Letters to the Editor

Cover news on genocide

I t still astounds me that there is virtually no coverage or mention of what is taking place in Africa. There is more attention being placed on issues such as Britney Spears’ weight loss, Tom Cruise’s exploits with the Church of Scientology and who shot the elephant seals. Is the life of an elephant seal more important than the life of a Darfurian child?

I held a fundraiser to help the people of Darfur last week. Ninety percent of the people who attended knew nothing about the three “w’s”: what, why and where. And because of the lack of media attention and education, genocide in Darfur and surrounding areas is becoming worse still.

I am imploring you to please, at least once a month, include something newsworthy. Something of value to human life other than celebrity status. I am saddened and embarrassed that our generation knows only the goings-on and troubles of celebrities that grace our magazine stands in the supermarkets and basically knows nothing of the world outside this bubble.

Please help me by helping others understand. We can change the outcome of so many wars, so many atrocities such as genocide by starvation, disease and murder. All we need is education. Simple as that.

Valerie Ferrario

San Luis Obispo

Fight for SLO’s history

It seems that no one cares about saying goodbye to Foster’s Freeze. We seem to be so concerned about how our downtown “appears,” yet we are willing to see these huge three-and four-story monstrosities built all over it without question.

I think Foster’s Freeze should have been declared a landmark, something both I and those far older than I can all appreciate and remember.

Some of you take Ernie Dalidio to task (and to court) for what he wants to do to a lettuce patch but are willing to see such a memorable piece of downtown San Luis Obispo disappear. What are you people really fighting for? There are so many more ridiculous things in this state that have been declared landmarks that didn’t mean nearly as much to their community.

If you are going to fight, then fight for what San Luis Obispo was and still is.

S. W. Hand

San Luis Obispo

Stop the verbification

Synchronicity is a wonderful thing.

A local columnist in The Tribune used the word “tasked,” as in “I was tasked.” And an excellent Web site that explores words, Wordsmith, is featuring a ridiculous yet growing trend: the verbification of nouns when perfectly good verbs meaning the same thing already exist.

I beg your writers to refrain from practicing this trend. If a perfectly good word or short phrase already exists, please use it.

Nancy Ross

Paso Robles

Respect local culture

Why doesn’t the county Planning Department just admit its mistake years ago of mislocating the skateboard park in Cayucos in front of our beloved cemetery? Prevent the disrespect to our heritage by relocating it across the highway to the beach area where it belongs.

Shame on The Tribune for endorsing the twisted logic of throwing good money after bad, and shame on those who make a joke about our deep feelings of pride for this quiet little piece of tranquility. Do not let a stubborn few destroy what we now have. The kids of today will later understand how important the preservation of our local culture is, and they will appreciate their skateboard park relocated to a recreational spot.

Richard Dunn

Cayucos

Tax disparity protects

How quickly people forget! W. R. Sheehy (Letters, May 8) thinks it is an outrage that longtime property owners pay less property tax than new buyers under Proposition 13. True, my neighbors probably pay about the same amount of property tax in one year as I pay in two months, but they have lived in their house for something like 30 years. And they are retired.

Before Proposition 13, people on fixed incomes were being taxed out of their homes. Those with paid-off mortgages were finding their property taxes rising to levels higher than their house payment ever was. That was, in part, what spawned the taxpayer revolt.

I purchased my house to be able to live and retire in San Luis Obispo, knowing what my property tax would be and that it would not exceed my retirement income. Without Proposition 13, we would live in fear that someday we’d have to sell our homes and move just to be able to pay taxes.

Chris Black

San Luis Obispo