I consider myself to be a reasonable adult and parent. I do not "hang my head in shame," as suggested that we Los Gatans should do, as stated in the July 23 letter from a Saratoga resident.

The young driver who killed Eric Quesada must live with the responsibility for his actions for the rest of his life. This life sentence, along with the one administered by the judge, is enough for any 16-year-old.

The tragedy is the very nightmare of all parents in all communities. The teen driver could have been the young son or daughter of any one of us. Parenting is a tough job.

Which juvenile offender are you talking about? Weren't they all juvenile offenders? They were drinking, and that is against the law for minors.

The shame I feel is that we are not equally recognizing the pain, the sorrow and the regret that most certainly is felt by the young driver and his family. I feel heartsick over the loss of any child, but let's show some compassion and encourage this teenager to go out and help other young people to make better decisions.

—Joanne Rodgers, Co-founder, CASA, Los Gatos


Too much negative feedback about teen's sentence

I have a lot of feelings about all the negative feedback on the sentencing for the youth responsible for Eric Quesada's death.

Yes, the accident was unfortunate, but all of the negative backlash to the person deemed responsible is ridiculous. I am in no way saying that drunken driving is excusable, but to target him so strongly is infuriating.

Why him? I recently attended The Doobie Brothers concert at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, and I witnessed car after car of drunk adults driving away from the show. Why are these example setters not to blame?

I, personally, have gone well above the average citizen in response to the accident. I am an executive member of Safe Rides and one of the student leaders in the Alive ... and Loving Life project. Therefore I feel that I am not out of place in commenting on the way I personally feel.

I'm upset over Eric, most definitely, but the most prominent feeling I have is disgust over the change in my friend's reputation, the boy deemed responsible. It is hypocritical to look down on him so harshly, and to pretend to not see other students, other adults, and possibly yourselves taking the same actions he did.

Every drunken driver is taking a chance by driving, and if they make it home safely, then they are very lucky. Unfortunately, my friend's luck ran out. Again, I am not standing up for his action, but I ask you to please not target him but rather attempt to stop future offenders.

—Kaiti Fink, Los Gatos


Many reasons brass store left town

I would like to respond to the article written by Linh Tat ("It's not business as usual in town," July 23 Los Gatos Weekly-Times). There had been a brass store downtown for almost a quarter of a century, and I took a lot of pride in my store and my employees.

As stated in the article, I left Los Gatos with a heavy heart because of the combination of the downturn in the economy, the high rents, the continuous "streetscape improvements," landlords unwilling to make concessions of any kind, and exactly the kind of attitude expressed by Mr. Arzie (the "crybaby concept").

Obviously not all landlords are that hardhearted or critical of their tenants' management style, as most have been able to weather the storm by whatever means. Maybe Mr. Arzie can find a "big box" retailer to take up the 7,600 square feet of empty space left in the heart of downtown.

As for downtown Campbell, it's a small and quaint city with very reasonable rents and landlords, and the streets are in great shape. I know the economy will turn around and we merchants will all be better off, financially and emotionally. The best to us all.

—Ted Romero, House of Brass, Campbell


Merchants should stop crying

In reference to the article in the July 23 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, "It's not business as usual in town," reading the article left me wondering if I will ever see the day when the Los Gatos downtown merchants will stop crying.

According to the article, several merchants place the blame for the business downturn, at least partly, on the town for allowing the street improvements to take place. Long before the street improvements began, the town council invited the merchants from Santa Cruz Avenue to view the plans and the construction schedule and at the same time voice any comments they had regarding the outcome of the project.

I have not analyzed how the council members spend their time at the public meetings, but it seems to me most of the time is spent on appeals from the planning commission and problems with the downtown, parking, traffic, street improvements, etc. These issues leave very little time to give consideration to the rest of Los Gatos. Let's face reality. Most retail businesses in downtown Los Gatos are geared to customers with money to burn, as we saw in the days gone by. If the merchants failed to save for a rainy day, well, tough luck.

—Egon Jensen, Los Gatos


Thanks for 'vital' CERT program

Thanks to the Chiala family (and others) for initiating the CERT program. A vital program, indeed! Thanks, also, to Lisa Toth and the Los Gatos Weekly-Times for keeping us informed.

—Joanne Hall, Los Gatos