The Sunnyvale Sun

Letters & Opinions

Speak Out

DeCinzo does disservice
to public safety officers

Several weeks ago, at a late hour, I dialed 911, as a member of our family was having a health emergency. My call was answered immediately. A dispatcher gave me important advice. While I was still speaking with the dispatcher, a fire engine arrived at our home, and two public safety officers entered. They gave immediate assistance to us, only leaving when an ambulance and its crew arrived to take over. From the moment I called for help I was dealing with competent, caring, well-trained professionals.

DeCinzo's tasteless cartoon (Sun Sept. 6) is an insult to our public safety officers. I certainly hope our officers know these cartoons do not represent the attitude of most Sunnyvale residents.

Janet Tobias

Sunnyvale

Sunnyvale does a good
job trimming city trees

It makes me feel good to know I can request tree-trimming services from the city of Sunnyvale to clear obstructed sidewalks or streetlights, and the requests are quickly and professionally accommodated. On two occasions, I requested tree-trimming services from the city of Sunnyvale, and I am delighted to report they did a great job both times.

Thank you very much to the Sunnyvale Public Works office staff and tree-trimming personnel for making our daytime walks more enjoyable and our streets safer to walk at night.

Darryl Alford

Sunnyvale

Community garden is great use of a vacant lot

Thank you for publishing the super article on the Sunnyvale Sustainable Gardeners and the photos of their incredible garden (Sun, Sept. 13). Josh Salans and his members should be commended for the fabulous creation they accomplished in a short amount of time. A true vision--a vacant lot to a community treasure. During my visit it was such a thrill to see gardeners of all ages enjoying the opportunity to not only nurture and grow flowers, fruits and vegetables, but the artwork on the sheds, a place for educating the young with field trips and the circle under the tree for storytelling. What a wonderful addition to Sunnyvale. Great teamwork, everyone.

Julia Miller

Former mayor, council member

Challenger School traffic
a hazard, needs solution

Unfortunately, lost from all the arguments against the Challenger School's "surprise" construction project is the fact that all of Challenger's neighbors have benefited both from the care that the school has taken with its rented piece of Sunnyvale and the obvious overall quality of the education that it offers. Compared to the time when the property was Hollenbeck School and later when it was idle, the Challenger school grounds seem like a relative paradise. We are convinced the effect of Challenger School's presence in our neighborhood can truly be measured in dollars and cents--increased property values.

Consider what would have happened to our property values and the quality of our lives if the property had been developed as high-density housing or monster homes.

The fundamental issue with the planned driveway, in our opinion, is not aesthetics or noise or inconvenience. It is: Will it make our neighborhood a safer one? In order to make a play for a better position in the long lineup approaching the school, a significant number of Challenger parents take risks that endanger themselves, their children and all of us. It never fails to amaze us to see a Challenger parent in a van filled with his or her children make a quick U-turn in front of us without ever looking or stopping for oncoming traffic. One of these encounters resulted in an accident involving our next-door neighbor.

We have reported several of these incidents to the school, but still they continue. One actually occurred on Sept. 13 on our street: The parent must have been late for a meeting at the school around 7 p.m. and performed the famous "Challenger U-Turn" in front of us with never a glance to check on oncoming traffic. Perhaps there has to be a major accident before the lesson is learned. Let's hope that is not the case.

If it can be demonstrated that the planned driveway will significantly reduce these risks, then we are all for it.

Edwin and Jean Aiken

Sunnyvale

MetroFi isn't present
in her neighborhood

I lived for 28 years in Lakewood Village and still own a home there, which I visit monthly. My concern is simple: Lakewood Village is still being treated as a stepchild to the city of Sunnyvale. If there are so-called "community" services in the rest of the city, Lakewood (and Fairwood) are often given the leftovers or nothing at all.

The lack of MetroFi service is an example. While the MetroFi website touts its service to the city of Sunnyvale, the entire city does not benefit from this service. Lakewood Village was promised service beginning in April 2006. MetroFi admitted to me in an email in April that service in Lakewood Village had been postponed due to infrastructure until September 2006. Now I find no service there as of Sept. 12.

Is this problem with MetroFi, or with the city of Sunnyvale? The larger question, of course, is why is Lakewood Village always the last- or worst-served part of the city?

What can the city council do to fix this stepchild approach to such a large area of the city? And where, oh where, is MetroFi in Lakewood Village?

Marjorie Wilser

Sunnyvale

Hard work pays off for Sunnyvale actors

The West Side Story musical was a huge hit with the audience on opening weekend. The Sunnyvale Community Players have worked very hard to make this a spectacular production. This was my first experience with a theater production and I had no idea how many hours the cast and staff endures. I helped with props, set painting, and costumes. I visited second-hand clothing stores so often I knew the clerks on a first-name basis. During dance rehearsals the cast would arrive clean and dry, then finish the night sweating so much they were like snowmen melting away. Everyone gave it their all and it shows on stage. The crisp dance turns, lifts, and mambo are breath-taking. The actors tumble, fall, hit, and slide, making the fight scenes very realistic. You will experience the feeling of love, hate, hope and despair throughout the show. West Side Story is about gangs fighting in the '50s and I am glad times have changed and this behavior is behind us. Then a week ago, a cast member's brother was shot and killed while driving through Oakland. This tragedy has made me realize that times have not changed and gang violence still prevails. The 35 actors are pouring their heart and soul into this production, hoping to make a positive change to rid the streets of gang violence. Please don't miss seeing West Side Story, which runs through Oct. 8. Call 408.733.6611 to reserve your tickets.

Marcy Chaussee

Sunnyvale