I have been reading the Willow Glen Resident for quite a few years and I must admit that I agree with many other readers, those who have written letters to the newspaper, and people that I know personally, that DeCinzo is not particularly funny nor is he sensitive. In fact, he comes across as rather sarcastic and crass in many of his cartoons.

I wonder if the Resident really needs a cartoonist? Many newspapers have them for political reasons, as well as for the comic page, but I have seen some without any cartoonists at all. Why not have a vote?

Sue Evans

Dean Avenue

Athletic facilities at schools belong to all

Regarding Thomas Sutton's letter in the June 16 issue of the Willow Glen resident on Willow Glen High School's track and football field, it is not the intention of San Jose Unified School District to lock out the neighbors.

In fact, because the Willow Glen community and other district voters passed Measure F, the school district is able to redo all the track and football fields at our six high schools. Our high schools will have all-weather tracks and synthetic turf will be installed on the football fields. All six high schools are being renovated from April through October, so these facilities will be ready by late fall.

There are also plans to have irrigation systems installed on the rest of the athletic fields and the fields will also be reseeded. Once completed, the community will benefit greatly from all these improvements.

The school district appreciates your support and passage of Measure F. It also believes that the athletic facilities belong to the schools and their communities.

Carol Myers

Board of Education

Trustee Area 3

Planning commission
decision was flawed

I was surprised to learn of the San Jose Planning Commission's decision to overturn the wise recommendation of the city planning department denying the proposed construction of a "monster home" on Glenwood Avenue. I was even more surprised to read in the Willow Glen Resident and other media the faulty reasoning that the commissioners used to justify their decision to approve this project.

Apparently some commissioners observed other large, two-story homes on Glenwood Avenue and surrounding streets and concluded that another house that exceeds the city's already lenient .45 floor-area-to-lot-size ratio was a justifiable exception to this reasonable size limitation. The commissioners seem unaware that all of the homes on Glenwood Avenue that exceed the .45 ratio were built before the city passed the monster-home ordinance.

It was the accelerating tide of these monster homes that compelled the city to pass the monster-home ordinance discouraging homes that exceed the .45 floor-area ratio in the first place. Now the planning commissioners are using the existence of these excessively large homes, built before the ordinance came into effect, to justify the construction of a new house that the ordinance was explicitly designed to discourage! No doubt this new home will set a precedent that future planning commissions will use to justify further exceptions to the .45 ratio.

Homes that are too large for the lots they sit on irreversibly mar the character of our neighborhood and diminish community property values. If the planning commission approves this specific project because all of the immediate neighbors have withdrawn their objections, they should clearly acknowledge this reasoning in their decision. They should also clearly state that the mere existence of other large homes has no bearing on this singular exception to the .45 ratio and that this exception should not be viewed as a general precedent for future planning decisions.

Spencer Horowitz

Glenwood Avenue

DeCinzo cartoon is not
a surprise to one reader

I enjoyed DeCinzo's cartoon in the June 9 issue of the Willow Glen Resident. His accurate self-depiction as a pathetic cartoonist lacking creativity and originality was no surprise to me. I was not offended by his feeble attempt to discredit former President Ronald Reagan, because in 20 years no one will remember who DeCinzo is. Whereas Reagan's image will appear on postage stamps, some U.S. currency and maybe even Mount Rushmore. We'll probably have a national holiday in Reagan's honor, and countless schools, structures and highways will bear his name.

Reagan will be admired and respected long after DeCinzo scribbles his last travesty.

Victoria Johnson

Willow Glen