May 20, 2008

Letters

Wetlands vital

Dear Editor: Wetlands are rightly referred to as the nurseries of life, where unique ecosystems replenish and clean water supplies, reduce flood risks (remember Katrina?), nourish species that are important to our food supply and provide recreational opportunities.

Nationwide less than half of the wetlands present when Europeans arrived still remain. In San Francisco Bay, the loss is more dramatic. Ninety percent of the original wetlands of San Francisco Bay are gone.

So the campaign under way in Redwood City to preserve the salt ponds from development and restore them as wetlands is not just important to Redwood City. It is part of a much greater picture. We all have a stake in this. I applaud the work of the Redwood City volunteers working to preserve a precious resource.

Gail Sredanovic,

Menlo Park



Catholic beliefs

Dear Editor: Responding to Tom Traub's letter of May 8, I make all my arguments against abortion, the death penalty and unjust wars from a Catholic politician's point of view. Only God decides when we die. The state does not have the right to decide to end another person's life whether that life is in the womb or in a prison cell. The state does not have the right to unjustly murder defenseless people in other countries for economic gain. Only the creator has the absolute power to punish us in the way of natural disasters.

Ninety percent of Americans believe in God, therefore they must agree with me on my position. President Bush stated on many occasions that he was the decider in regard to war and torture and acted on it. Bush claimed that he talked directly to God. President Bush did not speak to my God, because my God happens to be loving, caring and merciful.

I opposed the war from the very beginning, because I believe in the sanctity of human life. My spiritual leaders John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI opposed the war from the beginning as I have, because they believe in the sanctity of life.

Mike Moloney,

GOP candidate for Congress,

Foster City



Yes on school measure

Dear Editor: I will be voting "yes" on Measure A because it is a well-crafted proposal to renovate our aging schools and accommodate growing enrollment without increasing tax rates. A May 16 letter from Bob Schulte suggested that instead of a no tax-increase bond, the Palo Alto Unified School District should take a more drastic step: sell surplus school sites that PAUSD owns. This strategy is short-sighted and financially irresponsible for several reasons.

As the mother of an eighth-grader and a fifth-grader in two overcrowded Palo Alto schools, I can attest to the need for more classrooms and facilities, not fewer. PAUSD has the largest student population in 20 years. Another 1,000 students are expected to enroll in the next five years and we may need those surplus school sites.

Because of our escalating enrollment, PAUSD has already reopened several previously closed sites, including Jordan and Terman middle schools and Ohlone. Gunn High School - nearly closed 20 years ago to save money - today educates 1,800 students. It's at capacity because of a shortage of science labs that Measure A will supply.

But there are additional flaws in Mr. Schulte's solution: school land cannot just be sold at top market value. The Legislature requires schools be offered first to other governmental entities, including cities and counties because schools are considered public spaces. Moreover, PAUSD properties are bound by leases, preventing short-term sales.

At a time of rising enrollment, it makes no sense to sell school land rather than simply passing a bond that continues the existing tax rate. Don't sell schools; just vote "yes" on Measure A.

Megan O'Reilly-Lewis,

Palo Alto


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Dear Editor: As a proud PAUSD graduate and now parent, I know that our schools need Measure A. Our aging schools need basic renovations. Moreover, enrollment is on a steady increase. We have more than 2,400 more students than when we passed the 1995 bond, which is the equivalent of more than a high school or four elementary schools. In my neighborhood, I see more toddlers on their way to kindergarten. The middle schools and high schools are packed. I was shocked to see that some opponents claim that Measure A is wasteful because the "growth rate has been only inching upwards." That is, quite honestly, a denial of reality.

The projected growth is another 1,000 students over the next five years. We need the classrooms now. Please take a look at the enrollment figures yourself; visit www.strongschools.org. Join the League of Women Voters, the Chamber of Commerce and more than a thousand parents, teachers, students, staff and community volunteers in voting "yes" on Measure A. Great communities are defined by their public spaces. Let's make sure our school facilities are maintained to meet our needs.

Megan Swezey Fogarty,

Palo Alto



Plastic bags

Dear Editor: In response to [Charles] Weaver's viewpoint on plastic bags (Letters, Monday), use the wonderful cloth bags the stores sell. They are much easier to use and you can use them at any store.

Plastic bags do affect the earth after we use and dispose of them, and they are not easy to recycle. Perhaps he may not know that it can take up to 20 years for a single plastic bag to decompose while in a landfill. Much like the beautiful glass floats that the Japanese once used for their fishing nets, items that do not easily dissolve in the ocean sail with the nearest currents for years, sometimes in clumps, eventually landing on distant shores.

I recently ran into one of my fifth-grade students from the mid-'80s who had taken part in a special project on decomposition of landfill items; she had returned to her family home after 10 years, dug up her plot of a 6-square-foot landfill in which she had placed nearly every item from a list that identified how many years it took for certain items to decompose. She found that every item that could take up to 10 years was gone. Plastic bags and those estimated to take longer were intact. She plans on doing a repeat dig at the end of 30 years. I feel her little project is providing the proof on which any of us can believe.

Anyone may go to the following Web site to see the list: www.worldwise. com/biodegradable.html.

Shirley Collins,

Palo Alto