Letters to the Editor

Move SLO Senior Center

A simple solution to increase parking for the Senior Center at Mitchell Park would be to switch locations with the city’s Parks and Rec Department.

I attended Buchon Kindergarten, and at recess we used to play on the site of the proposed parking lot behind the present Senior Center at Mitchell Park. Before that, Mitchell Park was a baseball field.

If we don’t want to pave over the concrete shuffle board courts, then move the seniors to the site of the old Emerson School at 1341 Nipomo St. That block, surrounded by Pacific, Nipomo, Pismo and Beach Streets, already has off-street spaces and more street parking.

Patrick O’Daniels

Morro Bay

Consider senior shuttle

It appears that Mayor Dave Romero’s steadfast support of a parking lot in Mitchell Park has polarized our community. On the surface, people are either for the seniors or for the park. However, you will find many people, including myself, are in favor of both. It is the parking lot as a solution for seniors that we object to. Seniors deserve a better solution. A parking lot does not extend the center’s reach to the community. It does not reduce the price of getting to the center. It does not move San Luis Obispo any closer to a new Senior Center.

For the same amount of money that is being proposed the city could provide a door-to- door senior shuttle. A shuttle would extend the reach of the Senior Center, providing rides for those that need special assistance. A shuttle would reduce traffic and noise near the park. A shuttle would also reduce the cost for seniors to go to the center. It would also serve as an important next step to a new senior center.

It is time for the mayor to let go of the shortsighted notion of a parking lot and address real problems facing our seniors.

Dave Kuykendall

San Luis Obispo

Cuesta a good choice

Many high school seniors are still deciding where they want to begin their undergraduate education. I hope these seniors are considering Cuesta College as one of their options.

Cuesta College offers the same courses offered at CSU and UC campuses. There are few differences between Cuesta College courses and those courses offered at a university. Community college courses are taught in small classroom settings; this allows students to work one on one with their instructors. Many CSU and UC courses are taught in large lecture halls with graduate assistants doing most of the instruction and grading.

Another difference is the cost. The fees at community colleges are a fraction of the cost of those at a UC or CSU. In addition, many students return home after their first year of college because they were disappointed with their experience at the university they selected when they were in high school. By attending community college, students have more time to consider all the choices available to them.

Finally, Cuesta College has several guaranteed admissions agreements with California universities; this includes eight out of the 10 University of California campuses. Yes, that’s right, Cuesta College offers guaranteed admissions at eight out of 10 University of California campuses.

Make Cuesta College the college of your choice.

Andrea Devitt

Cuesta College counselor

Settle’s politics as usual

Allan Settle’s April 18 Viewpoint (“I legally reside in San Luis Obispo”) sure sounds like it was written by a career politician ... oh that’s right, it was.

Settle’s claim that his Drake Circle house in San Luis Obispo is his “domicile” is a classic political dodge. Settle has already admitted that he sleeps most nights in his Arroyo Grande home. Going someplace to pick up mail while sleeping somewhere else hardly meets the intent of the “domicile” rule, which was enacted to ensure that politicians live in the communities they represent.

Isn’t it obvious that Settle pays his taxes, receives mail and holds a homeowners’ property tax exemption at the Drake Circle house for the sole purpose of meeting the domicile rule? That way he is able to keep his cushy position on the City Council.

It is just this kind of “politics as usual” maneuver that turns people off to the political process. How in the world are we going to clean up national politics if this is what we are reduced to on the local level? Here’s hoping city voters have had enough of Settle’s “service.” Who knows, maybe if we throw him off the City Council he might have to sell one of his houses.

Patrick Mallon

San Luis Obispo

Rebate a Ponzi scheme

I am responding to Lois Capps’ “File your taxes and get your ‘08 rebate” (April 10). My dictionary defines rebate as “to give back part of any amount paid.” To court their votes, Capps is clearly pandering to people who pay no income taxes ... “Collect your free handout.” People who actually do pay taxes will be saddled with long-term federal debt to provide this largess for nontaxpayers.

For months (years?) financial experts have been wringing their hands about people who use their credit cards recklessly, digging themselves deeper and deeper into debt ... spend more, owe more. Now, the outrageous Economic Stimulus Act has put taxpayers in an identical situation ... go into long-term federal debt for some immediate expenditure. Whether you want to or not. Prudent people will not spend the “rebate” on purchases they would otherwise not make. They will use it to pay down debt or stash it away among their investments.

What kind of voodoo economics is this? It is both a sophisticated Ponzi scheme and an outreach of socialism. Fact: It is an ingenious way to raise taxes for years to come without calling it a tax increase today.

China is probably gleeful at the prospect of buying the bonds required to cover the debt, thereby increasing its economic leverage over the U. S.

Thad Maziarz

Atascadero

Abortion accord doable

I write about Cal Thomas’ incendiary piece (April 16), which perpetuates the harsh differences between the “choice and life” camps on the issue of abortion.

I am a “choice” person who understands what a painful and wrenching decision it is for a woman and her support system when an unintended and/or unwelcome pregnancy must be dealt with. A way must be found to minimize the number of those pregnancies.

I was pleased to read that two prominent pro-life leaders, former Congressman Tim Roemer of Indiana and Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, have endorsed the candidacy of pro-choice Barack Obama. Casey said, “He has the unique skills to try to lower the temperature and foster a sense of common ground and try to figure out ways that people can agree. On this issue, it’s particularly hard” (Washington Post, April 15).

There is so much that we with different views can agree on. As Obama says in the same Washington Post article, “nobody is pro-abortion—abortion is never a good thing.”

It is time to find common ground and put this issue to rest.

Meredith Whitaker

San Luis Obispo