In the grand scheme of planning for the town of Los Gatos, some zealots want to reshape Winchester to a quiet village lane. This is highly improbable as it is a main access route into the downtown shopping district. With local merchants losing customers to Santana Row and now with the construction of the new homes near Courtside and the Sobrato development at Knowles, the Chamber of Commerce has to be screaming to the planners and town council to make sure those new town residents have easy access to the downtown area.

So, we need to think out-of-the-box to serve both the merchants and those seeking to make Winchester a quaint village lane.

Hey, let's satisfy everyone and build a tunnel from Winchester/Lark to Winchester/Blossom Hill. San Francisco has its Broadway tunnel and taxpayers just spent over $15 billion for Boston's Big Dig, so why not secure state/federal funds and all of the jobs for the community with a tunnel project? We could even include the light-rail planning into this project. It would satisfy the Brodsky/Jensen village-lane zealots, calm the merchants' anxiety that they will lose customers, help the local job market for at least seven years (after a multiyear planning project which could also cost many millions), and we all win.

And in the end, there might even be enough of an increase in sales tax revenues that Los Gatos could shut down its latest revenue scam—parking tickets to unsuspecting visitors wanting to enjoy the quaint village ambiance.

Time to make the planners earn their keep. Come on Los Gatos­Monte Sereno, get behind a really creative solution.

Bill Ferguson

Monte Sereno

Peacocks are a
big part of the
town's charm

Anyone interested in why/how the peacocks were selective enough to choose Los Gatos for their home (Los Gatos Weekly-Times, Sept. 1), ask the right people—me, plus hundreds of other Los Gatos natives who know where they came from and who offered safe haven.

When I first came to Los Gatos in 1982, they had long been there. I had the good fortune to move in within talking/walking of these aristocratic birds and made their acquaintance very early one morning. Swinging around the corner and there one handsome old man stood in the glory of his plumage, and he stood his ground until I moved. The beginning of an interesting, "God, they are beautiful creatures friendship."

Had you asked the right people, you would have learned that Mr. and Mrs. Frank Treseder were the first and lasting home of peacocks that had been involved in a major accident on Highway 17. The birds, thrown out of their transporting truck, had the good sense to run up the hill to their new home at the Treseders', whose home remarkably enough backs on to Pine.

They lived there happily ever more until a number of years ago when peacock terrorists struck, kidnapped and butchered many—later found stuffed dead, badly butchered in a rubbish can.

Thankfully, a few of the old boys survived, then an esthetically enhancing neighbor bought some peahens and once again Pine regained some of its class and historical significance of Los Gatos. Everyone has known Pine as Peacock Lane. All were happy and all lived together in harmony—some enjoying their beauty and idiosyncrasies—until the complainers.

Complainers will always be complainers, regardless of the neighborhood in which live. They will complain if the postman doesn't put mail where they want it, they will complain if streetlights are too bright or not light enough, or if some poor child forgot his bicycle once when hurrying home they will complain.

Buying property is fun and exciting, but don't blame the neighbors because you don't fit in.

K.C. Evans

Los Gatos

College bond is
the right tax at
the right time

In response to the letter from Aaron Katz (Sept. 1), "College bond the wrong tax at the wrong time," I submit that there has never been a better time for Measure H, the West Valley­Mission Community College District Repair/Job Training measure. Most of the buildings at West Valley College are more than 30 years old and have not been updated during these three decades.

It will be less expensive to upgrade and renovate community college buildings now than in the future. Residents of the district deserve a community college with modern laboratories, safe buildings and equipment to train students for workforce needs in healthcare, law enforcement and firefighting.

As Lisa Toth pointed out in her Aug. 4 article, "A time to bond," the maintenance crews have worked hard to repair leaking roofs, keep ancient ventilation systems working and laboratories open, but there is only so much they can do with duct tape.

When the district tried to pass a bond measure two years ago, it failed, primarily due to the controversy over proposed improvements to the athletic facility and the large amount requested. The district listened to the voters and has reached an agreement with the city and the homeowner's groups to avoid any improvements to the football and track field for 30 years. Now some of the same people who opposed the bond last time have approached me and offered to work on the campaign. The board of trustees also lowered the bond request to $235 million to be divided between West Valley, Mission and the district. This amount will not fund all repairs, but it will help pay for critical needs.

The investment cost in the West Valley­Mission Community College District would be $14 per $100,000 of assessed property value. Mr. Katz said the bond impacts seniors the most and the opposite is true. The majority of elderly residents have owned their homes for a long time and, due to Proposition 13, their assessed property value will be much lower than new homeowners'.

Mr. Katz says it would be more honest for the district to have a parcel tax rather than a bond measure. Actually the opposite is true. West Valley and Mission College need funding to repair buildings and bond measures are specifically set up to fund facilities and only facilities. Parcel taxes, on the other hand, can pay for salaries and needs other than renovations.

Another concern expressed by Mr. Katz was the student body. Non-California residents have to pay out of state tuition, but the law in California states that residents can attend any community college in the state. Previously, homeowner taxes directly funded community colleges in the county, but the state now collects all property taxes and distributes them accordingly. Community college fees, which were just increased to $26 a semester unit, are also determined by the state.

Although Mr. Katz is correct in stating that the state has passed a bond measure, there is a long list of facility needs among the 109 community colleges for this limited funding and the state expects community college districts to obtain renovation money from local bond measures. He also criticized the fact that tenants are able to vote, but the district cannot change the fact that in America all citizens 18 years and older have the right to vote.

The issue is not education; it is defining who determines who pays what, writes Mr. Katz. Both issues are important in my view. Many firefighters, healthcare professionals, law enforcement professionals, and teachers get their start at West Valley and Mission community colleges. Saratoga deserves a college that provides low-cost workforce training and prepares students to transfer to a university, not to mention a beautiful walking campus with working lights and sidewalks without potholes. As for who pays for these services, WVMCCD has never passed a bond measure, unlike the Foothill­De Anza College District and the San Jose­Evergreen College District.

This bond will safeguard taxpayer money with annual audits, required by law, and an oversight committee consisting of citizens from various parts of the community who will ensure that we spend our funds wisely on the facilities and equipment needs outlined by our facilities master plan.

Alan Aerts

Monte Sereno

Alan Aerts is a member of the West Valley­Mission Community College District Advancement Foundation board.