MAILBAG - Nov. 13, 2008

Keep Mountain Oaks private

Enough already! Every time someone wants to develop a piece of property in the foothills, there is a knee-jerk reaction by individuals and (preservation?) groups to block the project.

I am writing in response to the article “Property should belong to city” by Sharon Weisman (Community Commentary, Nov. 10). It is the final straw as far as I am concerned.

The city has already bought the Rockhaven property, but to what end? They spent our tax money to buy a white elephant; they plan to put a library on a small portion of the land, but have no real idea about what to do with the balance of the acreage. How much better it would have been to put a revenue-producing project on the property!

It is advocated that the city purchase (or joint purchase) the Verdugo Hills Golf Course — property that is not even in Glendale. Again, groups are attempting to thwart property owners from legitimate use of their land. There is a park immediately adjacent to the golf course, and a county park about a mile east.

And that brings me to Mountain Oaks. There is no legitimate reason for that property not to be developed, at least the more or less level area. Perhaps, the high school/residential proposal was not the right one for the property, but surely there is some form of residential use that could be built there.

I have lived in Glendale for 23 years and have seen many changes occur — mostly for good — to accommodate the growing population. But the recent spate of advocating that the city or county take over private property simply to satisfy the selfish emotions of a handful of loud advocates borders on being fascistic.

In a period of recession hurtling to a depression, where the city hasn’t the money for basic services, such actions are not only un-American, they are absolutely fiscally imprudent.

JOHN HINDSILL

Glendale

‘Osama’ signs are slap at democracy

In response to the article “Obama signs get doctored” (Oct. 14), it is important to remember that we live in a diverse community where people identify with different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Names can tell a lot about someone, but they can also be misleading. Altering signs from Obama to Osama is not only disrespectful to supporters of the candidate, but also offensive toward neighbors who identify with one group or another, regardless of the senator’s affiliation.

Burbank is growing and becoming more diverse. Still, however, citizens who resemble its white founder are privileged with inherent credibility and a more powerful voice to stand up against injustice. It is inspirational to read that the vandalism on the political signs was the catalyst for Debbie Munsey (a neighbor to Burbank) to become an active agent and not a docile body in the Obama campaign. Her efforts exemplify the significance of participatory democracy, for overcoming incidents of hate against citizens of the Burbank community as well as other fellow Americans.

RACHEL FREEMAN

Burbank