Los Gatos Weekly-Times
Letters & Opinions
Letters
Five Spot was not in the Double D's spot
I loved the "True Love" article by Emilie Doolittle (Feb. 14); however, the famous Five Spot was at the site of the current Washington Mutual Bank and Double D's in that vintage was known as the Live Oak Inn.
Shirley Cantu
Los Gatos
More shoppers need to stop by Happy Dragon
I think more shoppers in Los Gatos and beyond are missing out on tremendous bargains, and I am here to rectify that situation. I work as a volunteer at the Happy Dragon Thrift Shop here in Los Gatos on Main Street (two doors down from the museum). What a fun place to volunteer!
The shop is owned and run by a private nonprofit called Eastfield Ming Quong. EMQ is a mental health care resource helping troubled children and families live fuller, happier lives. Minus operating expenses, all sales go toward this end.
The Happy Dragon Thrift Shop is chock-full of treasures. Many of our shoppers are collectors and they find dolls, china, crystal, jewelry and kitchen utensils that were owned and used by their ancestors. Many of our customers purchase all their children's clothing there. The prices are ridiculously cheap and the merchandise is endless, good quality and very special. And the truly fun part is that the inventory changes daily, even hourly. Donations come from businesses and private citizens alike.
You must drop by and spend some time and money in the shop. You won't regret it, and you will have wished you discovered Happy Dragon years ago. I did!
Judi Coffman
Los Gatos
Section of creek trail needs more attention
For more than a year now I've been walking Los Gatos Creek Trail from Main Street up to Lexington. I walk on different days at different times. I walk St Joseph's Hill and frequently see a Mid-Peninsula ranger; I walk Los Gatos Creek Trail from Lark to Camden and frequently seen a county ranger. Not once, not ever, have I seen a Los Gatos park ranger, park employee or Los Gatos park volunteer on their segment of the trail.
I've come to the conclusion that Los Gatos has no interest in maintaining the trail. They are happy with the trail as is--a filthy, dog poop- and garbage-laden path. I've written to each member, talked to Kevin Rohani, interim park director, and absolutely no action has been taken. As long as tourists come to Los Gatos and spend money, they believe they are doing their job.
Their leadership in protecting our environment is a travesty.
Marty Katz
Los Gatos
Dr. Dooley led Rotary Fisher House project
Thank you for your ongoing support and coverage of the Los Gatos Rotary Clubs. We truly appreciate your recent acknowledgement of the contribution of $10,000 for the Fisher House and Poly Trauma Unit of the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital in the briefs section of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. However, on behalf of the Los Gatos Morning Rotary and the Los Gatos Rotary, we would like to clarify the record for this project.
The Fisher House Project was started by Los Gatos Rotary Club member Dr. John Dooley. Dr. Dooley presented a project to raise $50,000 to cover the cost of furnishing the then-proposed Fisher House. The Los Gatos Rotary Club accepted this project, and Dr. Dooley was successful in raising the required $50,000.
Dr. Dooley and a contingent of members from the Los Gatos Rotary Club attended the grand opening to view the Fisher House and see the fruition of this project. In 2007, Dr. Dooley died knowing that he had accomplished his dream. Since then the Los Gatos Rotary Club has continued the support of the Fisher House and added another dimension of the project by taking on the Poly Trauma Unit (treatment and rehabilitation for traumatic brain injuries) for injured veterans returning from their tours of duty all over the world. Mike Frangadakis and all the members of the Los Gatos Rotary Club raised more than $6,000 of the money for the Christmas wish list in 2007.
In 2007, the Los Gatos Morning Rotary joined in to support Fisher House through its "Day at the A's" participation for injured vets, and this past Christmas, the Morning Rotary raised $1,200 and donated many books, gifts, gift cards, candy, toys and food to the Fisher House.
The Fisher House and the Poly Trauma Unit at the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital is a joint effort between the two Los Gatos Rotary clubs, and we will continue this joint effort to support the brain-injured veterans and their families at the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital. Our goal is to assist our community in the spirit of cooperation and we welcome the public to join us at any time.
To find out about the Fisher House, visit www.fisherhousepa.gov and/ or www.lgmorningrotaryclub.org .
Tim Lundell
Dom Norcia
Los Gatos
Tim Lundell is the president of Los Gatos Morning Rotary, and Dom Norcia is the president of the Los Gatos Rotary.
Clearing up some misperceptions about skatepark
The election is over, but some of the perceptions raised during the election need to be corrected.
One recent letter to the Los Gatos Weekly-Times ("Concern over crime increase at skatepark," by Kendra Burch on Feb. 5) implied that a skatepark would result in increased crime, drunkenness and vagrancy in Los Gatos based on her looking at the Sunnyvale and Scotts Valley police reports.
The Sunnyvale skatepark is just a small part of a much larger park. The vagrants that hang out there aren't skaters, and they actually spend their time in the bleachers at the baseball field. Once Los Gatos builds a skatepark, the two bums in Los Gatos aren't going to start calling their friends to hang out at Miles Avenue.
Scott Valley is different. The police there drive by the skatepark multiple times a day as part of their normal rounds in the community. The numbers quoted were not actual incidents of criminal activity.
If the concern is drunkenness, you will certainly see more drunks on one Friday night on N. Santa Cruz Avenue, any summer outdoor concert or high school football game than you will in a year at a skatepark.
What I learned most in the past election is you can't always believe what you read. Instead, take a five-minute drive to the Campbell skatepark and see for yourself. You will see kids having fun and that it is healthy for a community to provide a diverse set of outdoor activities for its families.
Tom Calderwood
Los Gatos