of Public Works.

Anthony Hoffman
Saratoga

Saratoga City Council unanimously opposed G

Shame on you, Ann-Marie Burger! The Sept. 4 Saratoga News quoted you saying that 'the council members had made a point of staying out of the Measure G battle," and that you had no involvement in the campaign.

There can be only three possible explanations for you to make such a statement:

1. You have an extremely short memory;

2. You think the voters have extremely short memories;

3. You are not being honest with yourself and/or Saratoga's residents.

The fact that you are a member of the Saratoga City Council that publicly and unanimously opposed Measure G proves that you were involved in the No on Measure G campaign. On several occasions you publicly stated that you were opposed to Measure G and proceeded to explain why. Several of your quotes were included in the packet of literature that the No on Measure G committee mailed. As early as October 1995, the Saratoga News quoted you accusing the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative circulators of stating their case with fantasy, not facts.

Don't you think that you should consider retracting your statement that you and the other current council members weren't involved with the Measure G campaign? In the interests of honesty and in an attempt to reestablish your credibility, it would be the right thing to do.

Marcia Fariss
Marcia@Gizmology.com

Shaw would be an effective advocate

I urge all Saratogans to vote for Jim Shaw for City Council. Jim showed exceptional leadership in developing Saratoga's Neighborhood Preservation Initiative and qualifying it for the ballot. He conducted the campaign for Measure G with dignity and reason.

Jim, a Harvard graduate and a veteran of World War II and Korea, has over 30 years of business and management experience. He is a fresh talent with many new ideas to offer and has no outside interests leaning on him for special favors.

Please support Jim Shaw, a homeowner association president and an effective advocate for the integrity of Saratoga's neighborhoods.

Paul and Kathryn Philp
Kosich Court

What happened to the promised park?

We waited and waited and waited for over 25 years for a park that never was. Newer parks were established and others improved. Why was ours always on the back burner?

Now it's no longer a neighborhood park as it was described to the Azule Homeowners Association. The access road from Prospect to the tracks never came about because of a last-minute change. Other things seem to change at the last minute.

Joan Greene
Goleta Avenue

Article was great

Thank you so much for the article, "Tour of Duty," about the Mormon missionaries. I loved it.

Teri Jones
Saratoga Ward