Valley Secession

* Re “Wistful Movement in the Valley,” (Editorial, May 14).

Appealing or not for The Times, the idea of allowing the people of the San Fernando Valley to vote on secession is in the best tradition of this country. The current legislation by Assemblywoman Paula Boland gives residents the right to vote on their future and to decide for themselves whether or not forming a new city would be of significant benefit. Citizens from the area have been pushing for their fair share of services for decades. This legislation will correct those failures of the past and ensure San Fernando Valley residents the ability to become self-sufficient if the majority want to take on that responsibility.

MIKE ANTONOVICH

Chairman, L.A. County Board of Supervisors

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* Re “Valley Secession Measure Clears Assembly Panel,” April 18.

Until recently, I have been a fence-sitter on the Valley secession issue. A recent Times article pointed out that the Valley would become our nation’s sixth-largest city. The Valley would also be our nation’s most culturally deficient city. A city with no major museums of science, natural history, contemporary art, air and space. A city with no major sports teams, no zoo, no opera, no symphony orchestra, no ballet. Shall I go on? The Valley’s tax dollars have helped fund all of these. What makes this especially hard to palate is the myth that Hollywood has helped perpetuate over the years. The one about people from the Valley not being quite as cultured as those from the other side of the hill.

MICHAEL GIANAKIS

Van Nuys