The Sunnyvale Sun

Letters & Opinions

Speak Out

Voters should elect
new councilmembers

It was so disappointing to see that public financing of elections in Sunnyvale will not go before the voters in Sunnyvale in November. Councilmembers Howe and Spitaleri, who were on the subcommittee that made this decision, both were heavily financed by special interests and seemed to have been against this idea from the beginning. Spitaleri took approximately $85,000 from special interests in the last election--the largest amount of any candidate in the history of Sunnyvale. This current council had no qualms about approving a superfluous $2 million lifetime medical benefit for Howe earlier this year, the premiums of which are paid for by every taxpayer in Sunnyvale. Four Sunnyvale councilmembers are up for reelection in November. Hopefully there will be some new councilmembers elected who will immediately rescind the $2 million lifetime medical benefit that this council so recklessly gave to Howe.

Yolanda Risch

Sunnyvale

Sunnyvale promotes water conservation

I would like to take exception to the headline on Cody Kraatz's story about city water in the July 11 issue of the Sun. While the story is fine, I believe the headline is misleading.

During the phone interview with Cody, I mentioned several times that while we are not mandating any water conservation cutbacks, and we do in fact believe that for this year there will be ample supplies, we do routinely deliver water conservation messages to our customers and the city at large. Using our Quarterly Report newsletter, KSUN television, handouts and inserts into water bills, the city has maintained a stance that water conservation is important to all of us.

John Pilger

communications officer, City of Sunnyvale

Hanson Cement can't be allowed to expand

Hanson Cement has been listed as one of the major point sources of air pollution in Santa Clara County by Scorecard, the pollution information website.

Unfortunately Santa Clara County is already suffering from poor air quality, matching the air quality of some of the dirtiest counties in the entire country. The American Lung Association in its latest report card has given the county an F grade with regard to particulate air pollution. So what this means for us is that Hanson Cement is polluting air that is already classified as among the dirtiest in the nation. This being the case, how can Hanson Cement be possibly allowed to triple the size of their operations?

Hanson Cement is located close to a densely populated urban area and the deleterious impact of their operations is not limited to the foothills of Cupertino but the entire county. These effects are not as simple as the inconvenience of having to wash your car or your driveway frequently due to dust but long term health ill effects. Can the operators of Hanson Cement provide us with clear quantitative information of how this expansion would affect all of the above air quality criteria? Can they provide clear plans for mitigating the adverse effects of their operations? Can they provide us data as to how many trucks use Stevens Creek/Foothill roads to get to the freeway today and what would this number be if they receive approval for their expansion plans?

I strongly encourage all fellow citizens of Cupertino and Santa Clara County to attend the public meeting at Cupertino Community Hall, 4-6 p.m. on July 26. If you cannot attend the meeting, then be sure to voice your opinion by writing to the county Planning Division and to elected officials.

TLola Kashyap

Cupertino