Family Home Is Not a ‘Mansion’

* This letter is sent in response to an article July 11. The article, titled “A Foam Foundation: New Material for Building Holds Promise for Quake and Fire Victims,” made serious misrepresentations about our family. It falsely described our father, Harman Rasnow, as a “millionaire,” and our family home that burned in the 1993 Green Meadow fire as a “mansion.”

In reality, our family home of 23 years consisted of factory manufactured “mobile home” components with a doughboy pool in the middle--a far cry from a “mansion.” Also, the statement “Rasnow can build with any material he chooses . . . “ is sadly untrue. We watch how agonizingly our parents try to determine how they can afford to rebuild, which basic amenities must be eliminated so they can finance the construction. Seeing the tremendous loss they suffered manifested daily in the difficult decisions they must now face makes the article ever more painful. The article has dealt a most cruel blow to our family.

We hope your newspaper will hold to a higher standard in the accuracy of its reporting in the future. The statements, so cavalierly and inaccurately made, can and do have a real and devastating impact on the lives of those written about.

TINA L. RASNOW

on behalf of the Rasnow family

Westlake Village