TAKING BACK THE PARKS

I’m relieved at long last to see an in-depth look at one of L.A.’s most tragic losses--her parks. The demise of these community extensions has cost us space to relax, refocus, gather together, nurture and round out our lives.

This has been a major contributing factor to the increasing burden on our schools to take over yet another aspect of education. When park-sponsored, extracurricular programs supplement the school programs, the schools, children and the community benefit. Parks provide learning opportunities for all ages and an essential refuge that schools simply have not been able to replace.

The attention you have called to the plight of our parks should be the beginning of a continued and concerted effort to keep this problem in a high-priority focus. The loss seems overwhelming; the hope begins with the fact that you have begun to open our eyes to the loss.

JEANNE E. HANSEN

Pasadena