LETTERS LETTERS (August 18, 2004)

A comment on Sequoia bond issue

Editor:

I want to thank the Almanac for its ongoing coverage of our local schools, with special recognition to recent stories regarding the Sequoia Union High School District's proposal for a new construction bond. The Almanac has done an excellent job describing a complicated bond financing mechanism simply, yet accurately.

Your thoughtful editorial opined that a few of the projects to be funded by the bond did not seem as critical as most of the others. As a member of the school board, I can assure your readers that all of the projects were deemed to be a priority, or they would not have made it to the "short list."

In the coming months, it will be important for the citizens' committee supporting the bond to clearly communicate not only what projects are on the "list," but to explain why each project is important.

With the growth of tabloid-style journalism, we are fortunate to have the Almanac serving our local communities.

Gordon Lewin
Trustee, Sequoia Union High School District
Menlo Avenue, Menlo Park

Nothing new about black, white police cars

Editor:

Fans of the new design for Menlo Park police cars may think they look "pretty hip" (Almanac, July 28). I think "retro" would be more accurate. Same-o, same-o black and white.

In contrast, the bright blue logos are very 21st century. What's more, they stand out and create confidence that our police officers are on the job.

It's too bad that the city has decided to turn back the clock by ordering more of the black-and-whites instead of keeping up with the times.

Abandoning the sharp looking blue-on-white design is not the first time the city has turned its back on innovations that reduced the cost of policing or increased its effectiveness. Residents who have been around awhile will remember when the blazers our officers wore minimized the resistance to traffic stops and when restrictions on hot pursuit minimized damage to police cars and injuries to officers driving them.

If the police department creates a nonprofit foundation, let us hope that donations are put to a more constructive use than paint jobs and additional weapons.

James R. Madison
Holly Avenue, Menlo Park

Valley geologist explains dangers of fault

Editor:

As a long time resident of Portola Valley, and a professional geologist who has served on National Science Foundation and other panels to assess proposals to conduct scientific research on the San Andreas Fault, I have followed the controversy about moving the Portola Valley Town Center with keen interest.

I also have been dismayed at some of the misconceptions about the need for this move that have been presented in a letter to the editor in the Aug. 4 Almanac.

One misconception is in regard to how well the present town center buildings would likely survive a strong 1906-type earthquake that resulted in many feet of surface rupture and displacement in Portola Valley. Very few, if any, buildings that have been designed and built to withstand strong shaking during an earthquake will survive if they are built directly on a fault trace that has many feet of displacement.

Horizontal and vertical shear movements literally tear buildings apart that sit on faults; even those reinforced with steel. On the other hand, well-constructed buildings close to, but not sitting directly on a fault trace that has surface movement during an earthquake, have a good chance of surviving the shaking without catastrophic failure, although they may suffer some damage from shaking.

Another misconception is about the importance of information provided by the recent geologic studies that have been carried out. As noted above, it is very important to determine where the surface rupture of the next big faulting episode is likely to occur. Such displacements usually follow along planes of weakness created and modified by the most recent prior earthquake ruptures. These planes of weakness are located by trenching. The assertion in the August 4 letter that the trenching and other geologic studies that have been carried out by professional geologic engineering firms in Portola Valley have "a predictive value of zero" simply is not true.

These new geologic studies have shown that the most recent shear movements have been along "on echelon" strands of the San Andreas Fault that pass beneath portions of the present Portola Valley Town Center. This is contrary to what was thought in the 1970s.

Statistically, it is very likely that the next several big earthquakes will follow along these same fault surfaces until the local and regional stress fields change sufficiently (the result of thousands of years of tectonic movement) to cause rupturing to occur in a different location.

In my opinion, Portola Valley has an obligation to provide a safe place for its employees to work as soon as possible. This obligation also extends to others who come to the town center on business, or to use the library facilities.

Robert Fournier
Paloma Road, Portola Valley

E-mail a friend a link to this story.