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Speak Out
A Longs on Avenue will hurt, not help
Reading the most recent Resident, I was taken aback by the "it's a done deal" attitude of the piece on the Longs Drugs chain moving to the center of the Avenue.
One writer apparently feels that an entire drug store should be built so some "real shopping" can be done. Many pharmacies deliver. And Walgreens is not a half-mile from Lincoln on Willow.
There are also Longs stores on Bascom and Hamilton; a new one going up on Foxworthy; and two on Branham within a mile of each other.
Willow Glen has been trying (although not always succeeding) to be the kind of place where people stroll from shop to shop.
This will hurt, not help, any smaller shops.
Sodah Sparks
Lincoln Avenue
Broadway move to Muir isn't done deal
The comments of Connie Shelby ("Broadway deserves a decent campus," Dec. 1) are hurtful to the Broadway students and slanderous to the good people of the Robertsville Community. She says the proposed Broadway move to the Muir Field is signed, sealed and delivered. I heard the same when I visited the Broadway school last June 30, before any studies had been done, before the board had so much as sought any input from the Robertsville Community and before the board had even voted upon the issue.
No one questions the value of the Broadway program. The Robertsville people I know have consistently argued that the Broadway Continuation High School ought to have its own campus, like all other high schools. Ms. Shelby's assertion that "... the surrounding neighborhood has the misinformed and erroneous belief that these are bad kids," could not be further from the truth.
We all make life choices that have consequences and the Broadway kids' choices resulted in their separation from the nominal public education program. They are older and, in many instances have experiences from which a middle school is supposed to shelter 9 to 13-year-olds as they make the transition to greater responsibility and discipline in adolescence. I think any objective analysis would reach the conclusion that they should not be commingled. As for the district's assertion that the campuses will be separate, I simply ask anyone to show me the middle school campus that will be as small as will be John Muir after the collocation.
I will plead guilty to an emotional attachment to the Muir field. It represents as much in Robertsville as Raoul Wallenberg Park does in Willow Glen; more, actually. It is situated where Robertsville citizens drive or walk past it on a daily basis. I have admired the view there for 32 years. Our community has no great green expanses; only that little 10-acre field and Paul Moore Park, about twice its size. The Muir Field is one of San Jose's most heavily used playfields, with thousands of children learning their physical skills there.
Ms. Shelby and the SJUSD would do well not to covet the few assets still remaining in the Robertsville community. Though the district refuses to return our neighborhood schools, as they have done elsewhere, they are not yet our dictators. While tens and hundreds of millions of dollars are spent preserving wilderness and building creekside trails, we still need beautiful green open spaces in our daily lives right here on the Valley floor. Don't make the mistake of Ms. Shelby and think "the deal" is signed, sealed and delivered. It is the district's responsibility to serve our communities, as well as to educate our children. They can, will and must find an alternative location.
Bud Kremer
Bryan Avenue
Neighborhood doesn't welcome new Longs
I would like to express my concerns about the proposed Longs Drug Store to open on Lincoln Avenue. Longs is a business that operates on low margin and high volume of traffic. I found it curious that Longs refuses to share the information on its expected or even its average number of customer visits.
This business is right next to residential areas (i.e., Brace, Newport and Coolidge avenues). The families on these streets have had a long-standing concern about traffic. Turning left onto Lincoln from Brace is a "nightmare" (at a minimum, if Longs moves in, a light needs to be installed there). Longs customers can be expected to avoid Lincoln by turning on Brace and then Coolidge or Newport. If I may speak for many of my neighbors, we do not at all welcome the additional traffic that Longs will bring to our neighborhood. This will present a danger to the many children who live in the immediate area of Longs. Second, we fear that because Longs will be selling liquor until 10 p.m. it will attract loitering people, additional garbage, etc.
I understand the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association supports this because it will be a "convenience" for Willow Glen residents. This convenience is not worth the price we will pay in terms of an increased safety danger to our children, additional cars parked on our streets, garbage and loitering.
Longs should not underestimate the impact to its business when there are so many concerns from so many Willow Glen residents. The majority I have spoken with do not welcome Longs Drugs at the Lincoln Avenue location.
Mary Zeigler
Coolidge Avenue
Late-night fliers should cool jets
A long-standing and serious problem related to San Jose International Airport is the issue of airline curfew violations.
I am chair of the Airport Curfew Monitoring Committee, which meets regularly to review all curfew violations. We recently issued a report to the council that detailed the extent of the problem.
For example, in the first eight months of 1999, there has been a 20 percent increase in the total number of intrusions. There is now an average of 72 violations per month, or 2.5 per day. Although most of these intrusions are approved by the airport administration, neighbors are still being awakened by the noise.
Strong admonishments have done little to change behavior; the time may be coming for more decisive action by the city. The committee's report is the first step in such a process.
The same standards should apply to owners of private jets who habitually violate curfew rules. Case in point is Larry Ellison, chief executive officer of Oracle. Mr. Ellison does not think the curfew rules apply to him, so he continues to break them.
The committee has asked Mr. Ellison to appear before us to explain his position at our Dec. 13 meeting. It will be held at 3 p.m. at 1732 N. First St., Suite 600. The public is invited to attend the meeting, as well as any meeting of the committee.
Ken Yeager
Airport Curfew Monitoring Committee
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
