LETTERS LETTERS (August 10, 2005)

Glens residents dealing with crime spree

Editor:

In response to security concerns, many residents of the Woodside Glens met recently with county sheriff officials to discuss recent increases in mail thefts, auto burglaries, and residential burglaries.

We were given some written suggestions to help prevent these crimes and information about how to report concerns and crimes.

It is important for residents to report any crimes. A real emergency should be reported as a 911 call. Crimes that are not emergency should be reported to 363-4911. A report will be taken. In the Almanac each week there is information under Police Reports about crimes that were reported.

I was surprised when the detective at the meeting asked for a show of hands as to how many people had had mail stolen, and 20 or more people raised their hands. There were several suggestions including getting a locking mailbox, stopping mail delivery when you are out of town, and communicating with a neighbor to pick up your mail for you. I would recommend not putting any outgoing mail containing checks or credit card information in the mailbox. The long time method of putting up the mailbox flag to signal that you have outgoing mail is also an invitation to the mail thieves who are driving around.

To prevent auto burglaries, it was suggested that cars be locked and that all valuables be removed from the car.

It was informative to get a chance to communicate with so many neighbors. To help with communication, an email list is being compiled. Follow-up meetings are being scheduled.

We were also told that the sheriffs will be making more patrols through the Glens. The large turnout of concerned residents shows that we all want to put an end to these crimes.

Jennifer Gonzales

Alta Mesa Road, Woodside

Keeping an eye on the Jackling house from Connecticut

Editor:

I was encouraged by a recent article in the Almanac quoting a Woodside resident who said he wants to save the 1926 Jackling House, which points to a win/win solution to the Jackling House dilemma.

Richard Pivnicka's offer to relocate the house in Woodside appears to be very positive -- providential even.

I am an active preservationist in my town of West Hartford, CT and have followed the Jackling House case since I first read about it in the New York Times. I was so disturbed over its fate, that I wrote a letter to both the Almanac and a Woodside town council member.

I applaud Mr. Pivnicka for taking on this challenge to save a piece of California's and America's history, with a solution that is good for the community and for the owner who has been looking for the right person to move it and restore it. To Mr Pivnicka I say you are indeed a righteous and noble man. Thank you from southern New England.

Leann Sherman

Foxridge Road,West Hartford, CT

Why the vote against zoning ordinance

Editor:

I want to put the record straight about why I voted against Menlo Park zoning ordinance 938.

Simply, it removes important protections for the quality of life that Menlo Park residents treasure. By passing it, Council members Mickie Winkler, Lee Duboc, and Nicholas Jellins ignored heartfelt concerns expressed by the vast majority of residents about projects that adversely affect them.

During public comment about this ordinance, residents said they don't want to be powerless to protect their own privacy, sunlight, and neighborhood character. A number described personal experience with serious problems, such as losing privacy inside their own home when a neighbor's new first floor windows peered over the fence a mere few feet away. I heard them.

Many residents on smaller lots have said it should be easier to expand their homes on a single story. I heard them, too.

Last year, over 2,500 voters signed a referendum that opposed the previous attempt by the council majority to eliminate meaningful neighbor notification and to dismantle an approval process that provided important protections for their quality of life. I also heard them.

That is why I proposed to make it easier to build single story projects while at the same time retain protections for neighbors. This sensible and balanced compromise was rejected by the majority. They also refused to put this controversial ordinance to a vote of the people.

I respect the voices of the Menlo Park community and will continue to do my best to represent their interests.

Kelly Fergusson, member

Menlo Park City Council

Back to veggies after diet craze flames out

Editor:

Old Abe was right after all: "You can't fool all the people all the time." And the company founded by diet guru Robert Atkins, after subverting America's best nutritional consensus, wound up in bankruptcy court last week.

The Atkins high-protein diet craze peaked in early 2004, when over 9 percent of U.S. adults subscribed to such diet, according to market research firm NPD Group. That figure declined gradually to 2.2 percent last month after a consumer advocacy group released a medical examiner's report showing that Atkins was overweight and suffered of heart disease.

Over the past three decades, a dozen expert panels reviewing thousands of diet and health studies concluded that Americans should replace meat and dairy products in their diet with vegetables, fresh fruits, and whole grains. None reached the opposite conclusion.

As consumers, we need to be constantly vigilant for entrepreneurs who exploit our obsession with physical appearance to promote their profit-driven agendas. The price we pay, beyond an inflated food bill, is life-long chronic afflictions and a curtailed life span. Let's hope that this lesson does not come too late for victims of the Atkins diet. Malcolm Davidson

Encinal Avenue, Menlo Park

Kudos for Cooper and PHS's Scott Delucchi

Editor:

Thanks for the great article by Katie Bearman on "Scott & Cooper" of the Peninsula Humane Society. It's an unbeatable team -- those two.

Friendly and enthusiastic, even when showing off a dog's version of an oxygen mask, Cooper is indeed Scott's best friend. And Scott's innovative ideas keep coming every week -- a new project to keep PHS in people's hearts and minds, a new wacky name for Pet of the Week, news scoops on various animals up for adoption or just of real interest.

Scott and Cooper race on together for the benefit of this county's animals. And their people. Trish Hooper Portola Road, Portola Valley

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