I just read the Sunnyvale Sun's Aug. 25 article "Final thumbs up for Forum project gets a mixed review" and have a question about the following paragraph:

"Multilevel underground parking structures are not possible because anything deeper than a single level goes below the area's water table and results in leaking, which has caused damage to the Mozart buildings for the same reason."

Didn't we just build a multilevel underground parking structure just two or three blocks from where this parking structure is going?

I think this structure at the corner of Evelyn and Frances is four levels deep. Is two or three blocks really that different as far as the water table goes?

Rob Tittle

Sunnyvale

The parking structure you are referring to is the one for the Mozart buildings. Actually, Forum could build underground parking, but it would be quite costly, in large part because of the water table problem. The Mozart buildings are currently struggling with water-proofing.
—Editor

Holidays mean board will
meet on different dates

The article "The Peterson field's fate is delayed until after election" in the Sept. 1 issue of the Sun gave two dates for the next Santa Clara Unified School Board meetings. Those dates have been changed because of holidays. Our November school board meetings are scheduled as follows: Nov. 9 (in lieu of Nov. 11, which is Veterans Day) and Nov. 23 (in lieu of Nov. 25, which is Thanksgiving).

Also, the board of education does not plan to make any decisions regarding the fields on these dates but will be approving the white paper for dissemination.

Cathy VanPernis

Santa Clara Unified School District

Sunnyvale has been raped by greedy developers

The Town Center Mall is being torn down; the Sunnyvale Plaza was torn down; the old historic City Hall building was torn down; McKinley Elementary was torn down. It's like yanking up beautiful trees, that have existed for years, by their roots and replacing them with cold cement and steel—cold just like the city planners and developers that have existed for years in Sunnyvale.

In my opinion the city of Sunnyvale has been raped by greedy developers and planners who came from other countries, cities and towns, and who do not care about Sunnyvale nor its past nor its citizens, just what huge profits they can make from it at the expense of those who were born, raised and still live in Sunnyvale.

The city of Sunnyvale will not listen, never did and never will. The last sentence of the story says it all: "... the city says nothing is going to be done in the immediate future because the problem has only recently been brought to its attention," The Sun Sept. 8.

Cold.

The only tune they will dance to is the "almighty dollar."

They wonder why most of the children who grew up in Sunnyvale during the 1950s and 1960s all moved away (myself included). This is why. I refuse to have my tax dollars go into their greedy coffers. And I refuse to live in a city that does not care about its past or its future. It's so apparent; take the time to take a hard look at what Sunnyvale once was and sadly, what it has now become.

Judy A. Walker

Once from Sunnyvale

City known about glare problem since 2002

Thank you for The Sun's Sept. 8 article "The view to the east is impaired." I found it to be very accurate in portraying the difficulties that the Charles Street 100 neighborhood has faced with the Mozart Buildings: lights left on and the intrusive glare. I do want to address the last statement: "the city says nothing is going to be done in the immediate future because the problem has only recently been brought to its attention."

The city has known about the Mozart Building glare problem since November 2002. I have email documentation that the glare issue needed to be addressed at that time. On Nov. 6, 2002, I emailed Jhoanne Novarro about the glare and light problem and received this answer: "The Department of Public Works, Building Safety and Economic Development are working together with Mozart Building to resolve the issue."

I was instructed to contact Neighborhood Preservation if there were any more problems. After many attempts to contact that department, I was informed that they had no recourse.

On Oct. 30, 2003, I emailed Trudi Ryan of the planning department. Ms. Ryan responded with questions regarding the time of glare, specific areas of glass, etc., about which I answered.

On July 13, 2004, City Manager Amy Chan was instructed by the city council to investigate this problem and return with an answer within 30 days.

Also, I verbally directed the same questions of city staff during this nearly 2-year time span. I have always been told that they would get back to me. The city's definition of "recently" must be very broad.

Gary Davis

Charles Street 100 member

Homeowners know home value tied to schools

In his Sept. 1 letter to The Sun, "School boards sucking property owners dry," Mike Persichetty asks, "Are the voters of this community so stupid as to raise their own taxes, or are the majority of voters non-property owners ...?"

The answer, of course, is that property owners are acting in their own best interest when they support school district bond measures.

Intelligent homeowners understand the relationship between schools and property values: the better a community's schools, the greater the value of homes in that community.

A savvy property-owning voter is willing to invest a few more dollars in school taxes in order to protect, and increase, the value of his home—a very important asset for most of us!

Rosalee Clarke

Sunnyvale

Letter demonstrates old
adage about fighting a pig

Reading a recent letter in the opinion section of The Sun puts me in mind of advice my father gave me years ago. He said "Never get into a wrestling match with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig loves it."

Don Nolan

Sunnyvale