If cuts are needed, make them equal

I would like to commend the Glendale News-Press and staff writer Melanie Hicken for highlighting the funding cuts that the library and community services could incur in the coming fiscal year (“Libraries could shoulder brunt of budget cuts,” May 12).

In particular, I applaud the use of the word “disproportionate” in relation to the cuts these two departments could face.

As the article points out, roughly 44% of the service cuts would come from these two departments even though they account for only about 10% of the General Fund.

If cuts are to be made, they should be proportionate. The library and community services should not bear a greater burden than do other city departments.

John Steele

Glendale

Give thanks to all veterans

Memorial Day is a day to pay our respects to those who lie where honor rests in our state and national cemeteries and in myriad other places across the world in both marked and unmarked graves.

It is a day to honor the living symbols of the American spirit: our veterans and their families, members of our armed services and their families, wherever they are and however they serve.

It is also a day to pause for a moment of silence during the “National Moment of Remembrance” at 3 p.m. local time, wherever we happen to be. The 3 o’clock hour was chosen because it is a time on this very important national holiday when most Americans are out and about enjoying the freedoms paid for by the current and former members of our armed forces.

California is home to the largest population of military, veterans and dependents in the United States, totaling more than 3 million people. An additional 30,000 veterans of the United States military return yearly to make California their home.

Veterans have potential entitlement to many benefits, including disability, vocational rehabilitation, education, medical and burial benefits based on their military service. CalVet’s aim is to help facilitate their return to civilian life by helping them to take advantage of the benefits they have earned.

Peter Gravett

Sacramento

Editor’s note: Gravett is the secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs.