I have apologized to Mr. Korb for misquoting him and said I would inform your paper.

—Mark Medalie, Los Gatos


Skatepark meeting a 'big joke'

Hope that you attended the meeting—it was certainly a big joke. Not one person (out of 40-plus) spoke in favor of the proposal! Wonder what the Los Gatos city fathers are smoking to be that far out in their decision and planning process.

Same applies to the writer of the editorial about the skatepark in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. The writer similarly was not in touch with the people!

Shame on the writer. Some polling of the affected people (skaters, neighbors and tennis players) would produce better input than an irresponsible "opinion" in the papers.

—Don Schmidek, Monte Sereno


Inclusion versus exclusion

Over the last few months, since school let out last summer, Los Gatos High School seniors have been recognized in this newspaper for their achievements: the awards they won, the universities they will be attending and so on. This is goodness; it's important that we recognize the achievements of the students in our community.

My son gave the commencement address at graduation. He was one of only two students to speak at the graduation ceremonies. His speech was great (yes, I am biased, but friends, neighbors and strangers all told me this, so it must be true). My neighbor's son received numerous awards (the Outstanding Senior Project award, the Industrial Technology Award, the President's Education Award, the Achievement Award for Drama), and was accepted into Cal Poly. Neither of these students was recognized by your newspaper, nor were any other Los Gatos high school students from their school. Why not? Because you only included students from Los Gatos High School! This is not the first time this has happened; it is a chronic problem.

All of our students deserve recognition for their achievements, honors and contributions to the community, regardless of what high school they attend. But this, our local paper, rarely highlights the achievements of students who do not attend Los Gatos High School—students like my son and my neighbor's son.

Los Gatos is a small but diverse town. Our diversity includes our ethnic backgrounds, the neighborhoods we live in, the schools our children attend, the activities we participate in, the organizations we belong to and much, much more. As individuals, we tend toward inclusion. But sometimes—inadvertently perhaps—we exclude parts of our town. For example, there is not a single town council member who lives outside the Los Gatos school districts; perhaps they are not aware when they vote to spend money on the Los Gatos schools, or programs for the schools, that they are funding programs that are not always open to all Los Gatans?

Perhaps when local organizations, like the Lions or Rotary, offer scholarships and programs for Los Gatos high school students, they do not realize that not all Los Gatos high school students attend Los Gatos High School? And yet, when their scholarships are limited to those who do attend Los Gatos High School, they are excluding a large part of the Los Gatos community.

It is important that we be inclusive of everyone in the community, not just a segment. This includes ensuring that the community offers its services, recognition, support and financial assistance to the entire community, not just certain parts. In other words, when this paper chooses to recognize the achievements of Los Gatos high school students, be sure that you recognize the achievements of all high school students living in Los Gatos. When you decide to feature our wonderful but distinct neighborhoods, be sure that you include all our neighborhoods.

When making decisions that affect the community of Los Gatos, the town council must include (and represent!) the entire community of Los Gatos, not just where the council members live. In the same way, this paper must cover the entire community of Los Gatos, not just those that are within the Los Gatos school districts.

Yes, it takes a bit more effort to find out from other high schools what plays they are putting on, and to reach out to students in those other schools so that you know of their achievements, but it must be done if you truly are a community newspaper.

We are a community; let's be sure that we are an inclusive community.

—Debbi Behrman, Los Gatos


Shopper is angry over parking ticket

On Oct. 5, I met a girlfriend in Los Gatos for a day of lunch and shopping. I parked in the lot behind the Los Gatos Brewing Company. We had lunch at the Brewing Company, then spent several hours shopping (spending several hundred dollars each). After shopping, we returned to the Los Gatos Brewing Company for a quick beverage before separating to return to our cars. I was parked in the lot for a total of about four hours. Can you imagine my surprise when I found that I had received a $35 parking citation? There was no sign near my car, or at the entrance to the parking lot, stating that there was any time limit.

I don't think the ticket is fair, and I can't imagine that the Los Gatos downtown merchants endorse a time limited parking policy. If I'm forced to pay the $35, I will not be returning to Los Gatos for any future shopping expeditions.

—Linda Racing, El Granada


Skatepark should be at Fisher

It was with keen interest that we read about the reactions to the skateboard park. We agree with the citizens that turning the tennis courts into a skatepark is a very bad idea.

All along we thought that the park should be located at Fisher Middle School on that huge space. (DeCinzo's cartoon was right on the funny button!)

The question we have is, why don't we see skateboarders running a car wash, selling cookies, doing yard work, etc., to raise their own funds to put in their park? Their attitude seems to be, "What are you going to do for me?"

—Harry and June Fromm, Monte Sereno


Saratoga council is at it again

The Saratoga City Council is at it again! A recent correspondence, signed by Mayor Nick Streit and Councilwoman Ann Waltonsmith on behalf of most of the council, was forwarded to all city council members in the West Valley­Mission Community College District. The letter asks support for three candidates endorsed by most of the Saratoga City Council in the upcoming board of trustees election.

Not only does it ask for the support of these candidates, but states, "If for any reason you cannot endorse these three candidates, we would ask that you do not endorse anyone in this race." How outrageous can you get?

Residents of Saratoga should be embarrassed by the actions of these elected council members who want to play kingmaker. Our council should begin negotiating in good faith with the West Valley­Mission Community College District Board of Trustees to resolve issues rather than create new issues.

I know Jack Lucas, and he is eminently qualified to be a college trustee. As a past board member of the Los Gatos­Saratoga Joint Union High School District, I worked with him for many years.

He has stated he opposes a stadium at West Valley College, and I resent council members presenting his position incorrectly. Let him speak for himself!

—Maxine McGinnis, Saratoga


Opposing stadium, but not seating

As a candidate for the governing board of the West Valley­Mission Community College District, I was invited to participate in the League of Women Voters candidates' forum, held last week.

At the time, I stated unequivocally, I am opposed to the building of a "stadium" at West Valley College. My opposition is based on two conditions:

1—A "stadium" constructed at the location of the current playing field would impinge upon and destroy the character of the neighborhood and community.

2—A "stadium" designed for large-scale public attendance would violate the use permit granted to the college by the city of Saratoga on Jan. 9, 1967.

This opposition does not preclude my willingness to study the possibility of installing permanent seating on a side of the current playing field. If engineering studies show that low-profile permanent seating, accommodating a limited number of spectators, is feasible, I would support this proposal. This is based on two major criteria.

1—Permanent seating "carved" into the bank of the playing field significantly increases the safety of and decreases the risk of accidents that spectators now experience.

2—Permanent seating will allow students, parents and the community to enjoy athletic events and other activities in comfort and safety.

As a high school educator, I am a strong supporter of a school's cocurricular programs. Cocurricular activities enrich a student's total educational experience and prepare that person in achieving personal goals.

—Jack Lucas, Monte Sereno


Schwartz writes to answer critic

I was not surprised by Karin Dowdy's thinly veiled diatribe against me that masqueraded as a discussion of the football stadium at West Valley College (Saratoga News, Oct. 2). After all, I am running for reelection to the West Valley­Mission Community College Governing Board and Ms. Dowdy supports one of my opponents. However, her letter is substantially inaccurate and misleading and there is a need to set the record straight.

The track and practice field at West Valley is not "a regular field surrounded by a running track." It was designed and excavated as the base for a 25,000-seat stadium. It is not true that people must bring lawn chairs to track meets and football games. The college provides hundreds of its own folding chairs. Those chairs are set up on a flat area at the top of the embankment. There is no need to sit on the edge of anything. As far as a "promising young person slipping on the loose rocks, resulting in death or severe injury," I am sorry reality must intrude on Ms. Dowdy's sense of the dramatic, but there are no loose rocks. (Also, wouldn't we be concerned even if a young person were injured who was not "promising"?)

Some of Ms. Dowdy's charges are quite strange. My family and I have lived next to the college for 27 years. We have never shut down the college's perimeter road, nor have we ever made such a request. I have never tried to stop cheerleaders from writing the scores of football games on paper, as Ms. Dowdy suggests (but, of course, I have never tried to stop student government leaders from using the water fountains on campus either).

Had Ms. Dowdy followed this issue, she would know that the college's neighbors have twice formally proposed seating at the facility and, on both occasions, the district rejected those proposals.

Perhaps Ms. Dowdy did not read that the California Supreme Court ruled that West Valley College may not develop that site and is bound by the contractual obligations that it entered into with the city of Saratoga in 1967 and then again in 1979. The college district has spent more than $500,000 dollars in legal fees trying unsuccessfully to break those agreements, and has cost the city of Saratoga more than $250,000 dollars in the process.

Ms. Dowdy also may be unaware that the city, the college district and the neighborhoods surrounding the college, have been meeting for the last several months trying to find a permanent resolution to this 35-year conflict. I am one of two individuals who initiated these meetings. I hope they are successful so that our district can focus on educational matters and on restoring trust within the communities we serve.

—Jeffery A. Schwartz, trustee, West Valley-Mission Community College District Governing Board


Board spends thousands on legal fees

It is time for the current West Valley­Mission Community College District (WVMCCD) Board of Trustees to quit spending our tax money on legal fees! The California Appellate and Supreme courts have declared it illegal to build a stadium on the West Valley College campus. In spite of that, the board majority has and continues to spend hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars on lobbying and legal fees to get a stadium at WVC.

In spite of the legal decision, on the college's behalf, Elaine Alquist is sponsoring AB 3046; that bill, if passed, will circumvent the law and allow WVC to construct a stadium.

Even the new chancellor of West Valley­Mission College has stated that Mission College is the best location for a stadium, if one is ever built; Mission College has the space and the easy access. Chancellor [Stan] Arterberry rightly wants to focus on improving education and fiscal responsibility.

But the majority of the current WVMCCD board isn't willing to obey the law, nor support its new chancellor. It is time to elect board members that support the new chancellor's goals.

—Marcia Fariss, Saratoga