I would like to start by saying that I completely agree with James H. Baron, who wrote "Mall, Downtown are open for business" in the Nov. 20 issue of The Sun regarding the Sunnyvale Town Center Mall. I fully believe that the mall has been good for Sunnyvale. As a long-time resident I prefer to shop with-in the city limits. JCPenny has always been one of my favorite stores. I shopped at their store when it was part of our old downtown and continued to do so after they became part of the mall. I will miss this long time favorite. Losing Ward's was a blow to our mall. Thankfully Target chose to fill that space. If we residents support it, the longstanding Macy's, the mom and pop stores, and the struggling Town & Country businesses, we can once again turn our downtown into a success story.

I would like to take this opportunity to say that I am totally against the many-storied buildings that have been proposed for Mathilda Avenue. I also believe erecting oversized apartment buildings at the western end of the Town & Country shopping area was a mistake, which the majority of Sunnyvale citizens will come to regret. One of the reasons we Sunnyvale residents chose to live here was the absence of monster sized buildings. Let us not lose our unique identity. We can continue to be a prosperous city without becoming a city of high-rises.

—D.L. Kohn, Sage Hen Way


Article on Ramadan did Islam a great justice

Please accept my deepest gratitude and appreciation for presenting Muslims of the Bay Area in a positive light. Your cover story "Think Fast" in the Nov. 27 issue of The Sun about Sunnyvale resident Vaseem Anjum was very well-written and thorough. These days, when most Americans are constantly facing media-bashing of Islam and Muslims, it is very encouraging to see local newspapers' unbiased views of people of a different faith. Please keep up the good work of showing Muslims and Islam in a positive way.

—Reshma Hyder, Saratoga