It's very sad to see the end of the Los Gatos Shakespeare Festival. I'm sorry to say that my schedule this year only allowed me to attend a showing of one play, That Rascal Scapin . I say I'm sorry because Scapin was wonderful—definitely a step or two up from what is usually expected from a small theater group. I wish I could have seen their King Lear and Two Gentlemen of Verona .

Thanks to everyone for their continuing work to bring the festival to Los Gatos.

Marty Dart

Los Gatos

Logging forests
near Lexington
is a bad idea

We would like to support Ms. Freedom's letter of Aug. 3 ("Fear of logging is worse than fear of fire") opposing the San Jose Water Company's plan to have Big Creek Lumber log its property above Lexington Reservoir for the following reasons:

* The big 1985 fire did not start in the remote back country, but close to roads adjoining the reservoir, and probably due to human activity.

* Cutting new roads into the area in question will increase, not decrease the danger of fires. This could result from logging machines, chain saws and other equipment and later by providing easier access to the public, some of whom would not observe smoking restrictions.

* Erosion can follow forest fires, but it can also be caused by drainage from earth cuts, poorly maintained logging roads and failed culverts.

* The larger trees favored for harvest are the ones most responsible for natural reproduction, the most fire-resistant and those providing canopy overhead to shield the forest floor against drying out.

* The debris left behind from logging is highly combustible, the more so when canopy is removed and the ground is exposed to the sun.

The San Jose Water Company should be interested in preserving the forests of the Lexington watershed, as a natural sponge for water retention. Instead, they appear to emulate the U.S. Forest Service plans to invade wild areas for timber removal under the guise of fire suppression, but actually for the benefit of logging corporations. The public should know that the property in question is near to the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve of the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District, so the matter should be of interest to those enjoying the beauty of the area.

Bob Moncrieff

Monte Sereno

Death penalty
is not an issue
for town council

At the Aug. 1 Los Gatos Town Council meeting, Vice Mayor Diane McNutt and Councilman Steve Glickman requested that a discussion on the death penalty be put on a future council agenda. What I don't understand is, in this time of tight budgets (which include major reductions in the DARE and School Resource Programs from the police department, as well as laying off two existing town employees), where is the money coming from to pay for the staff time to prepare the council packets and then sit through a hearing which the council has absolutely no jurisdiction over?

If this hearing is held, will it be a precedent for holding hearings on other issues (i.e., gun control, abortion, war, animal rights) which it also has no jurisdiction over? Does the town charge "cost recovery fees" for hearings it has no jurisdiction over as it does for those it does have jurisdiction over (i.e., conditional-use permit and land use appeal hearings)?

It appears to me that the State Legislature is the proper body to be hearing death penalty issues, not the Los Gatos Town Council. I'd rather our tight local tax dollars be spent on local issues.

Paul A. Dubois

Los Gatos

Closing avenue
would offer a
fun night out

The impromptu closing of N. Santa Cruz Avenue to celebrate the early completion of the re-paving of the street could lead to a better, more significant event.

Closing N. Santa Cruz Avenue once a week would allow the people of Los Gatos to congregate with friends and neighbors and enjoy more intimately the main street of our town, and it would pay huge dividends for Los Gatos. It would increase business for the town as people would come to enjoy this unique atmosphere. It would also heighten our sense of community, create even more of a great small town environment and would attract people from other neighboring communities to support our local restaurants, stores and shops.

I went to college in San Luis Obispo and every Thursday night, from about 4 to 9 p.m., they closed off the main drag through town. It was absolutely one of the highlights of living there. It was the place to go and hang out, eat dinner, stroll leisurely up and down the street, meet with friends and essentially have a great time.

Local farmers would come from all over the Central Valley and sell their fine, locally grown produce, flowers, etc; the local restaurants would haul huge BBQs out onto the street to create their BBQ masterpieces; other restaurants would put out tables and serve dinner; and local bands would play. Families with children in tow from all over town would come down to eat outdoors, buy local produce, listen to bands, enjoy an awesome experience and call it a night—all of this in a safe, friendly environment while walking (not driving) up and down the main street.

On Thursday nights in San Luis Obispo, downtown was simply where you, and everyone else in town, wanted to be. It didn't matter if you were 2 or 92 years old, the experience was great. We could have the same wonderful experience in our town. To miss out on this fantastic opportunity would be a shame. As the Nike ads say—"Just do it!"

Jere Hench

Los Gatos

Clarifying stance
on skatepark
in Los Gatos

Regarding JoAnne Peth's July 20 letter ("Many have spent time to create new skatepark")—my point about younger kids outgrowing skateboarding was not implying that in a couple years there will be no more kids using the skatepark. I hope you will give me a little more credit than that. Obviously kids will begin skating just as other kids are giving it up. My point was that maybe they shouldn't be the primary (and possibly only) beneficiaries of the new park, since skating may not be as important to them as it is to older skaters.

However, that is debatable, and I'm sure there are plenty of cases where a 14-year-old skater lives for skating more so than a 20-year-old skater does, and then when you factor in the fact that the 20-year-old can drive to skateparks in nearby cities, there is a good case for having the local kids' interests be the main focus in determining the new park's operation.

It just bothers me that one of Northern California's most expensive skateparks is being built a mile from my house and will be completely useless to me half of the year simply because I work a full-time job, when it could very easily have made my life much more pleasant. Since there does not seem to be much hope in getting the park to remain open from dawn 'til dusk, I'm forced to suggest lowering the cost, or at least not using state-provided funding to build it.

All the related articles and letters I have read say it will cost near $1 million, including one stating a more precise figure of $946,000. Even the "official" site at http://www.losgatosca.gov/skatepark says the total cost is close to $1 million.

I never suggested the current design was poor. The layout sketch actually looks somewhat promising. This is irrelevant. Skateparks are usually built with the intent of maximizing their usage. With this in mind, I would never advocate a modular park like Campbell's. Those places make a square wheel look like a good idea. However, a park that is closed more than half of the day does not seem like it's meant for anything more than providing the local kids with a place to skate after school.

With that in mind, a modular park begins to look like a feasible solution, and a legit concrete park looks like a waste of money, especially when that money is coming from a source that is shared with other towns and cities, all of which have the potential to build a facility that would more greatly benefit the skating community.

We will just have to agree to disagree about a park with time limitations somehow better serving the interests of the local residents and retailers (who are all well beyond the distance that any park-produced noise could travel) than a park that is open all day.

Brent Pearson

Los Gatos