Letters to the Editor

    January 13, 2012
    Opinion

    I’m glad the war is over

    To the Editor:

    What a way to end last year and to begin this year - hearing that the war is over. And I hope so, because I feel that I know so, and if it is then I’m glad that the war is over.

    For over the 10 years or so, the war in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan escalated for over a decade, sending our boys and girls over to all three countries to fight for all three countries for what it would stand up for. For what it’s worth, I think that it is good news that the war is over in all three of those three countries that were engaging in the fight over who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks in New York and Pennsylvania and Washington; and I feel that we won the wars on all three countries and I am very glad to know that.

    It is good that we did what we did and that is fight for what we believe in. And now we are bringing our troops home, especially the ones that are from here, and I hope that they get a hero’s welcome home for what they did and that is fight for our freedom and to fight for what they stand for and for the freedom of democracy and for our nation that stands under God with liberty and justice for all.

    And I hope that we thank them for all of what they did for us and that all of what they are. And I tip my hat and hats off to them for all of what they did; and I hope that you do the same for them, too, and thank them for what they did and everything else so they won’t be forgotten.

    Thank you.

    John Bravo

    Santa Paula

    Hope 2012 is a better year

    To the Editor:

    Well I’m glad that 2011 is now behind us all now, because 2011 was a very down year for everyone personally in general, because a lot went on and it really effected a lot of people. But here it really didn’t hit Santa Paula too bad, but still it was a down year.

    But I know that 2012 will be even a lot better, because I know that some people are making predictions that 2012 will be even a lot better as I speak. I hear that the economy is getting better, the housing market is starting to pick up and starting to improve; but the biggest news of it all is the unemployment picture is also starting to show a great improvement, too, and everything else, too.

    And if all this keeps up then we will be out of this ugly recession and we will all be in very good shape, and the country will be back on its feet and we will get America going again, including Ventura County, who really struggled its way through all of this. And I hope that it will continue to grow economic wise, and develop into a growth for people to see and hear about for many, many years to come, and so on and so forth.

    Well, no matter what, let’s just hope that 2012 will be a better year than last year so we can get back to the way things were; although there were a few number of things that were very good this year, like the bike trail project was good, the remodeling of Jones Field at Santa Paula High, and a few other things that made Santa Paula a place to live and go.

    But let’s hope that 2012 will be a better year this year, so we can recover from last year so we can move ahead in the new year.

    Thank you.

    John Bravo

    Santa Paula

    People vote with their feet

     To the Editor:

    Hungry people do not need a ballot,  they vote with their feet. The people from North Korea and Latin American are making the same move, across borders, but very different borders,  but for the same reasons, they both are hungry and desperate.  

    North Korea’s  priority #1 has been to build expensive weapons of mass destruction, not feeding their hungry people. They don’t allow outsiders to see their people that are starving in their countryside. So millions of North Korea’s citizens are now voting with their feet and heading across the border into China. Most of the food we sent to North Korea to help them was confiscated by their government.  

    Latin Americans, tend to have large families. Today’s cost of living is rising  and salaries aren’t. The slices of pie are getting vary thin in large families. Skills and expensive higher education is required to meet today’s industrial needs. Fantastic American labor saving inventions have greatly reduced the cost  while increasing the quality of corn meal and wheat flour processing. Today one corn combine can harvest with one operator, in an air-conditioned cab,  can harvest 40 acres of corn in a day without a person touching an ear of corn. The ingredients of tortillas can no longer be competitively produced without technology. Immigrants that can design and build combines are needed, hand labor is not.  

    Our border fences are easy to climb as we see on our daily TV news. All hungry and desperate people want out of their economically failing countries. Who can blame them? 

    David Kaiser

    Santa Paula

    Lest we forget

    To the Editor:

    The majority of the current City Council has spent major amounts of time (much of their own) fixing problems created by former Councils, which include:

    Taking painful steps to keep our city financially viable. Thanks to past decisions and practices we were on the brink of fiscal ruin.

    Hiring a new, non-conniving and open City Manager

    Actually getting us a new sewer plant, not just talking about it, at a fraction of the cost for the deal proposed by former councils.

    Right sizing what is now Rodney Fernandez Gardens and settling lawsuits caused by the actions of former councils - more about this later.

    Fixing the apparent conflict of interest on the Planning Commission that had gone on for years.

    Getting rid of a lot of high level city management deadwood in our city government. 

    Understanding that the former Fagan Canyon (now Dickenson Canyon) was never meant for the volume of housing units that was being thrust upon us by former councils. The voters proved that this project was wrong for Santa Paula as configured by voting it down. In my opinion, this action saved Santa Paula.

    They understand and make decisions knowing that Santa Paula has far more than its share of low income housing; we need a balance. 

    Providing us with a great bicycle/walking trail and at a small cost to Santa Paula.

    The above are just a few of the good things accomplished by the majority of our current council, for which I think we should at least say “thank you”. Ralph, Jim Bob, Fred, please accept my humble thanks.

    Now, let’s look at Cabrillo. In my view they have never been a friend to Santa Paula, and that’s also true today, though I am hopeful that their new CEO will stop the dubious practices of the past and work with the city for the benefit of all of Santa Paula. Rodney Fernandez Gardens was originally designed for 150 units but through the good work of some members of our current council, the project was negotiated down (right sized) to the current 90 units. Our current council had been dealt a poor negotiating hand by the former council’s agreements with Cabrillo. Incidentally, you will note that Cabrillo does not hesitate to sue the city - pressure tactics. This project was put forth as a benefit for existing “under-housed” Santa Paula residents, yet Cabrillo advertises/recruits far and wide for out of town residents, who will pay top dollar, which goes to Cabrillo’s bottom line. It looks to me as if Cabrillo does not give low income folks nearly as good a financial deal as does the Santa Paula Housing Authority. Check it out for yourself. 

    The Santa Paula Times quoted Fernandez as saying that the current project (Rodney Fernandez Gardens) is “the best that Cabrillo has ever done.” That may well be true, and it is an attractive looking project after re-design.

    But, that begs the question: why did the current council have to go to great work and city expense to get it right sized and re-designed from 150 to the now 90 units? Why didn’t Cabrillo have the 90 unit number as their proposed project from the get-go? The answer is money for Cabrillo. Is Cabrillo’s real motive to help the poor, or is it to enrich Cabrillo? Someone has to pay for these projects because they don’t carry their own weight, and in case you haven’t figured it out, it’s you and me that pick up the tab - enough! We must never, ever forget, or we will repeat the mistakes of the past. Going forward to East Area One, we must be sure that Cabrillo is not in a position to use strong-arm tactics to pressure our council to get in lieu fees that could be put to better use, especially now that redevelopment monies are basically a thing of the past. This is being watched very closely and will receive much publicity and attention. Citizens of Santa Paula: get involved, stay involved: don’t lose focus. We can’t afford to go back to the bad practices of the past. 

    Larry Sagely

    Santa Paula

    Santa Paula’s future

    To the Editor: 

    Sometimes we get a good look into the future when we stand on the shoulders of the past. Looking back at the reason that our Santa Paula Hospital closed a few years ago is simple, too many patients were not insured or were not able to cover the cost of the health care services that were provided by our hospital.  

    A contributor to this problem was the construction of many tax sheltered housing units in Santa Paula by Cabrillo Economic Development Co. (CEDC). HOW? CEDC’s type of development has been encouraging families that can’t afford health insurance to move here from all over the county. Every family has medical needs and where do they go to get them if they have no insurance - our emergency room. The law require that our hospitals provide service for all those in need.  

    On January 4, 2012 there was an article in the New York Times by Becket Adams that explains what is happening in many hospitals around the country. They are struggling with a growing problem of “permanent patients.” What is a “permanent patient”? They are mostly illegal immigrants or people who lack insurance and the hospital cannot legally turn them away. This leaves hospitals stuck with uninsured illegal immigrants, and sometimes a ‘permanent patient’ at massive cost. This results in hospitals going out of business. An illegal immigrant cannot afford the annual cost of over $10,000 for his family’s health insurance and the employment available to illegals does not usually offer family health insurance. Santa Paulans do not want to loose our hospital AGAIN!

    High density, low end housing does require more services of police and fire departments, however these rental units are tax sheltered and do not contribute enough taxes to cover these services. This leaves our city of Santa Paula holding the bag economically. The State of California is broke and the state is with-holding more of our city’s tax dollars each year that should be coming back to us from Sacramento. 

    The question is, do you think Santa Paula needs more tax sheltered projects that require services without the taxes to cover them? Or do you think we need a more balanced approach and with some good quality, taxpaying, single family housing? 

    David Kaiser

    Santa Paula

    To Tracy and the staff of Rabalais’

    To the Editor:

    Our many thanks for your support on my 70th birthday celebration over the New Year’s weekend. With our five kids and their families, totaling 19, attending this event, we could not have accomplished it without your help. They arrived from Denmark, Rhode Island, a couple from Seattle and one from Santa Barbara.

    You and your staff were wonderful. And talk about quality, the best compliment I can make on the food you prepared for us is to relate the comments, like, “This is delicious, is there any more?” and “Where did you get this?” The Spinach Artichoke Dip and baked brie appetizers, Soft Chewy Chocolate Ginger and Flourless Peanut Butter cookies, muffins, both the quiches, mashed potatoes, veggies, were all wonderful and then we had your Flourless Chocolate Cake. Your reheating instructions went flawlessly. Your efforts greatly relieved the anxiety that Chris would have otherwise felt. Please tell your staff that we appreciate the quality of the food and the effort it took to start their day at 5:00 AM in order to ensure the freshness. (Sounds like I should be in sales.)  

    In addition, since our family members were staying at the Glenn Tavern Inn, the easy walk to Rabalais’ was a natural, first thing in the morning, for their first cup of coffee. Jason and Elizabeth were especially grateful for your friendly atmosphere.

    Paul Briner

    Santa Paula

    Lost and found

    To the Editor:

    On January 8th I lost my wallet at the Ventura Swap meet. What a disappointment I must say. After about 20-30 minutes into my exploring I go in to reach for my wallet and it’s gone. I run to my van and find nothing. I was pretty upset to say the least since I had all my credit cards, ID, and some cash for shopping. I cancelled all my credit cards and my ATM card, which surprisingly had not been charged. At 5 pm that afternoon I got a call from the Santa Paula police station indicating a lady that lived in Santa Paula had turned it in. WOW.

    I cannot be more grateful to this woman from Santa Paula who found my wallet and returned it. I would assume most people wouldn’t think twice to take the cash and just dump the wallet. Not only did she try finding someone to turn it into at the swap meet, since she did not know where the Ventura Police Department was, she turned it in to her hometown police department of Santa Paula (per the officer of Santa Paula).  

    Thank you so much whoever you are. You are truly a great citizen and a wonderful example to those around you for being an honest citizen. I would like to believe there are many people like you but its not easy considering the stories we read to the contrary. Thank you again. I’m glad to know there are still good honest people in this world and you proved it. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! GOD BLESS YOU FOR YOUR KINDESS AND HONESTLY.

    Silvia H. Orozco

    Camarillo

    Voters be responsible

    To the Editor: 

    We voters occasionally have an awesome responsibility to cast our vote as to whom we think is the best qualified person to be the President of the United States with the ability protect its citizens, and build an image of security for all America.

    Logically, if you wanted to build your dream house and needed to select a building contractor, how do you make this most important decision? Do you look for the most experienced and proven builder or the contractor with no experience that tells us that HE wants a chance at proving his ability to us?

    In 2008 we chose a man that sounded great, but without experience. He knew immediately that he needed help, so he personally selected a team of advisors (CZARS) to guide him. However the advisors that he personally selected shared one thing in common, they also had no previous experience at building anything.

    Our dream house is in trouble! Logically, we now need to rethink our past decision that got us in trouble and make some changes. We made a mistake in 2008, now we need to correct it in 2012. 

    David Kaiser

    Santa Paula

    Congratulations Jerry

    To the Editor:

    Well Jerry, what can I say! Well, I can only say this one thing and I will say it now, and that is congratulations Jerry for winning Firefighter of the Year for the City of Santa Paula Fire Department. 

    It’s good to hear that you would be the one to win it this year, and I can imagine that you would be the unanimous choice to win it this year after being chosen by your fellow colleagues and comrades at arms in the professional field of firefighting and other emergency services like medical services, like you did when you and your other fellow firefighters came to my mom’s aid. And judging you for this for which you won it is a great feel for you; also by being judged by your fellow colleagues and comrades at arms for your peers for winning this prestigious award.

    And I know that you are a very happy person, as well as a very happy camper. You were an inspiration this year, buddy, to us all, and you were there when people like my mom and I needed you. 

    Especially on Thursday, July 7th of last year, last summer when I drove up to Station 81, when I saw you and Chief Araiza in the back of Station 81 when I came in to tell you the sad news that my mother died. You immediately texted everyone in the department, telling them the sad news for me, and that was very good of you to do that for me.

    I really appreciated that thank you. And forever I will always be in debt and grateful for and to you for what you did for us - and that includes my mom and I - for what you mean to all of us here in Santa Paula. And the City of Santa Paula will always be appreciative to you for what you did and for what you have done, and that is serve to fight and protect the properties and the residents of the City of Santa Paula, of the City of Santa Paula Fire Department.

    And Jerry, I know that Devera and your kids, as well as Jo Jo and his wife and their kids are proud of you for winning this award. But I know that your mom and dad are also proud of you for winning it, as well as your whole entire side of the family, as well as Devera’s whole entire side of the family too; other than the residents of Santa Paula, the City of Santa Paula, your colleagues, comrades at arms, and everyone else, too, I know are proud of you for winning this award.

    But most of all and over and all, but last but not least, I’m very proud of you for winning this award; and I just want to say congratulations, jerry, for again winning this prestigious award, and for being my friend along with the other guys as well as Devera and your family too. Congratulations! Continue to do and keep up the good work, okay. Thank you.

    John Bravo

    Santa Paula





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