Letters to the editor

Editor,

I would like to thank my family, friends, supporters and especially my committee for all the help and encouragement they gave me in my run for San Mateo City Council. We fought a good clean fight and ran a positive campaign. I will continue to be involved in our city activities and be a voice for the residents of San Mateo. I encourage others to stay involved, to fight for our quality of life issues which affect our entire city.

Bertha Sanchez

San Mateo

Keep North

Central San Mateo clean

Editor,

It surprises me when I read about how Jack Matthews and John Lee have helped our community. I guess it depends on which block you live on. These San Mateo councilmen have done nothing to improve North Central San Mateo. We have day workers standing on corners looking for work when we have a day center. Our streets are dirty from trash thrown from these day workers and the city has not taken any action in keeping this area clean.

Apartments are overcrowded and no parking spaces on our streets in this community.Perhaps our councilmen should start cleaning up this city instead of plans for more expansion. Let’s keep this great city and North Central Neighborhood clean.

Linda Medrano

San Mateo

Giving needy teens

gifts they really want

Editor,

I read your appealing article "Nonprofit organizing ‘teen’ drive,” (in the Nov. 12 edition of the Daily Journal) and I was extremely surprised. Usually, adults would think that their teen daughter or son like toys such as hot wheel sets, dolls, action figures, etc.; but now I realize that all adults aren’t like this. I am extremely glad that Nicola and Curtis had created the fund. Now teenagers can actually get gifts that they want. Nicola and Curtis are changing teenagers lives and I am thankful for that.

Nicole Rodrick

San Mateo

Batman leaves the

world behind a better place

Editor,

I just wanted to say that the column written by Emanuel Lee in the Nov. 20 edition of the Daily Journal was incredibly touching and well written. I knew Richard Batman. He was my friend. He took pictures of my son Tony Catalli and my daughter, Gina Catalli while playing basketball at Hillsdale High School, five years ago. Richard’s son, Andrew, was in the same class at Hillsdale as my daughter Gina. Richard would email me from time to time just saying "hi” or expressing his condolences on the death of my Dad this past May, at the age of 91. Richard knew my Dad and would always make a special effort to come and say, "hi,” to him at the games. Richard most recently sent me pictures of Tony and Gina that I had never seen before, saying that he knew I would cherish them. I wish that I had saved the note he wrote. I never knew he was ill. I am incredibly sad this evening, two days before Thanksgiving. However, I am thankful that I knew Richard. We were all lucky to have known Richard. My heart goes out to Karen, Andrew and the rest of his family. The world is a better place because of him.

Kendra Mathieu

Redwood City

Oil spill hits close to home

Editor,

I am a college student in Washington State. I love to visit San Francisco every summer, so the news about San Francisco Bay’s biggest oil spill in nearly two decades was very shocking to me. What was even more shocking was that it made its way past the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific Ocean killing scores of birds, damaging beaches and delaying the crab season. And because the crab season is so important to San Francisco, its delay will affect life in many ways.

Strangely, at about the same time, a similar tragedy happened in Russia, my homeland. Three sailors were killed and five crewmen are missing in a heavy storm in the strait connecting the Black and Azov seas. More than 30 thousand birds and countless fish have been killed in an "ecological catastrophe” wrought by thousands of tons of oil from a tanker that broke apart in this heavy storm. The tank was one of up to ten ships that sank. Russian officials said that the damage was so great, it’s hard to access.

It is extremely sad to hear this news because both San Francisco and Russia are very close to my heart. I’m sure that other Russians, visitors to San Francisco, and environmentalists would agree.

Margarita Topal

Vancouver, Wash.

Bill to cover children vetoed

Editor,

The SCHIP bill in Congress, and vetoed by the president, is a strong bipartisan bill that would invest $35 billion over 5 years to provide health care to 10 million children.

The purpose of SCHIP is to provide health coverage to children of working families who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, it costs $3.34 per day to cover a child under SCHIP. One day in Iraq costs $300 million.

Ana Rudolph

Brisbane

Choosing war

over our children

Editor,

George W. Bush and his fellow Republicans continue to make it clear that they don’t care about America in the least. How else can you explain their continued efforts to block renewal of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)? This program provides health insurance to millions of children living in poverty. It would cost $35 billion to fund this program for five years. President Bush’s war in Iraq, by contrast, consumes that much money in three months.

Bush and the Republicans are happy to throw money hand over fist at the war in Iraq, even as the country lies in ruins and more and more Americans and Iraqis die. But they’re not willing to spend even a nickel to help poor and sick American children. Did I mention that these evil people don’t care about America?

Peter Stone

Palo Alto

Celebrity special treatment

Editor,

Mike Tyson was sentenced to 24 hours in jail and three years probation for cocaine possession and driving under the influence.

What would his sentence have been had he been Bill Smith of Lawrence, Kan.?

Jack Green

San Mateo