Letters to the Editor

Islam’s internal war

I n The Tribune’s article of May 2, professor Ahmad Atif Ahmad argues that because “Islamic values are constantly evolving” it is difficult to compare Islam to Western culture. Professor Stephen Lloyd-Moffett supports that fallacious statement by saying that our ignorance (of Islam) is a serious crisis. So the conclusion must be that if we cure our ignorance, Professor Lloyd- Moffett’s serious crisis will be resolved. False again!

Having lived in the Middle East, my take is that the Islamic faith is at odds, if not at war, with modernity. Until and unless Islam is brought out of the Dark Ages, Islam’s “serious crisis” will not be resolved. What the West is experiencing is the collateral damage from Islam’s internal war. The problem is that Islam is not evolving.

The lesson of history that professors Ahmad and Lloyd- Moffett are ignorant of is that we have learned from our past history and, therefore, have evolved. Islam must start evolving into the 21st century. The “blame America first” wing of academia is alive and well.

Joseph E. Brocato

San Luis Obispo

Property tax inequity

I enjoyed the Opinion page article on April 19, “State tax system isn’t meeting needs.” The article made recommendations on modernizing the state tax system to raise more tax revenue.

The article mentioned that the state could re-examine corporate property taxes where newer business properties are taxed at higher rates than older business properties. It failed to mention that the same situation exists in the residential sector where older properties have restricted property valuations (because of Proposition 13), which allow longtime property owners to receive very preferential real estate tax assessment treatment compared with newer property owners.

An article published on March 20 labeled “14,400 could see drop in property tax” mentioned the incredibly unfair inequitable situation in which neighborhoods find instances where longtime property owners are paying property taxes on a $70,000 assessment and a new buyer paying on a $1 million assessment. How can this travesty of justice be allowed? Why shouldn’t all state residents pay similar property value assessments on both residential an commercial properties?

I am hopeful in publishing this letter that the public will concur with this outrage and contact Sen. Abel Maldonado and Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee to demand these laws be changed to ensure all residents are treated equally. I would like to hear from The Tribune on its position on this matter.

W. R. Sheehy

San Luis Obispo

Keep SLO’s Fosters

Why can’t the Fosters Freeze be preserved within the new building? Could it be put on the first floor where the longtime patrons and their kids could still enjoy the food and ice cream? Does everything old have to be bulldozed?

Debbi Pascua

Los Osos

CASA needs you

CASA for Children of San Luis Obispo County trains and assists community members to be Court Appointed Special Advocates volunteers for abused children and youths who, through no fault of their own, are removed from their homes and placed in the foster care system.

Like most of the community, we have been following the news of the crisis unfolding in Texas. We want to point out the daily tragedies that are occurring in our very own county. More than 200 abused and neglected children have been removed from their families in the past year. Every day we witness how this displacement, however necessary and beneficial to safeguard the child’s welfare, is an event that is fraught with grief, loss and trauma for each child and his/her family. The true victims are the children and youth.

As advocates, we work to ensure that each child is reunited with their families or, if not possible, is provided with an alternative permanent home with a stable, loving family.

Each of us right here can make a difference for children by becoming a foster parent, mentoring or employing an older youth or becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate. Call 541-6542 or visit www.slocasa.org for more information on becoming a CASA volunteer. Teresa Tardiff,

CASA of San Luis Obispo County

Get real about sharks

As a business owner in Avila Beach, I was called by two reporters from San Diego to comment on the impact a shark attack has on a small community. Our hearts go out to the family’s loss; still it’s important to look realistically at what is just a very unlikely accident.

The National Safety Council Web site reports in a given year in the U. S. alone there will be 26 fatal dog bites, 50 people struck by lightning, 54 deaths by bees, 322 accidental deaths in bed, 341 bath tub fall deaths, 776 accidental firearm deaths, 1,100 other drownings and 5,870 bicycle deaths. Oh, sharks — one in the world in 2007. Yes, with billions of ocean swimmers worldwide, one shark fatality in the world. One!

My heart goes out to the victim’s family and to Solana Beach businesses affected by the hysteria caused by the media.

Micheal Kidd

Avila Beach

Isn’t it remarkable?

We should be amazed. A woman and an African- American are viable candidates to become president of the United States. Who would have imagined this as little as 10 years ago?

Women gained the right to vote in the early 20th century and fought hard for that. And to think a woman is now aspiring to be president. African- Americans had to rise above horrific hardships and transgressions to become part of our free society. And now a young, bright African-American and an intelligent woman want to be our president.

Yes, we should be amazed. Hopefully, our amazement will grow. Without trust and faith in the possibility of any American’s ability and desire to serve in this high office, we will do as we always have done — elect a safe, white male who may not have the ability, the temperament or the clear thinking we so desperately need.

Mary Ross

Cambria

Save gas; drive 55!

I recently heard San Luis Obispo mentioned on NPR as having the highest priced gas in the country. Will someone please make a motion to return our highway speed limit to 55 mph? It would save gas. It would save money. It might also calm our road-rage-fearing nerves.

F. M. Suddarth

San Luis Obispo

T here are a number of bills affecting nonprofit groups pending in the Legislature.

It is impossible to list all of them, so I have picked a few to highlight. I am grateful to the California Association of Nonprofits ( www.canonprofits.org ) for its assistance.

• Emergency/Disaster Response: Assembly Bill 2796 would provide limited liability immunity for nonprofit emergency and disaster responders similar to the immunity already granted to governmental responders.

• Wine donations: Of particular interest for nonprofit groups and wineries in San Luis Obispo County is Assembly Bill 1964, which would ease rules for wine donations and increase the number of times per year that nonprofit groups could hold wine fundraising events.

Currently, nonprofit groups can not take possession of wine for sale or auction without a temporary license from Alcoholic Beverage Control. Wineries that donate product are subject to ABC penalties if the nonprofit group has not complied with state law. The bill seeks to ease fundraising through the sale or auction of wine for both nonprofit groups and wineries.

• Bingo: As a fundraising event, it doesn’t cost much to conduct a bingo game. Lately, though, revenue from bingo games has been declining. Three bills are pending that would enhance the appeal of bingo (Assembly Bill 1924; Senate Bills 1328 and 1626).

• Fund Management and Dissolution of a Nonprofit Group: California nonprofit groups that have endowments are currently obligated to protect the original value of an endowment gift, which means that an endowed fund may sit idle if its value has plummeted.

Senate Bill 1329 frees up the charity to spend from the fund what it deems prudent after considering the donor’s intent that the endowment fund continue permanently, the purposes of the fund, and relevant economic factors.

The bill also makes it easier for the state attorney general to dissolve a nonprofit group when it is impossible or impractical for the nonprofit to do it on its own.

• Paid sick leave: Assembly Bill 2716 would require employers to provide paid sick leave to an employee who works seven or more days in a year and prescribes employer and employee rights and responsibilities in regard to sick leave.

• Retirement: CalPERS, the California Public Em-

ployees’ Retirement System, is the largest pension fund in the country. Assembly Bill 2940 creates a way for for-profit and nonprofit group employees to participate in CalPERS.

Tracking legislation can be a full-time job, a staff position many nonprofit groups cannot afford. Fortunately, many professional associations make their members aware of pertinent bills. The California Legislature’s Web site ( www.legislature.ca.gov ) has a “bill search” feature that allows one to track any pending legislation. It is helpful to remember that nonprofit groups can advocate for particular bills within limits; specific guidelines can be obtained from the Independent Sector, www.independentsector.org , the Alliance for Justice, www.afj.org , and the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, www.clpi.org . Barry VanderKelen can be reached at 543-2323 or barry@sloccf.org .