Saratoga News

Letters & Opinions

Speak Out

Thanks to those
who helps with
Walk-A-Bout

We would like to thank Dr. John Marian (the originator of the Witchy Walk-A-Bout), Dorothy Marian, members of the Saratoga High Interact Club (Allison Hata, Stephanie Hata, Courtney Maa, Diane Mok, Mikenna Salin and Tiffany Tung), Steve Cali, the Saratoga Village Development Council and Saratoga City Council member Jill Hunter. Their help made the fourth Witchy Walk-A-Bout a successful and enjoyable community event.

Kristin Davis

Zorka Avenue

Kristen Davis and Judy Coulter were the event coordinators for the Witchy Walk-A-Bout held on Oct. 27 in downtown Saratoga.

We must learn
that war is
not inevitable

I appreciated Carl Heintze calling attention to generation after generation being subjected to war ("War a defining event for generation after generation," Oct. 30), especially as we are commemorating the 50th anniversary of continuous activity at the San Jose Peace Center, of which I was co-founder.

When will we ever learn? That is our history, but maybe it's because of our history books. If rather than learn that war is inevitable we studied the various perspectives and movements who proposed and opposed the wars, what the options were, and what the outcomes would have been if we'd made other moves, we might learn that war is not inevitable. And as G.B. Shaw said: "If we took the profit out of war machines, there might be less interest in making war."

Barby Ulmer

Paseo Presada

Sheriff's are
too tough on
bike riders

The esteemed Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department in Saratoga generally keeps us safe and helps us a lot. Unfortunately, I also think they're going overboard by giving tickets to cyclists for minor infractions while not protecting cyclists from dangerous drivers!

I am a slow-riding, middle-aged woman cyclist. I ride very conservatively but have been stopped by the sheriffs in Saratoga twice in the last month. On tiny Paseo Presada by El Quito Park, I got a ticket for not completely stopping at a very quiet intersection. The nice young deputy told me that his boss was almost hit by a cyclist the other day. "The cyclists are getting out of control!" The moving violation because his boss was mad didn't make sense. It was an extremely safe intersection.

Today, I rode on the sidewalk for 10 yards on busy Cox. (Two sheriff's cruisers were blocking my bike path, as the three sheriffs harangued a boy for cycling on the sidewalk.) I would've had to ride out in the traffic on Cox. The sheriff's pulled me over to admonish me for riding on the sidewalk. But, I think riding in traffic on Cox at Saratoga Avenue is dangerous for me and all the cars that would try to pass me. The sheriffs ought not block the bike path. They could easily have moved their cruisers into the parking lot.

Los Altos and other towns are very strict on bike control, which is good. I and many others cycle safely and defensively and have never had tickets or warnings. The sheriffs in Saratoga are extreme. Let's keep our streets safe for cyclists, for automobile drivers and for pedestrians, and be fair to the cyclists. Cycling is good for our ecological and physical health.

I really appreciate all the good that the sheriffs do, so I don't speak out against them. This is just a request for a bit of balance.

Mona Schorow

Saratoga