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It’s patriotic to voice
controversial opinions
Congratulations to fourth-grader Hanna Lauritzen for her letter (April 30) in which she clearly states the grievous error made by the U.S. government in embarking on a pre-emptive war against another country. A world in which international law is blatantly disregarded, in which countries attack each other for whatever reason they see fit, is a terrifying one to contemplate.
Congratulations also to the Town Crier for printing Lauritzen’s letter. It is vital that citizens of all ages understand our right of free expression to publicly state opinions, even when we know that some others will disagree with us.
This right is such a basic part of American life that to exercise it, to freely state controversial points of view, is a patriotic act of great importance.
Katrina M. Smathers
Los Altos
UCSF performs cruel
animal experiments
Over the last five years, the National Institutes of Health has seen its budget more than double to $23.1 billion.
Until now, however, no inquiry has been made into how the NIH is managing the billions of dollars in research grants it awards annually. Meanwhile, allegations of NIH mismanagement and grant fraud continue to grow.
For example, the NIH continued to fund the now-defunct Coulston Foundation despite the foundation’s repeated violations of animal welfare and workplace safety laws.
In addition, the NIH has allocated more than $350 million in taxpayer money to the University of California at San Francisco, despite the latter’s continuing violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.
Without federal oversight, the university continues to perform wasteful and cruel animal experiments, including highly invasive and inhumane brain experiments on monkeys.
These experiments, judged to be in violation of the Animal Welfare Act by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, involve multiple neurosurgeries, prolonged restraint, and implanting bolts, plates, metal cylinders and coils into the skulls and eyes of conscious monkeys.
In these times of mounting budget woes, we can ill afford to continue to throw taxpayer dollars at an agency that cannot even ensure its grant recipients comply with federal law.
Nancie L. Sailer
Los Altos
There they
go again
There they go again, lying to the press. This time the pro regional pool complex people said they offered to only build one pool. If that were true, there would be dancing in the streets.
What they offered was one pool and then to turn it into the complex in five years. Please.
I find it bizarre that several of the city council members continue to be 100 percent unresponsive to the pleas of so many residents.
It makes me wonder what their true and complete connection with SPLASH really is, and I wish it were investigated.
I would love to compromise and have one pool plus a wading pool that Los Altans will actually be able to use.
I do not want a regional complex five years from now with shockingly few and inconvenient family swim times and a complex appropriate to a commercial-zone that will be blaring sound, light, and traffic about 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. Yeah, we’re so picky.
Pam Woolsey
Los Altos
Wouldn’t mind living
near new pool
This letter is in response to Kurt Ayers (April 30 letters) who asked if any of the council members would like to live near the proposed pool.
I do not know the preference of the city council, but I would not hesitate to buy a house in the area of the pool. I was disapointed that a house on Rosita sold before I could line up the appropriate financing to make an offer.
I would love to be in walking distance of a great recreational facility I do not understand how people can purchase a house in an area where there is a pool, a mini-park, baseball and soccer fields, and a church multi-use building and then claim that any traffic on the street is unacceptable.
What is unacceptable is that there is no public facility to swim in the city of Los Altos.
Greg Doyas
Los Altos
District would lose
rental income
Charter School proponents are correct when they put forth the fact that the school district will keep parcel tax funds even though students attend the charter school - but this does not translate into increased funding for the school district.
What they fail to acknowledge is that the district would have to forego rental income from Bullis, would receive less in Los Altos Educational Foundation contributions. Those who would normally contribute would now be contributing to the charter school.
The district would have a more difficult time passing parcel taxes in the future because just as they have said, their children will not benefit from the parcel tax.
The charter school will have unintended consequences that will negatively impact the other students of the district.
It is time for the charter school proponents to get the story straight. We need to do what is right for all students.
Cheryl Breetwor
Los Altos Hills
Thanks for coverage
about LEAD class
On behalf of my fellow classmates in LEAD Class 2003, and LEAD’s founders and organizers, I want to thank the Los Altos Town Crier for featuring Carolyn Barnes’ article on the front page of the April 23 issue.
I am grateful to have served as a member of the class, and to have worked with such an outstanding and diverse group of Los Altos residents. Most of the applicants learned of LEAD through your thoughtful announcements in the Town Crier. Marge Bruno, one of the program chairwomen, mentioned that last week’s story had already attracted 12 new applicants for next year’s class.
It is a great pleasure to be part of a group of volunteers who are committed to making Los Altos a Model Community!
Aiko Hill
Los Altos
Los Altos Historical Museum
