The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Letters

Why the special election for bond?

Can someone please explain why Measure H, the $144 million bond for the FUHSD, must be held by a special election in April instead of combining it with the primary election in June? It seems to me this special election will cost a lot of extra money which could also be used to help the schools instead. Thanks.

Ken Gudan
Sunnyvale

Frisbee article was excellent

The article on the Frisbee football game, Ultimate, by Pam Marino was excellent. I enjoyed reading about the history of the game (which I hadn't known) and what the players are doing now. It is amazing that so many people gather to do this game. I can only hope that they will be able to use the grassy area for some time in the future. The pictures by Robert Scheer were excellent as well. They truly caught the action of the game. Keep up the good work, and let the principals know that they are to be commended. Thanks.

Lauralee Sorensen
Cupertino

Coverage of city's lawsuit inaccurate

I was disappointed to see so many factual errors in your cover story in The Sun about the recent court decision regarding the litigation between the city of Sunnyvale and the San Jose Mercury News.

It is critically important for your readers in Sunnyvale to have a full and accurate picture so they can make informed judgments about the matter without being misled by errors, misinformation or unsubstantiated allegations. For this reason, I am noting the errors in The Sun's article and correcting them here:

The legal battle did not begin "when Rowe was kicked out of office." The Mercury filed suit at the end of November 1995 to obtain access to documents the city had kept confidential to protect the privacy rights of public employees. This was a full year after Rowe was removed from the office of mayor by the City Council in December 1994.

The documents involved were not "documents detailing why Rowe was kicked out of office." The documents at issue involved the privacy rights of employees who were adversely affected by Rowe's behavior as a councilmember. The litigation and the court's decision hinged on the rights of citizens and the public's right to know about the actions of their elected officials. Documents pertaining to Rowe's removal as mayor are public records on file with the Sunnyvale city clerk, and they were widely disseminated in 1994.

The closed City Council meetings held during 1995 had nothing to do with the decision to remove Rowe from her mayoral seat. The debate and decision regarding Rowe's position as mayor were done in very open council meetings held in December 1994 that were also televised over cable television to residents in Sunnyvale.

The City Council did not "banish her from City Hall except to attend regular Council meetings." Frances Rowe agreed to limit her presence at City Hall in 1995 to focus on her official City Council business such as council meetings, meetings with constituents or staff briefings.

I have taken this time to clear this matter up for you because there has been a cloud of misinformation about the decisions of the Sunnyvale City Council, the actions of Frances Rowe, and the actual meaning of the Mercury News lawsuit and the court's decision.

On behalf of the Sunnyvale City Council, I would appreciate accurate reporting on civic and community affairs by The Sun and other media so the public can be appropriately informed.

Jim Roberts
Mayor of Sunnyvale

Here's a 'no' vote on FUHSD's bond

The March 4 Sun says that opposition to the Fremont Union High School District bond issue is hard to find. Not so. I oppose it. You ask, "Why?" A good question deserves a good answer.

The FUHSD is a large bureaucracy, always in need of more money! The district is a very wastefully run business with many (too many) employees doing little or overlapping the jobs of others in the schools. How do I know this? A very dear lady I know worked in one of the high schools for four years. I heard many stories of the waste, mismanagement and misdirection of funds she saw. I heard enough to fill a book and then some. Incidentally, if you think that the district has no money, then who is paying the Tramutola company to run the district "Yes on H" campaign? Santa Claus?

Is there a facility problem in the schools? Yes! But the real priority is not facility repair. The real problem is the huge waste of funds used to run the district. Clean up your act, FUHSD. Then we can redirect funds to handle facility repairs and perhaps not even need a bond issue.

R. Bowlby
Cupertino

[ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ]

The Sun Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Letters

The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper