Senator Kerry and, his wife, the Ketchup Queen had a fire plug moved so they could park their luxury SUV in front of their villa.

Now that we have a "Republican free zone" in Sunnyvale, do you think the city would move our street light (or pigeon proof it) so that birds can't snow on our windshield?

Think about it—and who is looking out for you?

Don Wicks

Sunnyvale

Use the local businesses keep our money here

I enjoyed the recent articles on small businesses. I would urge everyone to frequent small businesses whenever possible. This keeps our money local instead of going to some big corporation in another part of the country.

Small local businesses almost always are more knowledgeable about their area, give better service and also frequently give back to the community. You often get to know the owner and employees and can develop a friendly relationship.

This is rare with big, chain stores. In many of these stores you're often lucky if you can even find help, never mind a friendly, knowledgeable person who can truly be of service.

Sometimes you pay a little more, but it's rarely that much more.

It's not difficult. Instead of going to Jiffy Lube, go to your local independent mechanic. They usually do better work anyway.

Instead of going to restaurant chains like Chevys or Spoons, go to your small, independent (frequently family owned and operated) restaurants. The quality of food is often better. We have many such restaurants here in Sunnyvale.

Instead of Home Depot or other similar large box stores, go to Sunnyvale Lumber or a local hardware store.

There are always alternatives and we would will be helping out someone like Dave Mackey, pictured on The Sun's cover page.

Richard Ober

Sunnyvale

In the cover story for March 17, the photograph on page 12 inadvertently gave the impression that the store Bear With Me is closing down. In fact, the owner, Pauline Hill, will be moving her store to another location in Sunnyvale.