The other evening I stopped at Cosentino's Market in Santa Clara. There was a notice in the window announcing that there would be a hearing March 9 by the Santa Clara County Planning Commission on a request by Kaiser to build a heliport on its new facility.

Since I was there well past March 9, the notice acted as a real eye opener because Santa Clara failed to notify the affected neighbors of the meeting.

Since helicopters are a major source of noise, the neighborhoods surrounding the facility certainly deserved the courtesy of being informed of the meeting.

It makes me ask the question, where was the city of Sunnyvale or The Sun while all of this was going on?

Werner Gans

Southeast Sunnyvale

Piece about API scores
and testing was right on

What an insightful editorial ("Why are we so focused on the test scores?" March 23). While our students push themselves through many competitions and focus only on one thing, they may lose the critical ability to accept themselves for who they are, learn from their mistakes, and bounce back from their failures. As a parent, I want my children to be successful in a way they can define for themselves. And hopefully, we have instilled in them values that help them choose the right course in life. I know I am not going to be there for them forever.

I came from Taiwan as a young woman to pursue higher education in the United States. I met my husband here and we settled here and started a family. Being an immigrant, I admit that I wasn't able to be carefree because I had to build a life for myself here, and I had no extended family around. I have to work harder to ensure that I, together with my husband, can provide a good life for our children.

However, I wanted a different kind of education for my children, specifically because I went through the kind of education that focused on disciplined learning and "inside the box" thinking. I wanted my kids to enjoy schools because they want to learn and not because they have to. I wanted them to know that it's OK to fail sometimes and that we all make mistakes. We just need to learn from these mistakes.

I have always told them I don't care about grades, but I care that they pay attention in class and learn. Grades are a way of measuring if they have met the teachers' expectations.

While at the dinner table the other day, my two kids were discussing college rankings (one is a college sophomore and one is a senior in high school). We all agreed that what really matters is what you get out of your college education and not the rankings.

It is ironic that we fuss so much about the API. Ask any high school student if STAR tests are important--the answer most likely will be that they don't really care about the STAR tests, and I doubt anyone would prepare for it as they do for the SAT.

Pei-Pei Yow

Cupertino

Pope as Þgure in cartoon is reprehensible

As a former long-time resident and former 14-year employee of the city of Sunnyvale, I look to The Sun to keep abreast of city information.

While I appreciate the quality of the writers used by The Sun, your self-proclaimed political cartoonist has once again proven himself to be ignorant, ill-advised and utterly reprehensible.

As the entire world mourns the loss of Pope John Paul II, DeCinzo has the audacity to belittle the pontificate in what he surely believes is tasteful commentary. I believe millions of Catholics and Christians would disagree.

As I join the world in paying respect to the pope and all he has done for the world, I also join many who call for DeCinzo's departure from this otherwise fine newspaper. Until such time, I bid farewall not only to Pope John Paul II, but also to The Sun.

Larry St. Regis

Sunnyvale

Austinfolk ask folks in Sunnyvale for some help

Sunnyvale is Advanced Micro Devices' headquarters, but AMD employs around 3,000 people in Austin, Texas, where AMD's president and CEO, Hector Ruiz, lives. AMD has been a good corporate citizen here in the heart of Texas, locating its facilities in the "desired development zone."

Austin is home to Barton Springs, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. More than 300,000 people visit this oasis each year. Barton Springs is home to the endangered Barton Springs salamander. The springs emerge from the Edwards Aquifer, itself habitat to more than 50 rare species threatened with extinction from urban sprawl.

Our local planning efforts to steer major employers, such as AMD, into the "desired development zone" have also sought to limit the urbanization of the watersheds that feed Barton Springs and the Edwards Aquifer. They are easily polluted with storm water runoff containing oil, grease and other toxic byproducts of urban sprawl.

But now, Hector Ruiz is considering relocating AMD's Austin operations, and more than 2,000 employees, exactly where our community has said it's not acceptable to build major employment centers.

We have tried to engage Hector Ruiz and AMD, but they have been unwilling to commit to remain in the "desired development zone" and away from the sensitive Barton Springs watershed. Therefore, we are forced to reach out across the country, to AMD's corporate home, to ask for your help in deterring Hector Ruiz from betraying our community, the place he calls home.

We ask the citizens of Silicon Valley to contact AMD and let them know that there's no good reason for them to move 2,000-plus employees to the most sensitive watershed in Texas.

Please visit our website, www.SOSAlliance.org to contact AMD directly and for more information on Barton Springs and the Edwards Aquifer.

Colin Clark

Communications Director for Save Our Springs Alliance

Austin, Texas