Steve Lopez’s experiment with marijuana and driving; California’s community colleges; the pay of Occidental Petroleum’s chief executive

The pot smoker behind the wheel

Re “He tokes, giggles — then drives like a Train Wreck,” Column, Oct. 20, and “Taking a hit for a good cause,” Column, Oct. 17

I hate to break it to Steve Lopez, but if he thought he was making a point about the future risks of driving while high on marijuana should Proposition 19 pass, then he’s already living in the past, man.

As a bicyclist in this city, I have a somewhat unique vantage point from which to observe motorists. One of my more frequent experiences is to be enveloped in the unmistakable smell of weed smoke coming from the open windows of a car that has just passed. The fact is that drivers in this city are already getting high on a seemingly regular basis.

I hate to say it, but voting against Proposition 19 won’t do a thing to keep people from making bad choices as drivers; they’re already way ahead of you there.

Joe Skala

Los Angeles

Bravo to Lopez for taking part in the marijuana exercise with law enforcement officials. Lopez showed a lot of personal courage and a strong will by volunteering for that demonstration. He certainly gave us an excellent description of the course of the experiment and the results.

His columns have made me decide how I will vote on Proposition 19.

Charles W. Jenner

Los Alamitos

I’m glad Lopez had some fun; never mind that he trivialized an important issue with his cartoon of serious research. Our ignorant society is disinterested in critically evaluating the important concerns we face, so why should Lopez be serious?

Tim Tunks

Santa Monica

Two years and not much else

Re “Study faults state 2-year colleges,” Oct. 20

The Times is to be thanked for reporting on the Cal State Sacramento study that calls attention to improving program completion in our community colleges.

I would point out that the study places undue emphasis on transfer outcomes, largely ignoring the workforce preparation mission, which is equally important. Such programs produce associate degree and certificate holders who immediately enter the workforce and are contributors to the state’s economy. Fields such as healthcare and protective services (police and fire) are filled with those who have gotten their training at community colleges. It would be helpful if these outcomes had been given a similar level of detail and recommendations.

Nick Kremer

Norwalk

The writer is executive dean of Cerritos College.

As a community college student, I have declared a major course of study with an intent to transfer to a four-year institution. The reason I have done so has nothing to do with my educational goals. The declaration is needed to ensure that the college department where I attend classes receives a fair budgetary allocation of funds.

Many other students are in a similar situation. We are throwing the proverbial monkey wrench into the not-so-neat statistical analysis by Cal State Sacramento’s Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy.

As for me, I doubt that I’ll ever complete a course of study for either a certificate or an associate’s degree. Why? I’m 68 years old, retired and pursuing skills for personal reasons beyond the comprehension of the Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy.

Rich Flynn

Huntington Beach

Seventy percent of community college students not receiving their degrees or transferring to a four-year university suggests that the community colleges are deficient? Does it then follow that if 70% of persons who sign up at a fitness club do not run marathons or reach their ideal weight, the fitness club is to blame?

John DeGrazia-Sanders

Oak View

Constitutional question

Re “Politics Now: Church, state and the Constitution,” Oct. 20

Nothing Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell could say would surprise me. The real shock is the realization that this must be the way all great republican democracies imploded.

I can imagine that in ancient Greece it was probably the election of a fundamentalist proletarian who believed Zeus was a mortal and legislated the teaching of such alongside the more established ideas of the times that brought them to their knees. Perhaps one of Rome’s citizen movements believed Mercury actually walked among the dinosaurs, and the subsequent changes they made to their constitution brought about a downward spiral.

The one constant in life is that all great civilizations fall. I just didn’t think ours would in my lifetime.

Blair Caugherty

Palm Desert

O’Donnell was asking where that exact wording — separation of church and state — was located in the Constitution. The 1st Amendment says that the government cannot establish a state religion. It does not say anything about separation of church and state.

What our Founding Fathers did not want was a required state religion, which they ran away from in England.

Charles Matheson

Elgin, Texas

Occidental CEO’s pay

Re “Irani’s pay: It’s even worse than I thought,” Business, Oct. 20

Michael Hiltzik is right on. As a retired human resources executive, I can tell you that executive pay is way out of line. Hiltzik’s proposal to allow companies a tax write off of

$1 million or so in executive pay is workable. It would get the attention of the board of any corporation.

Former Gov. Gray Davis extols Occidental Petroleum CEO Ray Irani’s performance based on stock appreciation. But what about the funds Occidental is spending on Proposition 23 to ruin our clean air and eliminate green jobs just to ensure that Irani and its shareholders receive their payoff? Good corporations are good corporate citizens; Occidental does not measure up on that important score.

Bernard Lefson

Los Alamitos

Why does Hiltzik believe he is qualified to judge Irani and the board of directors of Occidental Petroleum?

Irani, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, does indeed receive a large compensation package. He has been an employee there since 1983; in those long 27 long years, he rose from the person running a chemicals division to being responsible for the whole giant firm. Thanks to Irani’s leadership, the shareholders of Occidental made tons of money over the years.

Hiltzik probably knows very little about actually running a worldwide multinational corporation. The reality is, it takes a bright person with a very rare and special skill set.

Doug McDermott

El Segundo