The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Letters

Raffles are lawful, if agencies follow rules

Contrary to the story that ran in the Aug. 12 issue of The Sun, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office has not prosecuted nonprofit organizations for holding raffles, sweepstakes and drawings. We do not intend to devote resources to such matters. Reports to the contrary are false.

Knowing such fundraising methods can technically constitute unlawful lotteries, nonprofit organizations occasionally ask us about laws surrounding such matters. We have recently had requests from conscientious organizations for a printed summary of what constitutes unlawful lotteries. We decided it would be helpful to help publish a public service announcement summarizing those laws. That announcement stated exceptions to those laws, pointed out that donation drawings are lawful and described how drawings and raffles can simply be done in a lawful way by allowing persons to participate without paying for the chance. Our purpose was to advise how to avoid unlawful and possibly embarrassing conduct.

Unfortunately, our announcement regarding raffle law was misunderstood by Metro Newspapers as signaling some kind of DA crackdown on charitable fundraising. Were our public announcement a signal that we were focusing on nonprofit fundraisers, the insults printed about my office would be quite valid. However, that perception is far from the truth. Our purpose was to be helpful. I apologize for not being sufficiently clear to avoid an unwarranted newspaper focus on the unlawfulness of lotteries.

George Kennedy
Santa Clara County District Attorney

Look at who is attacking Miller

The Sun's opinion page of Aug. 12 contained a letter concerning the voting record of Councilmember Julia Miller. Perhaps the readers, and maybe the voters, fail to recognize the author of this attack. The author was the loser to Ms. Miller in last November's council election. It isn't surprising to see that his tactics and attitude haven't changed since that time. The voters didn't buy into his slick mailers that badmouthed Ms. Miller at every turn, and perhaps his method of campaigning even turned voters against him.

Also, Mr. Szymanski was a member of the Planning Commission until the day after his defeat for council, when he abruptly resigned. Evidently his desire to be a public servant didn't run too deep.

Being a politician is a tough job; it's also tough being the loser.

Ken Bruce
Sunnyvale

Let public scrutinize information from closed meetings

Your article in The Sun about the award to the San Jose Mercury News in its lawsuit against the city of Sunnyvale was good news. City employees are paid by the citizens of Sunnyvale and are hired to serve the citizens, not to take advantage of them.

Since the San Jose Mercury News case was won, this means that the information from those closed meetings can now be made public. I would like for The Sun to disclose exactly what went on--to explain specifically why Rowe was ostracized.

The reason the Brown Act became law is because in the past our public servants tried to please themselves rather than to serve the public, which is the job they were hired to do. It is a shame that thousands of dollars had to be wasted in order to find this out. It is true that this city is very well run, but there is always room for improvement.

June Gates
Sunnyvale

What about the Alberta parrots?

Your article on the parrots didn't mention the Alberta Group. The tall palm trees are their roost, from where they wake people up early. That's great when you have a job, but late sleepers, forget it. They're worse than the city garbage trucks or a jack hammer on a building overpass.

They head toward the bay (a neighbor thinks they feed at the bay all day), returning at dusk.

I think they could have come about 10 years ago.

Anela Eisert
Sunnyvale

Forget El Niño; PG&E never tended to its property

After reading your article of July 29, I feel compelled to relate a few facts that I have witnessed in my over 40 years of living on Dona Avenue.

As an original homeowner on Dona Avenue, myself and other neighbors were involved in working with the city to install a kids' playground on Ramona Avenue. We were also involved in building the Girl Scout house on Dona, which now stands empty and unused.

PG&E has never properly maintained its property on Dona Avenue. Over the years, the weeds were never cleared until they dried up and became a fire hazard. Even then, PG&E refused to clear these weeds until concerned citizens such as myself called the city on numerous occasions. Since "El Niño" is to blame for everything this year, it is not surprising the PG&E uses this as an excuse for poor maintenance. A year ago, the weeds had become so overgrown in the vacant lots that homeless people set up an encampment. Police had to be called and then the lot was finally cleaned.

The fence was put up without input from the residents in the area. It is an ugly blight in an otherwise well-maintained neighborhood. Some of my guests have commented on the "prison-like" fence when they have visited. With a little thought and planning on the part of the city and PG&E, a much less institutional fence could have been built that didn't intrude on the aesthetic beauty of the neighborhood.

Helen Del Vecchio
Sunnyvale

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The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper