Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor (June 11, 2004)

Governor's budget is short-sighted

Editor:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget is penny-wise and pound-foolish.

He is proposing deep cuts to programs such as MediCal, Child Welfare Services (CWS), the California State College system and the California State University system. The impacts of these programs go far beyond the good they do for their individual clients.

MediCal provides medical care for families that can't afford to provide their own. Unhealthy children do poorly in school and could get sick with a communicable disease. Remember that these children go to the same schools as your children and could make your children sick.

Much of what the Child Welfare Service does is insure that children at risk have decent homes, nutrition, medical care and education. Without the resources and guidance provided by the CWS, these young people will do poorly in school and get into trouble. Remember, these children walk the same streets as your children and the trouble created may adversely affect your children.

California colleges enable your children to acquire the education necessary to become a truly contributing citizen of our state. More importantly, we need your child to get a college education so our state can economically compete in the technically competitive world economy.

We need all of the children to be healthy so they can do well in school and contribute to our competitive economy. At the very least we need children to live in a decent home environment so they can acquire the tools necessary to stay off welfare, stay out of jail and avoid being a burden to society. If young people don't grow up and shoulder their load as citizens and taxpayers, then you will end up paying more.

Paul Copeland
Pamela Drive

City attorney needs higher code of ethics

Editor:

City Attorney Michael Martello's conduct with a city contractor is unacceptable to me as a citizen who has had several problems with the garbage company (Pam Read included) and with the city of Mountain View (Martello included).

Had Martello chosen to take up with the wife of city council member Greg Perry or of city council member Mike Kasperzak instead of some other guy's wife, I'm sure they would feel differently about Martello's conduct and be less supportive of him in their comments in the Voice.

Martello is a city government employee, not just another attorney. The man writes city ethics codes and even teaches government ethics. His demeanor as a city attorney demands a higher code of personal ethics, especially when dealing with city contractors.

Donald Letcher
N. Rengstorff Avenue

Wrapped Caltrain is a safety hazard

Editor:

I e-mailed Target and Caltrain about their train wrap, which obscures the windows and provides bull's-eyes for potential defacement/shootings on the indefensible Peninsula rail system.

I did not mention thinking that law enforcement would have difficulty discerning and disarming a problem on these wrapped trains. When I lived in Seattle, I was an involuntary passenger when the driver stopped the bus I was riding in until law enforcement could remove two girls fighting.

Sometime later the Seattle buses were "wrapped" with advertising and I thought that nobody would be able to see from the outside if something was happening, like the passenger who shot the driver of an articulated bus which then crossed traffic lanes, fell off the Aurora Bridge into an apartment building, killing some and injuring a lot of passengers.

Clear and visible windows would wreck the advertising but are a safety issue. I don't know if any of the law enforcement jurisdictions were contacted before Caltrain and Target agreed to this wrapped train.

I find it abhorrent to be an involuntary passenger in a marketing strategy that could result in liability and disaster.

Noriko Low
Calderon Avenue

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