The Willow Glen ResidentLettersEconomic success is up to individuals I am trying to understand the point to the article "Gap widens between rich and poor" by Deborah Taylor-Hollis in the Sept. 10 issue of The Resident. OK, so there is a wider gap. But there are more people on the rich side of that gap. Is this a bad thing? Should we be working toward complete economic equality for all? That's as un-American a concept as I can think of. Does Deborah really believe that the rich Democrat politicians are more in touch with the $33K-a-year family than the typical Republican targets she mentions? Deborah would also have you know that your good fortune in the stock market, or with an IPO, is a "fluke." Give me a break! The article starts by implying that even a college degree is no guarantee of surpassing the $33K-a-year median income. I have no degree, and my wife's is in physical education, yet we have made our way into the top few percent in income. I guess hard work and entrepreneurism has nothing to do with our nice homes, new cars and the security that comes with financial success. My wife and I have worked hard and believe our success, or failure, is our own. It doesn't matter who is in the White House or how big the company you work for is. If you work for a company that is starting to favor contractors and temporary workers, or pays its CEO very well, that is your choice. What really got to me when I read this article was the message that somehow several Republicans, large businesses and million-dollar CEOs were responsible for this so-called "gap" and your financial position in it. If you're not willing to take responsibility for your own financial future, then you may very well be putting it in the hands of those mentioned in Deborah's article. We all have a choice. If you think you don't, then you are just not willing to accept the risks, and then also the rewards, of major career and life choices. And whose fault is that? Newt Gingrich's? Bob Dole's? Some CEO's? Or yours?
Steve Yankovich AAUW program is held at John Muir Thank you so much for your neat article about AAUW in the The Resident. We appreciate your time and effort to tell about our goals and publicize our membership opportunities. I must apologize for an error I made in telling you of our Tech Excellence program. At the time I was talking with you on the phone, I was also overseeing activities going on in my classroom at Agnews. The middle school where the program is being conducted is John Muir, not Markham. I realized my error too late to let you know. I hope this error can be corrected. You had asked me about AAUW's involvement with Willow Glen Educational Park. Each spring, we have a scholarship essay contest for girls in Santa Clara County. The essay writing is always done at Willow Glen High School on a Saturday in March. A $1,000 scholarship is offered each year. Again, thank you for your article!
Linda Hiebert Sekiguchi Rees sisters played key role in garden It was too bad that Ruth and Clara B. Rees got such peripheral mention in connection with the story about the closing of the Bird Avenue iris gardens. Clara was in charge of the hybridization and produced some beautiful flowers, at least one of which was officially named for her during the many years the sisters were there. Ruth Rees was a well-known figure in journalism here over a long period. In 1928, when I was about to graduate from Santa Clara High School, I won the top literary award sponsored by the school paper, and Ruth was one of the judges, along with Ruth Comfort Mitchell and Edna Aiken. By the time World War II arrived, I was city editor of the San Jose News and Ruth was one of my reporters, mainly covering the school system. Later, she left the business and started her own public relations office. One of her clients, in the early 1960s, was the San Jose Hospital. It is too bad that the open space there by the railroad tracks can't be preserved, and that we must go for the increased population density that means increased problems--but financial considerations almost always rule.
Dick Barrett WGNA's aim was to get support for Willow traffic study Judging by their letter [The Resident, Sept. 10], I think Louise Bonanno and Judy Benoit got the wrong impression from The Resident's article about the Willow Street truck traffic study. At the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association's meeting, we asked for support of our petition to have the city count the number and size of trucks that use Willow between Meridian and Lincoln. That portion of Willow is one lane each way, winds past Willow Street park, has been narrowed by a marked bike route and is part of the Los Gatos Creek Trail. Our main concern is the recently increased use of Willow Street by semi-trucks, combined with a high percentage of foot, bike and baby-carriage traffic along a newly narrowed roadway. Secondly, there was no need for "public notice," since we were only asking for a traffic study. And finally, this was certainly not a "not in my backyard" situation. Yes, the study is the first step in exploring whether trucks over a certain size (seven tons was suggested, compared to the 4.5-ton limit on Highway 85) should be banned from a portion of Willow Street. However, we did not propose rerouting the trucks to Minnesota or to any other residential street. We specifically requested and agreed that the ban would only occur if a commercial reroute is feasible. Although we presented an alternative commercial route, WGNA decided to not specify any alternative, since the question was just whether to support the study.
Pat Diamond Minnesota, Willow share traffic problems The recent letter from Minnesota residents concerning truck traffic on their avenue had many good points--many of the same points articulated by Willow Street residents at the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association's August board meeting. Please be assured that sensitivity to traffic problems on all neighborhood streets was expressed by both the board and members of the audience. In fact, two of our board members live on Minnesota. A truck count has been requested to get a better handle on what the situation is. There are those who have proposed signs for Willow Street between Lincoln and Meridian avenues that would prohibit trucks over a certain tonnage. As was speculated in the Minnesota Avenue letter, some have suggested that Parkmoor Avenue could be used as a preferred truck route (note that the city of San Jose does not have official truck routes). Nothing will be decided until Councilmember Fiscalini's office receives the truck study and passes that information on to the community for input. We, the WGNA board, will make every effort to let residents know when this discussion of this study is to take place. As always, we welcome your comments. Please feel free to contact us at 294-WGNA or check out our web site at http://members.aol.com/wgnasj.
Kris Cunningham
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This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, September 17, 1997. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||