By Send letters to editor Bruce Barton at the Town Crier, 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022, or e-mail:
‘Illegal immigrants’
costing Americans
Regarding the Los Altos editorial, “First citizenship, then rights,” Aug. 6.: You have only barely touched on the real long-term problems of illegal immigrants.
The 2000 Census Bureau indicated that there are some eight million illegals in the United States. The impact is horrendous costing the U.S. taxpayers about 50 billion a year for freebies, such as hospital care, schooling, driver’s licenses, Social Security, food stamps and voting rights.
We are in a terrorist war, and should recognize that our borders are in danger and are wide open. We are losing our borders, language and culture.
The politicians love it. Why not? They get all the illegal votes and perks.
(No address given)
Immigration editorial
was right on
The editorial (”First citizenship, then rights, ” Town Crier, Aug. 6) is right on. I agree and would like to recommend another requirement - English as their first language. State your intent to become an American first.
Sunnyvale
Let’s get real about
public access TV
The Aug. 6 edition of Los Altos Town Crier reports negotiations will resume, after nine months of silence, with Comcast regarding a new contract. The city wants “sleeker” cable connections to Los Altos.
The report implies that Los Altos cable television is a stumbling block in negotiations. That Comcast does not want community programming to continue as it is funded by the company. Comcast likely has very good arguments, not all in the pure economic interests of the company, that there are better uses for its bandwidth than community television.
There is apparently also an issue with city revenues from right of way fees. More data than was supplied, presumably due to “closed-door” negotiations, is needed to make an intelligent judgment on right of way fees. Still, it might be worth trading some of those fees for the overall betterment of the community. Citizens have no way of knowing and are not being informed.
The article states the city spends $ 95,000 for studio time and operations to air 7 programs a year on KMVT Channel 15 in Mountain View.
Let’s get real. Most residents do not highly value public access for the community to some obscure television station in Mountain View that puts on seven programs a year created by amateurs.
I have no data as to what the viewership is that we are spending $95,000 a year to serve but I’d bet it is the small number of people that utilize this now very dated means of community communication and their very best friends.
Divide that number into $95,000 and I don’t think most people will like the result.
Los Altos sits in the center of Silicon Valley and is home to many people that are major contributors to the world economy. Yet the city has really lousy access to what currently passes as “high-speed” Internet access. Neither DSL or Cable are uniformly accessible in the city and this hampers important social, business and educational opportunities.
Competition is limited so prices remain higher than they might be.
A suggestion is to deal with Comcast by dropping the community TV argument. Kill community television!
Play a card that says we want digital cable (broadband Internet) all over Los Altos and we want it now at a reasonable price that does not require, but allows, subscribing to the vast wasteland that is cable television. That would really better the community while saving $95,000 a year.
This is a complicated subject, and I’ve likely written more than can be published without scratching the surface of what needs to be discussed.
The issue is not limited to how we watch television. How about the council initiating some public input and discussion on what Los Altos needs and wants in the way of early 21st century communications?
Los Altos
