The West Valley­Mission College Board of Trustees hired a new president for West Valley College for $141,290 base pay plus $6,000 travel plus $18,000 housing allowance. The $18,000 housing allowance for the new president triggered an additional $18,000 for the chancellor, vice chancellor and president of Mission College to the tune of $72,000 just for housing.

This is the same district that has cut supply budgets from academic departments so that faculty cannot afford basic materials such as printed syllabi, chalk or Xerox paper, the same district that has warned of layoffs and fiscal crisis. While the four top administrators enjoy an increase to their pay, students scramble to get limited sections of core classes, employees continue to fear for their jobs and faculty work more for less.

A trustee's reply to public comment on the decision was "let's move on." At the same meeting, another trustee proposed that the board subsidize candidate-filing fees for the November board election because they had become so expensive.

On July 15, that same board has on its agenda a proposal to restore 3.62 percent of lost wages to executives and managers (from the alleged fiscal crisis of 2003­04) but no mention of restoring lost wages to the classified staff or restoring lost benefits to the faculty or restoring classroom supplies or restoring cut classes.

There are fundamental questions here about priorities. And politics. And people. This coming election will answer what the voters have to say. Stay tuned.

Pat Andrews

Instructor, West Valley College

Less is more
when applying
chemicals

In the May 26 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, Broderick Perkins raises some concerns about "pesticides" applied to residential landscaping and gardens. I share his prudent approach to gardening and do not apply chemicals to my yard.

My wife and I are delighted by the birds and squirrels who use our lawn and patio for morning and evening meals of bugs and seeds.

However, his article had the expression "deadly toxic danger" in reference to DDT. No reputable document I am aware of characterizes this chemical in such harsh terms. In fact, it is considered to be one of the most benign and effective controls for mosquitoes that carry malaria. It has low acute human toxicity, and a reference to the most recent update on the International Agency for Research on Cancer [a part of the World Health Organization] website states that: "There is inadequate evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of DDT"—after many scientific studies and a massive epidemiological data set. The issue of damage to the reproduction of raptors is certainly of concern but is much too complex to air in this short letter.

We are fortunate to live in one of the most affluent and technically sophisticated areas of the world. Yet, we are exposed almost daily to conclusions based on half-truths or even junk science. For example, Mr. Perkins will learn that his compost pile is likely generating minute quantities of dioxins—naturally.

Mr. Perkins should take advantage of local scientific learning, and, as a minimum, read the excellent book Naturally Dangerous by James P. Collman. Collman is a professor of chemistry at Stanford University and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, among other honors to his scholarship.

Mr. Perkins can borrow my copy of the book if he will read it and he doesn't underline. It is a fascinating discussion of our chemically based existence—both natural and manmade. Nearly every page is a revelation, even for those who think they are well-read about environmental matters.

Ed Johnson

Sunnyvale

Copper—the
misunderstood
building material

Jean Newton's April 7 article on Dave Flick and "green building" shows the depth of concern and commitment by many of the nation's best homebuilders and the attitudes of a growing number of homebuyers to use durable, natural building materials such as copper.

Unfortunately, Cheri Donnelly and Kathy Ottenberg's April 28 letter to the editor concerning this article misunderstands the nature of copper in aquatic environments. Copper (like calcium, iron and sodium) can be toxic in excessively high concentrations; however, it is also essential for sustaining life.

After extensive study, the South San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board has determined copper poses no threat to bay life and should be removed from its earlier list of problem contaminants. The board found that environmental factors in the bay bind and detoxify copper in the bay emanating from all combined sources, including architectural copper, thus rendering the copper harmless to the bay's aquatic life.

Unlike mercury and some organic contaminants, U.S. EPA fish consumption advisories cite no water bodies in any state having any problem with copper moving up the human food chain. Presently, Santa Clara communities discourage the use of architectural copper based on the prudent intent "to maintain current water quality and protect beneficial uses in the South Bay." In that spirit, the Copper Development Association suggests that, before any copper building product is dismissed and/or replaced, a proper consideration of all environmental concerns is warranted. Each alternative material has inherent risks and benefits.

If used responsibly, copper is safe. Let's not repeat the errors that brought us the MTBE gasoline additive to improve air quality and resulted in contamination of our groundwater drinking supplies. Copper is the most recycled and recyclable of building materials. It's natural, it's beautiful, it's maintenance-free, it can perform for a lifetime, and it's frequently the best choice environmentally.

Andrew G. Kireta Sr.

President & CEO

Copper Development Association

New York

Set the record straight over letter's content

I would like to set the record straight with Belinda Heerwagen's comments on my "Finding it difficult to be patriotic over this war" letter. Ms. Heerwagen states, "You obviously have super-secret information that the rest of us are not privy to because you so factually state that there is no Al Qaida in Iraq. Can I read your report? Can I speak to your resource? I'm fascinated."

Well, I'm fascinated, too, since I never said that. My letter states, "What do liberals have to do with the fact that our self-proclaimed war president decided to attack and occupy a country [Iraq] that had nothing to do with 9-11." This is not an opinion but a known fact.

Nowhere in my letter do I state "that there is no Al Qaida in Iraq" even though there hasn't been any evidence linking Al Qaida with Saddam Hussein. I find it rather insulting, and ironic, that someone goes through all the trouble of questioning facts when they can't even get them straight themselves.

James Diaz

San Jose

There was misinformation in the obituary for Mary C. Boysen in the June 30 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. Boysen, a local artist, was 80 years old and lived in Los Gatos for 28 years.