Homeowner Associations Protect Neighborhoods
* Where was Gideon Kanner (Valley Commentary, Dec. 5) living in the ‘50s? Not in the Valley, or he’d remember that many parents of young couples he’s so sorry for couldn’t afford to live in convenient locations like Beverly Hills and Hancock Park. We bought small homes in the Valley and spent large sums of money over the years to improve them. We also made “onerous commutes” to work downtown, sans freeways, in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Ventura Boulevard.
We did it for a better way of life for our children. And homeowner associations have helped to maintain that way of life by using their political clout to close down strip joints, clear the streets of prostitutes and limit the height of commercial property on Ventura Boulevard. These are just a few of the ways they defend our neighborhoods.
I’d like to hear what Mr. Kanner would say if he lived next to a prison, in a neighborhood with drive-by shootings or surrounded by the homeless scattering his garbage.
The reasons for residents and businesses leaving this state are myriad. Mr. Kanner oversimplifies by putting all the blame on housing prices.
JANE MAYER
Woodland Hills
Not True That There Are Too Many Golf Courses
* I could not believe the article by Sandy Wolgemuth (Valley Commentary, Nov. 28) asserting that golf courses are “gobbling up too much space.”
There sure as hell are not 200 golf courses available to the general public. Last I saw, the ratio of players to courses in Los Angeles was one of the highest in the nation.
The height of intellectual bankruptcy was the expression of concern for the Topanga residents who were worried about “this menace to their rustic lifestyle.” Boy! What a case of “I’ve got mine so don’t bother me”! The rugged defenders should dismantle their homes and return the areas they violate by their presence to a more natural state.
DONALD J. PRADO
Valencia
Stricter Dress Codes Would Benefit Students
* In response to the Nov. 14 editorial “Schools Have to Take Uniform Approach,” I would like to add the following: Banning baggy pants to avoid resemblance to gang outfits in some Burbank schools is not going far enough.
Reforming the school system would require drastic measures, and one of these should be a statewide (even nationwide) use of dress codes in both elementary and high schools.
The reason is obvious. Schools are not there to entertain but to educate students who will acquire discipline and respect their teachers. Strict dress codes enable students to concentrate on learning by eliminating the distraction caused by the scrutiny of each others’ fashion statements.
I disagree with the notion that the use of uniforms is counterproductive without the approval of the parents, individual schools and communities. No doubt, parents have the biggest influence in their children’s lives, but they also have the responsibility to make sure that order and discipline are achieved through the pressure on schools to use strict dress codes. These measures may seem a bit stern and traditional, but some people don’t realize the importance of the end result.
I was educated in Europe, where going to school was a fearful experience until I realized what I was there for. Getting into high school was a privilege, not a requirement, and if I flunked, it wasn’t just a bad moment, it was a family disgrace. Individuality and freedom should not exist in elementary and high schools as opposed to colleges and universities, because without strong basic knowledge there is no personal improvement.
ATTILA VERESS
Woodland Hills
Sybert’s Move Into District Is Disturbing
* In response to a recent article in The Times on Republican congressional candidate Bob Hammer, I am happy to know that Mr. Hammer and the other two unofficial Republican candidates from the same area, Mark Benhard and Mike Spelane, are running in a district in which they reside.
It disturbs me when I hear that Richard Sybert has decided to take up residency in the 24th Congressional District for the apparent sole purpose of running for office.
I do not believe our nation’s founders intended to have citizens hop around from district to district, testing to see which chunk of American soil is fertile for their political ambitions. I am a strong supporter of the Republican Party, and I would like to see more Republican representation in Congress, but I want to see it done genuinely.
GARRETT BIGGS
Woodland Hills
Printing Arrested Man’s Name Was Irresponsible
* We felt outraged by The Times’ irresponsible reporting of the individual arrested by the police in connection with the serial molestations. Printing his name when he had not been charged was not only irresponsible, it was indecent.
JACQUELINE and ALAN DORFMAN
Encino
Children’s Safety Should Be Everyone’s Concern
* There are certain things that I never expected to have to do when I became a father. Attending the funeral of my 7-year-old daughter’s softball teammate was one of them.
Watching the faces of all the children and young adults in attendance was almost unbearable. Yet it was those same faces--and their presence--that gives me hope. They should have been playing or preparing for Thanksgiving, but when one of them fell, they cared.
We as adults have let them down. Somehow we have to stop this senseless violence.
We need to stick our necks out once in a while and help rather than look the other way. The safety of our children is everyone’s responsibility. Speak up if you see a child in danger. Nicole Parker’s parents did everything right, yet they still lost . . . we all lost. Let’s not lose any more.
MICHAEL C. BOOSER
Van Nuys
Reporting of Crimes Can Be Made Easier
* It is said that there is very little crime in the southwest San Fernando Valley as compared to the rest of the city, and that may be true. But there might just be a lack of reported crime because of the difficulty people experience in trying to report it.
The reporting center for the West Valley is West Valley police headquarters, and, since a crime report must be signed by a police officer, the victim must drive to the station. With the help of a little technology such as a fax machine, a preliminary report could be taken at any substation (while the facts are fresh in the mind of the victim), faxed to the West Valley station and investigated by an officer as schedule allows.
MARCIA BROOKS
Woodland Hills
Brooks is president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Assn.
MCA/Universal Needs to Come Back to Reality
* The brain trust known as MCA/Universal wants the Metropolitan Transit Authority to simply change the location of the proposed Metro Red Line station. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that to those corporate eggheads it would be a little problem to change this construction project. With a few snips here and a few cuts there, the project can be simply edited like one of their weak movies.
Sorry folks. This is not some special-effects project. This is the real world.
ROBERT LOVERIDGE
North Hollywood
