Letters

I am sorry to read that Anzar High School students may be offered a way to avoid a “more math-intensive science course” by skipping chemistry. One has to wonder how students who are also completing the A-G Mathematics requirement can possibly be floundering in the elementary mathematics/arithmetic contained in a high school chemistry course. The opportunity provided in a chemistry course to solidify basic skills such as handling fractions should not be avoided by students who will be seeking employment in a 21st century which increasingly values numerical facility. One can also ask how post-secondary admissions personnel will view “integrated science courses” sold to students as a way to avoid mathematics. Students should stick with chemistry and deal with any course problems by seeking the free tutoring available to them in the local area.

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution at the March 17 meeting reducing the stipend to grand jury members to the lowest amount of any county in California, effective with the 2015-16 term. The board had previously restored the 20 percent “administrative fee” to the grand jury 2014-2015 budget. For the last several meetings, board members had admonished the grand jury for not being frugal.

No doubt that this letter will generate responses, but just remember that the letter came first. Think about this: Can you explain, exactly, why the Sierra Club and a small number of people in the county oppose the Panoche Valley Solar Project, PV2?

This report about the bankruptcy of the Indiana toll road tells us just how bankrupt the VTA-COG toll road plan is, what a bad decision it would be if local elected leaders are foolish enough to try it, and what bad public policy it would be for this and future generations. The bad public policy of taxing people out of their cars, which transit advocates are Hell bent on, would take us on the Road to Serfdom. Instead of steering us into government transport, our local leaders should learn from history and recognize the superior transport for us that self-sufficient motorists and truckers represent. Gas/diesel taxes paid by motorists must be kept for highway uses, not diverted to transit subsidies for government transit systems’ riders. If transit riders need more money to fund transit systems, then they should pay higher fares, not require motorists and truckers to pay higher taxes so local leaders can divert more of our money to pay for their bankruptcy-from-conception transit fiascoes. Why can’t we learn from history?

Silicon Valley and Salinas Valley combine to be the largest urban area in North America without an intermodal facility (piggyback ramps as we used to call them when I supervised SPRR’s San Jose Ramp graveyard shift back in 1966-1970). So, with VTA-COG-AMBAG in charge of transport planning, we suffer the consequences of bad planning decisions. Not only are traffic and tonnage flows hampered, air pollution and road maintenance expenses are higher thanks to the geniuses at our local “authorities.”

Congratulations to the Crush Girls 15-and-under team of Hollister for its great finish at the Power League Qualifier tournament. The performance shows that good volleyball skills such as passing and floor defense, along with heart and good coaching, can lead to wins. “If you can’t pass, you can’t play,” one my coaches used to say. Here’s to qualifying for nationals! Thank you to the Free Lance for publishing a good article about the team and their historic performance.

The South Valley Symphony’s March 7 evening concert at Gavilan Community College’s theater celebrates young people through music.