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Letters
City census and a road sign fix are in order
I was on my way home several days ago and noticed that the Saratoga city limit sign on Highway 85 says that the population of Saratoga is 28,400. I remembered that the sign at the corner of Prospect and Saratoga--Sunnyvale Road says that the population is 29,645 and has been 29,645 since I moved into the city in 1981. I confirmed this and it looks to me that a current city census is in order and a road sign fix, too!
Bob Battaglia
Lido Way
WVC should instead put its money into curriculum
I wish to thank the Saratoga City Council for its decision to appeal the lower court ruling that would allow West Valley College to build a stadium in the middle of Saratoga, in spite of the college's many promises over the years that they would never do that.
The city council has rightfully recognized that a stadium at West Valley would be a citywide disaster, and that it is not just a local issue for people who live in the areas of Chester, Fruitvale and Allendale.
It is ironic that the college is willing to spend over $100,000 of taxpayer money litigating over this matter, and cost the city of Saratoga over $50,000 in legal fees, when the college says that it does not have the resources to offer sufficient numbers of beginning math and English classes.
This is the same college district that wants to ask us for over $100 million of extra money in the form of a bond issue. Perhaps the decision makers at the college district should enroll in the spring semester beginning integrity classes and then reconsider!
Stephen Rowe
Allendale Avenue
Stadium would create monumental gridlock
West Valley College is once again trying to build an outdoor stadium in the center of Saratoga in spite of their repeated promises that they would never do so. Since the area from Redwood School to Saratoga and Fruitvale is already near gridlock for portions of the day, what will happen to the traffic situation when there is a major event at the West Valley Stadium?
How many Saratogans remember the promises that the city received that Highway 85 would reduce traffic on our surface streets and that the noise from the new freeway would be "fully mitigated"? Here we go again. A stadium at West Valley College is not just an issue for the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the college; it will be a citywide fiasco. When there is an event out at the Mountain Winery, Pierce Road and Highway 9 both turn into parking lots. Yet, the Mountain Winery is tiny compared to the kind of large outdoor venue that West Valley College wants to build.
Residents throughout Saratoga should join the newly created West Homeowners Association in a concerted effort to oppose the college's exercise in arrogance and bad community relations. For information, contact Vic Monia at 408.741.1376, or fax 408.741.0702.
Vic Monia
Granite Way
Election results left family feeling sad
I am reaching out to share with you my family's sadness. For the first time in our nation's history, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the counting of remaining Presidential election ballots and, in a split decision divided along partisan lines, awarded the Presidency to one of the candidates. One week later, we are still in shock.
With such a close presidential race, any person would have said, "Well, if we look at each of the remaining ballots throughout Florida, then we will have listened to the voices of the greatest possible number of voters. Only then will we know which candidate was elected president." Sadly for all of us, Bush declined Gore's proposal to do that.
Bush would rather become president by counting just part of the ballots than risk losing the election by counting all the ballots. Unbelievable!
Imagine the end of a Superbowl football game, where Bush is ahead by one point, with only five seconds remaining on the game clock. Gore has the football and is about to kick an easy 20-yard field goal. If Gore scores the goal, he gets three points and wins the Superbowl. If he misses, time will run out, and Bush will win.
The analogy to this election would be this: Bush is afraid Gore will score the goal and win; so, instead of letting Gore kick, Bush clandestinely tells his fans to rush onto the field. Bush's fans refuse to leave the field, thus preventing Gore from ever kicking the ball. The nation watches to see if Bush has the courage and integrity to tell his fans to back off and let the game finish. Bush does not. Time passes by, and Bush is declared the winner because he had a one-point lead just before his fans stormed the field, preventing completion of the game. Such an ending to a contest would strike most Americans as illegitimate.
Looking foward, we see a President Bush for four years. Nevertheless, we should gather together to protest the methods he used to attain the Presidency. Perhaps we can boycott the inauguration ceremonies, as a show of support for our democracy based on our values of honesty, selflessness and integrity.
The next Presidential election comes in 2004. Our power to protect ourselves from men or women who inappropriately attain public office lies in our votes at the ballot box. We Americans should come together in 2004 to vote Bush out of the White House, on the grounds that he was not properly elected to office in the first place.
At our home, we fly the Stars and Stripes, and we teach our children the Pledge of Allegiance. Our flag and our hearts shall remain at half-staff until a rightfully elected President, be he or she a Democrat or Republican, is seated in the White House.
Robert Kwok and family
Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
