Mr. Heintze should go back to school as he says on page 18 of the Sept. 15 issue of The Sun "... managed to get the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed back in the '20s ..."

At that point I stopped reading as it became clear he had not a clue of what he spoke. The 18th was proposed when the doughboys were in the "war to end all wars" and did not vote. When they returned they yelled that it was passed when we were "away" as Congress passed it in 1917.

In any case, the final ratification was on Jan. 16, 1919, which is not back in the '20s that Mr. Heintze refers to. Given such a misstatement of basic facts, to say nothing of even some background, was clearly presented by your paper as the "truth" I doubt that I have missed much by not reading the rest of the article.

Bad information is bad and this is such a simple subject I must ask how anyone can believe anything you print?

No, I was born long after these events but remember what was taught in high school--back when it was an educational experience. (The "yelled" description of the event is from my memory of my teacher at that time.)

William D. Evans

Cupertino

Chamber of Commerce
needs to be defended

With regard to the Chamber playing politics, I would like to come to its defense. While I do agree in part with the gentleman's concern (Letters & Opinion, Sept. 29), it is obvious he is not a Chamber member and is therefore not familiar with the ongoing efforts the Chamber makes on behalf of its members, large and small. I must point out that one only gets out of a membership what one puts in. One must participate in order to benefit. The Sunnyvale Chamber membership is not a one-way street. One must attend mixers, breakfasts, participate in business fairs (recently held at Lockheed), and make one's presence seen and heard in order to receive full benefit out of one's membership. One cannot expect an abundance of business to come their way without participating in the process.

The Sunnyvale Chamber is larger than 80 percent of other Chambers. There are many members who are also active in other neighboring Chambers who constantly report that the Sunnyvale Chamber is the most dynamic, energetic and active Chamber in Northern California. I happen to agree.

As for the comment, "The Chamber doesn't care about Sunnyvale businesses (especially those run by people of color)," I think this gentleman needs to walk through the Chamber doors and speak with staff, two of whom are people of color. Mr. Fu also needs to become familiar with the many active member businesses owned by people of color who also hire people of color. Again, if the gentleman who wrote last week's letter were truly an active Chamber member, he would know that this statement is very inaccurate and possibly very inflammatory to a lot of Chamber members.

Why not come to a mixer, a breakfast, the Murphy Awards, participate in a business fair, become a STAR member, volunteer for the Art & Wine Festival or the Downtown Music Summer Series and really learn about how to benefit from networking to grow a business? I extend an invitation to Mr. Fu to become an active Chamber member and see for himself why more than 700 businesses are a part of the Sunnyvale Chamber, with membership growing each month despite these uncertain economic times.

Leslie Lawton

Small-business owner

Sunnyvale

Plaza del Sol's design isn't user-friendly

I have always had great respect for Sunnyvale's ideas and projects! Well, almost always, until yesterday when I visited Sunnyvale's new Plaza del Sol for the first time.

I had expected an urban-style respite for an occasional fresh air break with a cup of coffee; or a bag lunch and the next chapter in a book; or maybe just a relaxing daydream while watching flowers bloom; or maybe the chance to be sitting across from some interesting person to share solving some of the world's problems. My anticipation even pictured a couple of old gentlemen playing a leisurely game of checkers while the rest of us toiled at our daily jobs to earn their Social Security checks. And, as a minimum, I expected a few spots of shaded seating to protect my bald head or an attentive mom's baby from the sun.

None of these pleasures are likely at Plaza del Sol, because it is mostly cold, unfriendly and impractical art. There's nowhere to sit around a checkers board. There's no place to spread out a newspaper page to do the crossword puzzle. There's no place to eat your bag lunch but in your lap. There's no place to sit across from others and strike up a conversation. There's no place to evade the sun except to bring your own umbrella. There's no place to set your coffee between sips while reading your favorite newspaper. There's no place to watch flowers bloom--no flowers--just lots of cement. And oh yes, the seating is incredibly uncomfortable and likely to be hot in the summer and cold in the winter, especially if wearing shorts, plus they are placed and curved so they largely avoid facing others.

The plaza is not a place that invites returning. Plaza del Sol is a work of art and certainly not a social invitation. My visit was with a friend who is a skilled stonemason and he enjoyed telling me how the pavement's granite inserts are manufactured--but doesn't think he would be back. The only other visitors were three noisy teenagers carelessly doing wheelies and jumping the steps on their bicycles.

What a disappointing result of $5 million of good intentions. What was its originally designed purpose--should we now have a contest to find a use for it in addition to being the artistic roof of an underground garage? Maybe it should have been named Plaza del Arte!

J. W. Rowe

Sunnyvale