Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor (June 25, 2004)

Council member Kasperzak remembers Lakeina Francis

Editor:

I had the honor of knowing Lakeina Francis while she was a student in Mountain View. I met her during my first campaign for the Mountain View City Council.

She was one of several Mountain View students who, at the urging of Vice Principal Matt Neely, volunteered to help with my campaign. I still remember her efforts at the Art & Wine Festival, where she and her friends gave away campaign balloons.

She was energetic and enthusiastic. It was encouraging to see students wanting to get involved in the civic process, and in retrospect, it comes as no surprise that she would volunteer to serve her country.

I was shocked to hear that she had died in the line of duty while serving aboard the USS Cole. It was an honor to have worked with her, if only for a short time. I will always remember her and her role in my life and in the life of our country.

Michael Kasperzak
Mountain View City Council
Morton Court

Memories of Kyle Wieland

Editor:

What a shock to read your editorial in the June 11 Voice. It is tragic that we have lost three citizens of Mountain View so very far away from home.

Perhaps I've been too far out of touch with the local losses. It wasn't until June 11 that I was aware that Kyle Wieland had died.

My memory of Kyle is as a football player. When Kyle was a sophomore, I was on the coaching staff at Mountain View High School. Kyle was a tall, big young man. He was so overpowering that even when his form wasn't perfect, he was still able to overwhelm the opponent he was facing as he played offensive tackle. Kyle was also one of our team's punters.

Bob Capriles
Sladky Avenue

Why don't parcel taxes violate Proposition 13?

Editor:

Under Proposition 13, law since 1978, real estate tax on a parcel of property is limited to 1 percent of its purchase price until the property is resold. Why aren't additional parcel taxes by the county considered a violation of Proposition 13's limits?

Communities are being allowed to violate Proposition 13 with additional assessments of parcel taxes when property taxes have already been levied. That is, a property tax and a parcel tax are the same tax assessed twice.

A tax on a parcel of property above and beyond 1 percent of the purchase price is a violation of Proposition 13. Isn't it time we stopped this injustice?

Ellen Santiago
Azure Street

Little value in cutting home support services

Editor:

Right now, California's ability to pass a state budget has come down to only two or three major issues. One of these issues, the In Home Supportive Services Program (IHSS), is virtually unknown to most of us, but is critically important for 320,000 Californians, and 9,000 Santa Clara residents, who depend on IHSS every day.

In an effort to manage costs, Gov. Schwarzenegger has proposed eliminating in-home care for about 80,000 people, eliminating state funding for any health benefits to in-home care workers, and rolling back their wages to $6.75 per hour.

As if this wouldn't make it nearly impossible to find qualified home care workers, he would also like to eliminate registry services. Registries screen workers before helping to match them with a disabled IHSS consumer. Some, like in Santa Clara County, also provide urgent care in the event a worker has an emergency and is unavailable.

As parents of an 8-year-old son who has been quadriplegic since birth, my husband and I know firsthand all that it takes to care for someone with a disability. Our son was three months old when our first visit by a state-sponsored social worker began and ended with her offering to institutionalize him at full state expense.

We were horrified. By the senate's own estimate, IHSS is one-fifth as expensive as institutional care. Ask any people with disabilities, or their family members, and they will tell you they would far prefer to live at home. The decisive factor, of course, is adequate support to make this preference a realistic choice.

Disability can visit anyone at any time. Segregating persons with disabilities by not offering a choice to live in the community is also illegal (U.S. Supreme Court Olmstead decision). Leaders like state Assembly member Sally Lieber should be commended for looking ahead toward a public policy that will be prepared to face the coming age wave, and recognizes what 320,000 Californians already know ... there is no place like home.

Heidi Cartan
Director, IHSS Public Authority, Santa Clara County
View Street

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