I was pleased to see mention of the traffic issue in a couple of paragraphs in your Feb. 2 issue of the Willow Glen Resident. However, the article focused just on neighborhoods near a potential ballpark. In recent articles in the San Jose Mercury News about a possible stadium in San Jose (or Santa Clara a while ago) for the Oakland A's, I have been amazed that no mention has been made of the possible impact on traffic in the whole South Bay. If the A's were to play in San Jose, tens of thousands of cars would converge here instead of Oakland, leaving day games in the early part of the afternoon rush hour or arriving early for evening games in the tail of the rush hour. Moreover, both the A's and Giants stadiums are close to convenient public transportation like BART stations or the San Francisco Caltrain station, while central San Jose has little.

Both common sense and past experience (have you ever been caught in the 880 traffic jam anywhere near Network Associates Stadium on a game day?) dictate that the impact on South Bay traffic should be a primary consideration in any consideration of a possible stadium here for the A's. Since Silicon Valley started to burst at the seams years ago traffic has regularly been voted as a top problem, and I feel it's unconscionable for San Jose City Council members or city officials, among others, not to address the issue.

Several years ago local newspapers did mention some preliminary studies suggesting little impact on traffic, and also noted that the Giants move to downtown San Francisco worked out OK. But moving a major professional team from one part of a city to another part is not relevant to moving a team from a small city to the center of a major city 45 miles away. Also, as a mathematician I know some of the limitations of such studies, especially when future traffic demands here are so difficult to predict.

The bottom line: speaking as a county resident since 1982 and a San Jose homeowner since 1988, I would not vote to invite the Oakland A's down here if they paid us, let alone us having to pay for them!

Peter Ross

San Jose

Declining enrollment
leads to declining funds

Amy Huddlestun's Jan. 26 letter contained incorrect information. She states that programs funded through desegregation are federal funds. Not true. Yes, SJUSD was under a federal court order, but as usual Washington, D.C. tells the states, "You pick up the tab." I believe this is called an unfunded mandate.

As district enrollment declines due to parents opting for private school, SJUSD will receive fewer desegregation dollars. So the state budget shortfalls will impact desegregation funding. SJUSD receives desegregation funding based on current student population—fewer students, fewer desegregation dollars.

Ms. Huddlestun talks about personal agendas and continues to attack Bob Mulvany and myself. What is Ms. Huddlestun's agenda? She does not support neighborhood schools. Her child attends Hacienda. She does not live in Willow Glen, but attacks those of us who have lived here most of our life. I am proud of our community and will continue to work to ensure that Willow Glen has strong neighborhood schools. There needs to be an equitable distribution of desegregation dollars and our neediest children deserve their fair share.

Carol Myers

Kiner Avenue

Some residents are
destroying downtown

I was very disappointed to read in the Feb. 16 issue of the Willow Glen Resident that D's has closed down. When I moved to Willow Glen five years ago, it was because I was able to find a small-town feel in the big city. While most of the Silicon Valley consists of strip malls and commuter towns, here was a little slice of heaven where you know your neighbors and can stroll downtown for a bite to eat or a drink with friends. D's, previously Beavers and The Glen, has fallen victim to a neighborhood that is exactly the opposite of where I thought I moved to. While Willow Glen is a suburban style place, it has a heart in downtown that is being torn apart by people who are so worried about their property values decreasing that they have forgotten what makes Willow Glen such a wonderful place to live. I find it hard to believe that these same people don't understand that a deserted downtown will have a much greater effect on their property values than one that stays open past 9 p.m. If we continue to lose solid businesses such as the restaurants that are found on Lincoln Avenue due to a minority of local residents then we all suffer. Not just in the value of our property, but in the value of our neighborhood culture.

Yes, I can understand that the name Beavers was not the best choice; yes, I can understand that businesses staying open late can bring unwanted noise. But the people who live behind and around these businesses must understand that they took that risk when investing in a home that back ups to or is near a lively downtown area. I for one am very saddened by what's happening to our downtown and believe that there are many others who call Willow Glen home feeling the same way. The people of Willow Glen need to remember what this place is all about—a little slice of heaven in the big city.

Mike Jennett

Willow Glen

Correction

A story about the proposed ballpark on the Del Monte site (Feb. 16) incorrectly reported how the San Francisco Giants could secede territory over San Jose. Seventy-five percent of baseball's team owners would have to approve the change.