Publication Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Letters
Letters
(March 23, 2005)
Defending Hopkins
Editor,
Upon reading the various articles chronicling the trial of Albert Hopkins, many of us who work with Albert at Henry M. Gunn High School are distraught at what we feel is a misrepresentation of his character in the Palo Alto Weekly. He has been presented as a suspicious and untrustworthy man.
But to know Albert on the Gunn campus is to know a dedicated, faithful, mild-mannered, soft-spoken gentleman. He has gone above and beyond his job description as coordinator of the Academic Center by staying well beyond work hours for those students who need extra time to study, research or finish a test.
He has spent extra hours coordinating tutors for students in need, whether it is finding a fellow student, teacher, parent or community volunteer. In addition, he has orchestrated a mentoring program between a Stanford University fraternity and students of color on the Gunn campus. He has also been a mentor himself to students through his work with the Black Student Union.
Adding to his advocacy for all students, regardless of background, Albert has many times over been a staff representative at Camp Anytown, a three-day student and staff retreat/workshop designed to break down gender, race, and socioeconomic class stereotypes. In his spare time, Albert has coached basketball in the community.
Because Albert can be seen everywhere on campus and in the community, students and staff alike have come to know and admire this man. Albert is the first person some students think of when they need someone to talk to. He is always there to lend an objective ear and let the kids know that he truly cares about them -- and he most definitely cares about them on a genuine level.
Many of our staff also feel Albert's generosity. He is often the first to join in on a personal celebration or the first to notice when something is amiss. One can always count on Albert for an encouraging word, a warm smile, and a bountiful spirit. In his personal life, he is a dedicated father who always speaks lovingly of his children. He is a man who has impacted many lives around him in a truly profound and positive way.
The following staff at Henry M. Gunn High School would like to show our support for Albert Hopkins and his family now and always:
Anne-Marie Balzano
Carole Biemer
Stacy Bissell
Josh Bloom
Kristi Bowers
Erik Bowman
Martha Cartwright
Ron Cooper
Sharon Cooper
Kimberley Cowell
Soni Culver
Dave Deggeller
Lynne Derrick-Navarro
Darlene Feldstein
Robin Francesconi
Kristy Garcia
Diane Gleason
Kristina Gossard
Paul Gralen
George Green
John Hebert
Kerstin Helbing
Peter Herreshoff
Yukie Hikida
Faith Hilal
Diane Ichikawa
Marc Igler
Terry Jacobs
Nik Kaestner
Dawna Linsdell
Alice McCraley
Claudia Medina
Angela Merchant
Deanna Messinger
Karen Oppenheim
Josh Paley
Daisy Renazco
Allison Rockwell
Jason Roberts
Kim Sabbag
Karen Salzer
Tom Saults
Chris Schulz
Jim Shelby
Jamie Shepard
Sonia Stroessner
Carole Stroud
Todd Summers
Isabel Tagle
Chris Waters
Lettie Weinmann
Tarn Wilson
Lisa Wu
El Palo Alto goals?
I applaud the stated aims of the new group, El Palo Alto.
However, by starting from the premise that any program they don't like -- for instance "the Junior Museum is glorified day care (Weekly Around Town March 16) -- is an example of waste, it appears that the focus of their research will be to confirm their opinions rather than inform them.
Julie Jerome
Greer Road, Palo Alto
Enron and Palo Alto
Editor,
Perhaps Palo Alto wouldn't be facing a budget deficit if it got some of us back the money Enron over-charged us so we could go spend some of it locally.
I recall my 2001 utilities bills were $8,500 more than usual and I'd dearly love to see some of it in my pocket and those of local merchants rather than Enron's and their traders who so gleefully ripped us off while the Valley lost 20 percent of its jobs.
Perhaps Palo Alto negotiators could take the lead in getting us back some of the money they stole while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and our governor do nothing to help us?
And on the general subject of deficits, perhaps if the city wasted less money on its ridiculous and expensive traffic studies, resulting in $80,000 traffic-calming flowerpots and $260,000 studies of 24-hour bicycle safety lanes, it wouldn't be in the hole.
Jo Ann Mandinach
Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
Bogus news
Editor,
Our democracy and unimpeded access to reliable TV network news has now been severely compromised by the advent of pre-packaged TV segments masquerading as real news on our local stations.
These "video news releases" (VNRs) have been prepared by public relations firms under contract with major federal agencies to put a positive spin on government policy decisions -- all paid for by our tax dollars.
A free and vigorous independent media is a critical component of a healthy democracy. It is appalling that the major TV networks are willing participants to this charade to mislead the American people.
At least 20 federal agencies, including the departments of transportation and the Pentagon have used VNRs to advance their agenda and blunt any opposition to their policies. These pervasive actions by the government must be vigorously opposed by the American people.
Failure to do so will be the death knell of a free, independent and reliable source of news. I urge readers to call their local TV stations and their elected representatives and demand a halt to this insidious, crude form of covert propaganda.
Jagjit Singh
Louis Court, Palo Alto
Congratulations
Editor,
Congratulations to Diana Diamond as she ascends to the executive editor's chair at the Daily News. However, I take issue with two points raised in her March 17 column. First, excusing the paper's occasional typos, bad grammar and spelling by citing the Daily News' small staff -- and how many papers it must put out -- is disingenuous.
Expanding the company's publishing empire without an adequate number of journalists was a deliberate management decision, nothing more and nothing less.
Second, the suggestion that the executive editor meet with citizens regularly for coffee is, though welcome, an inadequate route to responsiveness. Professional newspapers have ombudspersons whose job it is to resolve citizen complaints about errors, real or perceived. This would clearly be appropriate for the Daily News, especially given its reputation for slanted news stories and its knee-jerk disdain for public employees.
Some years ago, when there was only one Daily News, I was told by Dave Price (via e-mail) that it was a wee little paper that couldn't afford a luxury such as an ombudsperson. Yet at this time, the paper was hiring ad salespeople via help-wanted ads suggesting potential six-figure incomes.
This intense focus on advertising did its job, positioning the paper's founders to make a fortune by selling out to Knight Ridder. Nothing wrong with that; it's the American Way of doing business (and at least newspapers, bless 'em, can't be moved to assembly plants in Mexico or China).
Quality could, to paraphrase the old Ford commercials, have been job number one; it wasn't.
So here's a toast to the new regime: May the Daily Newses continue to be profitable, while at the same time morphing themselves into positive, professional community assets.
Jonathan Angel
Ashton Court. Palo Alto
Draconian cuts
Editor,
Republicans are pushing through the budget this week before critics and the media can point out huge program cuts and corporate giveaways.
The Republican budget explodes the deficit -- adding more than $400 billion to our national debt, when you include the extra money requested for the Iraq War. According to the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office, the deficit is due mostly to the gigantic tax-cut legislation and Iraq spending -- two things Congress and the president want to make worse, not better.
The Republican budget gives the wealthiest Americans permanent tax breaks, while cutting programs for the middle class and poor.
The Republican budget would make gigantic cuts in health care especially for Medicaid -- which are unconscionable. Medicaid principally serves two groups: senior citizens and the working poor. Most seniors in nursing homes count on Medicaid.
The Republican budget slashes education funding, especially funds for middle-class and low-income Americans. The budget leaves out the needed funding for No Child Left Behind and funds to help moderate-income Americans afford college. Pell Grants are dramatically hurt in the budget.
Please bring this information in the interest of democracy and truth to your readers. What is the point of having a newspaper if it doesn't preserve the very democracy that gives you your First Amendment rights? It is in your better interest.
Harry White
E. Weddell Drive, Sunnyvale
Baseball brouhaha
Editor,
I find it bemusing and inexplicable -- this great outrage over baseball and the use of steroids. Is all this really so important that the Congress must take part in it -- with so many serious problems besetting our great country?
How about the Enron situation: Ken Lay is still untouched and surely that cheating and lying had much more effect on people.
And then I think of Halliburton, Dick Cheyney's bailiwick, and the scandal of the overcharging of millions (billions?) of dollars, affecting our economy much more than the baseball situation.
Am I just thick, or is there really a difference in importance?
Tibby Simon
Oberlin Street, Palo Alto
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