Letters to the Editor

Outrageous article

Editor,

I am outraged by both the tone and the content of the Ananda article you published in the Feb. 28 Palo Alto Weekly. I took the time to go through and color code the whole article, just to see if it was as bad as it appeared on its first reading. What I found was that it was even worse! Ninety percent of the article was based on the absurd allegations made by a very small group of dissidents about the lack of celibacy of our founder 15 to 20 years ago. Fifty-four percent was their point of view, and 26 percent more was supposedly our point of view, but twisted by your reporter to appear to be supporting their viewpoint.

I strongly resent the way you tried to make us look like a bunch of mindless fools hypnotized by our founder's "trademark smooth and soft voice." If you had even talked to a handful of us you would have seen the absurdity of your article. You would be hard pressed to find a more centered, articulate and sincere group. In fact all you would have to do is talk to the people who do business with us, go to our book stores or put their children in our school. Your reporter did not want to know the truth. He wanted to exploit us and destroy us.

You have done Ananda a major injustice with this article. I would like to hope it's only one reporter gone astray. But it is your duty to your Palo Alto public to repair this damage. Ananda has an incredible story to tell, but instead of exploitation it's one of kindness creativity and uplift. We have 200 members plus several thousand who attend church services and take classes at different times. There are thousands more who are our customers our colleagues, the parents of our school children. We all live and work in this Peninsula area. You are slandering all of us with this kind of reporting.

Excellent journalism

Editor,

It is rare to read an article about a highly charged issue without the writer taking sides, no matter how subtly. I read such an article today. It was about the Ananda Community in Palo Alto, written by Erik Espe (Weekly, Feb. 28). He laid out the facts as he knew them, slipped in no derogatory innuendos toward either side, with the result that the information was undistorted and clear. What a gift.

I joined Ananda in 1972 and left them in 1981. I have not been with Ananda for 15 years, but I know the spirit that pervades everything they stand for: selfless service. Like you and I, they are human with all attendant frailties and strengths. They don't pretend to be anything else. Kriyananda is no exception. Although his personality does not inspire me, his method of leadership does. He allows people to grow at their own pace, guiding them if they ask, yet never judging or criticizing. The quality I find most outstanding about him is that he does not care what others know about him, nor does he care what they think. The scandal you mentioned may be true, but given how memory distorts, it seems most unlikely. I have known his accusers for many years as well, and when they mentioned Kriyananda's "closet," I had to laugh. I know what's in their closets! I also know they are intimately connected with Self Realization Fellowship, the organization that is out to destroy Kriyananda and Ananda. Is there a connection? That's not up to me to decide. You could say that this is the innuendo that Erik did not include.

Excellent journalism!

Give us better

Editor,

The Weekly of Feb. 28th had a cover and following story on Ananda, the religious community now present on El Camino Real.

I for one was interested in reading about this group and was highly disappointed in Mr. Espe's long commentary on the sexual allegations within Ananda. I had hoped Mr. Espe would tell us something about the group, such as what are their beliefs, their creed, their activities, etc.

All we got was a lot of data about the lawsuits and the negative information about the leader Kriyananda.

Thousands of people wouldn't follow the path of Ananda if this was all there was to it. I hope there will be a follow up article that will give us neighbors of Ananda an idea of what their practices are all about, how Ananda can help one in life.

Please consider this, as such a prominent neighbor in our midst deserves better than this smear story that may or may not be true. If the allegations are true, the courts will decide. We do not need to have your fine paper become another pulp scandal sheet like so many at the grocery checkout stands.

Move cautiously

Editor,

I am glad that "Technology excites Council" (Weekly, Feb. 28). A city-owned fiber optic system would be a "grand vision" indeed.

˙However, the idea of working with Cable Co-op on such a project should be much less exciting. In just a decade they have transformed another "grand vision" into a $37 million debt. They are not the ideal partner for such a financially risky undertaking.

˙Also there is the question of priorities. Twelve million to build such a system is a great deal of money. Technology is changing so rapidly that anything built now will soon be obsolete. Should not the city move more cautiously, in order to assure first class delivery of its more essential functions? Fiber optic communications does not yet meet that status.

Expectation vs. reality

Editor,

Like many residents of Palo Alto, we were excited when we heard about the single-family homes that were being planned on Everett Avenue between Ramona and Emerson streets. The Palo Alto Weekly initially ran the story on Oct. 19, 1994, and in that article, Palo Alto City Council members were quoted as saying this would be an opportunity to give young families an alternative to more expensive housing options in Palo Alto. The projected selling prices were said to be between $325,000 and $425,000.

We immediately got on the waiting list for information. As the homes were being built, we walked past them regularly, and noticed on a sign on the site that the houses were now "starting at $370,000." It still seemed reasonable, and we were happy to see the project progressing.

A few weeks before the first units were going to be shown to the public, we received information from a Realtor that the houses would actually be sold using the "Dutch Auction system," with bids to be accepted over a one-week period. Suddenly an escalation of prices was possible, and because early bids would take priority in the event of equal bids, it smelled like a possible feeding frenzy.

However, we still faithfully showed up bright and early on Saturday morning. The houses were very nice and many people were interested. Unfortunately, the minimum bids for the units were set quite high--$399,000 for two corner lots, scaling to $490,000, $540,000 and $625,000 for the others. This was far beyond giving young families an alternative to expensive housing options in Palo Alto!

We were further disheartened when we found that six of the units--one third of them--had already been sold to insiders before the units were shown to the public on Saturday. Not only would this drive demand up for the remaining units, but it hardly seemed fair to those of us who would have to bid and then wait.

We understand that we are living in a capitalistic society, and certainly don't wish to waste your time with a "sour grapes" letter. We also understand that the developers and Realtors, in the end, have the power to do as they wish with the land and their houses. And would anything have changed a year and a half ago had Council known how this would play out? Probably not.

However, we would encourage Council to learn from this, not only in dealing with future development projects, but in setting people's expectations.

A relative nature

Editor,

Your readers' complaints about large houses next to small ones in Palo Alto reminded me that Karl Marx wrote on this subject in 1849, as follows: "A house may be large or small; as long as the surrounding houses are equally small it satisfies all social demands for a dwelling. But let a palace arise beside the little house, and it shrinks from a little house to a hut. The little house shows now that its owner has only very slight or no demands to make; and however high it may shoot up in the course of civilization, if the neighboring palace grows to an equal or even greater extent, the occupant of the relatively small house will feel more and more uncomfortable, dissatisfied and cramped within its four walls."

Marx concluded these thoughts with a generalization: "Our desires and pleasures spring from society; we measure them, therefore, by society and not by the objects which serve for their satisfaction. Because they are of a social nature, they are of a relative nature."

In these days, not only of huge houses next to small ones, but, more generally, of vast and growing wealth next to small and static property, there would seem to be, following Marx, growing dissatisfaction and discomfort throughout society.

A small price

Editor,

East Palo Alto, as an unincorporated area, depended upon the county and state to supply its needs such as law enforcement and all civic services.

East Palo Alto, as a city, depends mainly upon its business taxes and other collectable revenue to supply city functions. I do not believe anyone can maintain a household without "money."

Barring other lawsuits, the Gateway project is one way to bring needed revenue to the city, but it has not been built yet. As for me, I want to see my city with safer streets with no potholes or flooded areas. I want to see my own city's police force doing its job by patrolling and securing our streets from drive-by shootings and random gunfire nightly.

I want my city to be inviting to others because of its beauty and friendliness. I never want to learn that my city has become the "murder capital of the U.S." again.

To my city I'll say "keep a few pennies I paid through so-called illegal taxes." It only cost me about $15 per month. That is a small price to pay to help move my city forward. I hope other property owners who live in East Palo Alto will feel likewise.

Interim solution

Editor,

It's true that the parking situation in the downtown area is like a balloon--if you push one place, it just pushes out somewhere else.

That statement does not, however, support the Weekly's opposition to color-zone parking (Weekly, Feb. 28).

The economic vitality of Palo Alto's downtown relies on customer access. Employees do not have rights to park immediately adjacent to their workplace and should understand the importance of customers to their ability to find work.

I do agree that the color-zone program is not the ultimate solution--it is, rather, an interim solution that benefits downtown businesses.

The city has made a commitment to follow through on planning for at least one new parking structure. I hope they will also commit to improving options that would encourage people to leave their cars at home.

The downtown area is easily bicycle accessible and is a wonderful place to walk. Improved bicycle parking, access across the train tracks, shuttle services and intra-city transit connections would provide cost-effective alternatives to building more and more parking which, in the long run, only encourages the problem to continue.

The final straw

Editor,

I was a 30-year resident of Palo Alto and moved to Woodside Terrace in Redwood City for health reasons. I continue my shopping and medical treatments in Palo Alto. I am 80 years old.

The new parking colors are a parking nuisance, but when the city started charging to park in the lot across from the main Senior Center on Bryant, it was the end of shopping downtown. I have been coming to Disco-Rex for prescriptions. I was spending $1200 to $1500 a year on prescriptions. I also went to the Senior Center, Longs, Walgreens, and other places on University. I was rarely parked more than 15 to 30 minutes, but paying another $1 to pick up $100 of prescriptions is the final straw. I can't walk long distances, so I simply stay out of Palo Alto.

Demand a denial

Editor,

I am writing in response to Don Kazak's Feb. 21 article in concerning Romic Environmental Technologies. Though this article points out that worker Rodrigo Cruz was "deprived of oxygen," it does not portray the suffering that his family must go through because of the brain damage resulting from this lack of oxygen. Romic claims that it is not guilty of any wrongdoing, but if Romic is not responsible for its workers, who is? Romic's vice president, Brad Lamont, claims that Cruz is getting his full benefits, but does not say anything about taking action to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.

Romic has a history of chemical fires, leaks, spills, and groundwater contamination. This along with the Rodrigo Cruz incident shows that Romic is not capable of safely handling the amount of hazardous waste that it is currently disposing of, let alone expanding to process more. Lamont claims that there is an extensive emergency plan in place in case of an emergency that puts the community at risk. This plan may very well exist, but it is not publicized or practiced enough so that if the situation arises, East Palo Alto citizens will know what to do. And though the emergency plan is essential, Romic should be working to prevent any such emergency from happening. Romic has currently filed a permit with the State Environmental Protection Agency to expand its storage capacity. I urge everyone to write to the State EPA and demand that they deny Romic's expansion permit currently under review.

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