Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor (November 18, 2005)

No shortage of affordable child care

Editor:

I want to provide personal support for those who contend that there is no shortage of space in local preschools, and that the cost is not excessive.

Three months ago, I enrolled my then-2-year-old daughter in preschool. For the six months leading up to this, I visited and considered seven local preschools, five in Mountain View and two in Palo Alto. Of these, six had no waitlist whatsoever: We were told that my daughter could enroll at our convenience.

As for price, the range for full-time care was from approximately $800 to $1,100 per month. While this is above the $700 per month fee espoused by the Rengstorff advocates, it is not prohibitively so. Surely, subsidizing qualified families the difference would be a far more inexpensive and uncomplicated solution.

There appears to be three tensions at play: 1) Helping more financially limited families, 2) Helping local child care businesses, and 3) Giving government a role in child care.

Subsidizing qualified families would seem to be the obvious answer. It would help their children attend the exact same schools as their more well-off neighbors; it would support local small business (the child care providers); and it minimizes the need for government intervention. Francis Mataac Franklin Street

City should spare beautiful park space

Editor:

One of the most human tendencies of the people I know, including myself, is to not appreciate what you have until it is threatened to be taken away.

A particular site in Rengstorff Park is a case in point, which the city plans to destroy, redwood grove and all, to build a child care center. To my mind, Rengstorff is a beautiful, spacious park used by many people at all hours for their own purposes, living in harmony with nature and the surrounding area.

My concern is the growing tendency of builders who take down heritage trees and fill the space with buildings. My particular problem is that I am not a resident of Mountain View and therefore do not have a voice in the matter.

However, I can show a video, taken from the Rengstorff redwood grove, of dancers who regularly come to perform at the park on Saturday mornings from as far away as San Carlos, San Rafael and Walnut Creek. This same area is home to groups doing Tai Chi, playing soccer, and dancing, all at the same time, or with polite intermittence.

At one moment of epiphany, a Japanese group under the large gazebo clapped their hands in unison to one of our dances. It was great! I thank God for America. We are blessed! Valeria Dumitru Parma Way, Los Altos

A Halloween display that's worth the effort

Editor:

I was sorry to read the Voice letter of Nov. 4 in which my neighbor had unpleasant experiences with the trick-or-treaters on Halloween.

We also became very discouraged when we had expensive props stolen and debated whether to again open the "Bates Hotel." However, we learned that the few bad apples that stole our props were outweighed by the well-mannered and grateful trick-or-treaters of all ages who appreciate our displays.

It's the laughter, screams, gratitude, compliments and meeting the neighbors and residents of the community that motivates us to open the "Bates Hotel" each year on Halloween. We think kindly of those who take time to come to our door with or without costumes to thank us in our effort to provide fun and entertainment to their children and families.

Contrary to my neighbor, we are fortunate that the last 15 years have left us with more good than bad memories of visitors on Halloween. It has been the trick-or-treaters and guests that have made the work of building and setting up props, providing live entertainment and passing out 40 bags of candy worthwhile thus far, by acknowledging or expressing their appreciation with such good manners.

I definitely hope that this trend continues and hope that others' experiences next year will match ours. Rita Melenudo Velarde Street

'Oughta be a law' contest extended

Editor:

Notwithstanding the distraction of last week's special election, scores of my constituents have already submitted entries for the fifth annual "There oughta be a law" contest, where I invite Californians to submit their suggestions for new laws.

But I want to give anyone preoccupied by the special election a little more time to submit a proposal, so I've extended the contest deadline to Nov. 28. The winner or winners will have their ideas introduced as legislation, and get to testify at a hearing on their bill in the State Capitol. Since the contest's inception, eight such ideas have become law.

To get an application, readers may visit my Web site at www.sen.ca.gov/simitian or call my district office at (650) 688-6384. State Sen. Joe Simitian Town and Country Village, Palo Alto

Free laptops would enhance Google gift

Editor:

Standing ovations to Google for the farsighted gift of WiFi to Mountain View. This is so smart and so urgently essential to a knowledge-enhanced future that I'm elated. Hurray and thank you!

But -- in order to "make the world's information universally accessible and useful," we must collectively let the Other Shoe drop. We must get a cheap, tough laptop to every single Mountain View child of K-12 age so that all that knowledge brought by WiFi can be received regardless of income. We must not have a digital divide, but rather a digital multiplication, starting with the poorest children and rapidly expanding to all children.

The explosion of innovation that could and should be America's future requires both the universal ultra-band WiFi and the universal laptops. Google has made the fabulous big first move. I call on our city council to instantly begin the laptop project with other equally visionary Silicon Valley companies and foundations. Mountain View is the perfect place to incubate this full-force exhilarating knowledge revolution that will become a national model. Wendy Fleet Velarde Street

Thanks for the bumps, now let's see a light

Editor:

First, let me thank the city council members for deciding to put speed bumps on Barbara Avenue. They have helped immensely.

But, with two car collisions at the intersection of Miramonte and Barbara in the last four days, can anyone tell me when the city is going to put in the much-anticipated traffic light?

I did receive a message from a man named Mike in the city's Traffic Department who said there is a light pole on backorder that is due to arrive sometime in February. I hope so! Annie Zacanti Barbara Avenue

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