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Letters

Cordell's endorsement

Editor,

I read with dismay and disappointment in the May 25 Mecury News

a letter titled, "Liroff would make an excellent judge," purportedly

authored by District Attorney Dolores Carr and me.

While I had earlier agreed to be a signatory on a letter in support of Lane

Liroff, I made it clear to him that I would do so only if I were one

of several judges who were signatories. I did not give my consent to

Liroff to submit a letter soley from the district attorney and me.

Still more upsetting is the fact that he made no effort to contact me

prior to submitting this letter to the newspaper, even though he had ample opportunity to do so.

Had he asked me, I would have refused to be a signatory. While I wish him well, I can no longer support Liroff for a judgeship.

I have recently met with Diane Ritchie, who finished first in the

judicial primary (June 3), to discuss her candidancy. When I was on the bench, Ms. Ritchie appeared in my court. I found her to be an excellent

attorney and, as important, to be a person of integrity and good

judgment. Because I believe that she will be a superb addition to

our Superior Court, I give my enthusiastic endorsement to Ms. Ritchie

in the judicial race that will be decided this November.

LaDoris H. Cordell

Palo Alto

Library bond needed

Editor,

I agree with Bern Beecham's guest opinion(Weekly, June 11) and thank him for the solid facts that should convince anyone of our need to pass the Palo Alto library bond.

Though I realize the Friends of the Palo Alto Library cannot lobby for the passage of the bond, I urge them to find donors who would underwrite mailing a copy of the opinion to every voter in Palo Alto.

Don Kobrin

Palo Alto

Fix the fountain

Editor,

Preserve our local fountain.

As our family lives quite close to the California Avenue fountain, I would like to offer our perspective on this local landmark and ongoing discussions at the Palo Alto City Council to replace it.

We pass it almost daily on the way to the wonderful grocery stores, coffee shops and restaurants on California Avenue. For as long as I can remember, the fountain, with its simple design framed by the flags, has been a welcomed attraction to the neighborhood. The fountain has always offered a sense of wonder to our children as well as all the other neighborhood children who enjoy running around it, particularly during the summer when the cool spray is a bonus.

The fountain's sound is notably special, making the experience quite unique when compared with the other cultural attractions on California Avenue.

The occasional blue color or bubbles contributed by local residents add a unique and local quality to the fountain. I would say it is a neighborhood hit as I typically see people either at the fountain or sitting on the nearby bench.

When the Palo Alto City Council members consider replacing it with a static sculpture I suggest they carefully weigh the interests of the neighborhood residents as I would guess most would vote to fix it rather than lose it.

Andy Protter

Palo Alto

Not the space shuttle

Editor,

Caltrain, last Friday evening from San Francisco, brought me 30 minutes late to Palo Alto.

This Monday morning, scores of Palo Alto commuters waited 35 minutes for the delayed 9:11 a.m train.

With $4 gas and increased talk of public transport, I will bet that Caltrain isn't hitting 50-percent rush-hour on-time rates into San Francisco.

As we waited, a man with a suitcase was on the cell phone booking a later flight at SFO.

A woman said, "These delays are happening more often than not. I have appointments. My employer doesn't understand 30-minutes late. It makes me so stressed."

Two visitors from Japan asked in broken English what had happened to the train. When I explained (there was no explanation), they smiled and shook their heads. One said, "In Japan, this would be impossible, could never happen." Then she said, "And this is Silicon Valley."

After awhile, the loudspeaker told us that due to mechanical break-down the northbound trains would be between 10 and 60 minutes late. Oh, that's helpful.

Thanks Caltrain. You'd expect more in a Banana Republic. Mechanical breakdown? It's a train, a road of rail, a 150-year-old technology.

It's not the space shuttle.

Chris Tucher

Palo Alto

Gennaco not objective

Editor,

I watched the Palo Alto City Council discussion Monday (June 9) and the following thoughts occur to me.

The city's police auditor, Mr. Gennaco, is evidently unwilling to do the extensive review of the police investigation of the Children's Theatre's staff that most members of the council seem to wish. In addition, he's not really objective. He is too closely connected to the police department and the chief.

I suggest the council ask the candidate for police auditor who was not hired if he would do what the council wants. If the city is going to pay for an extra contract, it does not have to be with Gennaco.

It should hold out for an investigation that will answer questions and choose someone truly objective.

Natalie Fisher

Palo Alto

Police need audit

Editor,

If nothing else, the Children's Theater police investigation teaches that the finances of such organizations should be audited annually. Whoever was responsible for overseeing staff should bear the ultimate shame in this instance for not having required such audits.

A reasonably competent audit would have uncovered and eliminated the questionable expense reimbursement practices long ago, as well as those involved in the handling of surplus items.

The concerns that led to a criminal investigation would have been forestalled, the humiliation of well-regarded individuals would have been avoided and the costly expenditure of police resources would have been saved for use on matters of genuine danger to the community.

James R. Madison

Menlo Park

Density necessity

Editor,

I completely agree with Councilmember John Barton. We need to plan for density or else it will be thrust upon us.

Why not choose where and how we will gain density (with architecturally significant, mixed-use buildings along transit corridors) rather than having the state or development community dictate where density will be built?

I live in a dense downtown neighborhood where high rise apartment buildings exist across from single family residences. I wouldn't have it any other way! To me, the juxtapositions create a lively, interesting community and I love it.

I love living in Palo Alto because I don't have to drive my car to go to the farmers market, run errands or go to a restaurant. None of that is possible without dense neighborhoods to support businesses and take development pressure off of our valuable farmlands.

I hope that more voices like mine will help other council members to feel good about doing the right thing.

"Think globally, act locally" should be more than a bumper sticker. It should be a way of life for all of us who proclaim to be "green" in Palo Alto.

Amie Ashton

Palo Alto

Meet the ABAG challenge

Editor,

"Palo Alto could be getting more housing — like it or not" (the Weekly, June 11). The state, through ABAG, demands that Palo Alto accept 2,860 new housing units by 2014. Would this ruin the Palo Alto we know, or would it be an opportunity to express our commitment to a sustainable future?

This is an opportunity for a quantum jump in the quality of local governance. There are principles for collaborative-solution discovery that are both necessary and sufficient to produce a good solution to a complex and contentious issue such as the ABAG housing mandate.

Very briefly, one builds consensus through a sequence of steps: (1) determine stakeholder interests, (2) define the qualities (not specific features) of a successful outcome, (3) agree on methods to create and evaluate possible solutions and (4) check that the proposed solution is on sound footing and has no hidden defects.

Leadership facilitates participation and manages the process, it doesn't dictate the answer.

Before the typical polarization sets in, let's lay out a solution-discovery roadmap based on these principles that will meet the challenge.

We need to do this, both to ensure a good outcome on this issue and as a demonstration of a better way to address all the complex and contentious issues to come.

William H. Cutler

Palo Alto

A beef with beef

Editor,

Earlier this week, more than 100,000 South Koreans demonstrated against newly elected President Lee Myung-bak as his entire cabinet offered to resign.

At the root of this massive protest was not a declaration of war against North Korea, a boycott of the Chinese summer Olympics or even escalating oil prices. It was a treaty allowing U.S. beef imports.

Beef production accounts for more greenhouse-gas emissions than automobiles. Its insatiable demand for feed grains has raised world food prices to levels beyond the reach of the world's hungry and the relief agencies that support them.

Creation of beef pastures is the key cause of worldwide deforestation, including the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. A beef-based diet requires more than 20 times as much land and water as a plant-based diet with equivalent amounts of calories and protein.

Nutritionally, beef offers protein, iron and some B vitamins but no fiber, carbohydrates, nor most vitamins and minerals. On the other hand, it is replete with saturated fat, cholesterol, pesticides, and pathogens, including occasionally the prions of mad cow disease.

We should have a 100,000 demonstrators marching on Washington to protest taxpayer subsidies to the U.S. beef industry. In the meantime, each one of us can demonstrate our own outrage with beef production on our next trip to the supermarket by selecting from the rich variety of soy-and plant-based meat alternatives in the frozen foods and produce sections.

Page Wilson

Palo Alto