The Sunnyvale Sun

Letters & Opinions

Speak Out

Resident to Hamilton:
'If the shoe fits ... '

As a long term resident of Sunnyvale, I remember the halcyon days of a city council that made Sunnyvale a great city to live in. Council members were involved participants of making Sunnyvale "a great American city" and were familiar faces to many of us in their outreach to the community.

Now we are faced with a council member who talks about her "policy work," is extremely sensitive to criticism, and certainly misses meetings, collects her gratuity pay each month, puts in for her mileage rebate, and enjoys medical coverage by the very nice city of Sunnyvale.

I don't know anything about your daily life, Melinda, and I don't want to know. But I do know that you are not doing your job and being a council member means more than just meetings.

It's time for you to step down.

Mike Falk

Sunnyvale

Commending cyclists for
environmental awareness

With global warming finally becoming a forefront concern in the minds of the American public, I believed that the community would finally accept, and even praise, cyclists, acknowledging their use of alternative transportation. Yet DeCinzo's cartoon portraying cyclists as road-hogging annoyances set back hopes of greater understanding between drivers and cyclists. His cartoon refuses to accept the reality of the situation. With such attitudes toward alternative forms of transportation, global warming can only become a greater danger. It portrays only the smallest percentage of the cycling community, overlooking the rest of us who are careful to signal, yield to cars and follow all the traffic laws. And what he doesn't seem to understand is that as long as dedicated bike lanes are not available, cyclists and drivers will have to share the road. He complains that cyclists whine about Sunnyvale as bike-unfriendly (which I don't agree with. True, Sunnyvale still has a way to go, but I congratulate Sunnyvale on its extensive network of bike lanes!) but refuses to understand that it is people like him who create enmity.

I'm a 16-year old teenage girl who bikes to school every day and uses public transportation to get around in an effort to contribute less to the increasing global warming pollution. But I was offended and disappointed at this hostile view of cyclists. When will the community begin to thank us for doing our part, rather than blame us for "getting in the way?"

Maya Perelman

Sunnyvale

Bike plan is good
alternative to cars

I'm sorry to say the article on Sunnyvale's new bike plan (Sun, Aug. 23) was a major disappointment. From the absurdly alarmist headline ("Close encounters of the fatal kind") to the excessive focus on a non-issue based entirely on fear and misunderstanding, it appears that the primary objective of the article was to hype a narrow disagreement into a seemingly significant controversy.

In so doing, the real story was missed entirely.

The fact is that our traffic engineering department, working with a professional consultant, did a truly outstanding job in putting together a comprehensive plan that will give people a real alternative to taking a two- or three-ton metal box everywhere they go.

In addition to gas prices, there are all kinds of compelling reasons to reduce our obscenely destructive dependence on automobiles (think about it). Many people will decide the healthy, economical, and environmentally friendly option of cycling is an attractive choice for at least some of their trips if a safe and convenient route system is available. And that will benefit the entire community.

I encourage everyone who is interested in the city's bike plan to check it out for themselves (from the city website, follow the link to the Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee page).

One of the most satisfying things about living in Sunnyvale is knowing that our local government has earned a reputation for doing an excellent job of planning for long-term challenges in order to deal with them effectively. The bike plan is a prime example of this kind of proactive thinking whose value will become increasingly apparent over time. It's really too bad your article did not convey this.

Kevin Jackson

Vice chair, Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Sunnyvale

School board lacks
vision on teacher

Mr. Krieger is not just "popular" but is one of the most respected and effective teachers at Monta Vista.

Here's what we know:

Mr. Krieger led the MV biology AP program to world top rank;--yes, even with our school's limited resources;

He inspired countless students--who were indifferent to science--to become biology majors, essential for our economy to remain competitive;

He was elected every year by the student body as one of three top teachers to lead in the graduation ceremony.

He tirelessly participated in outside classroom events for Monta Vista, such as registration, open house, sports, and so on.

Every leader should know that the most important asset of an organization is its people. At my work at Hewlett-Packard, management is mandated to look out for exceptional people and to train and promote them on to higher positions, even if they initially lack all the necessary qualifications.

This is what should have been done for Mr. Krieger at Monta Vista.

To say that Mr. Krieger is not fit to be a resource counselor is like saying Bill Gates is not fit to teach computer science because he lacks a college degree.

To continue to hide behind the argument of qualification in this matter shows that our school board members are either 1) mere bureaucrats lacking the vision to retain and develop exceptional talent for FUSHD or, worse, that 2) they bring along their personal baggage in their decisions for the whole district.

It sadly demonstrates that the board members indeed are the ones lacking in qualification to lead our district.

Nora Chuang

Monta Vista parent