Jean Ruecker

Your editorial on the switch in views of the NIH nominee on fetal tissue research, together with news of the FDA rejection of Tacrine (THA), the only drug close to approval for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, makes the families and friends of Alzheimer's patients wonder when our loved ones will get the attention they deserve from Washington. Four million people in this country suffer from Alzheimer's and more than 100,000 die of it each year, yet federal research funding for 1991 sits at $267 million, still many times less than AIDS and other diseases that cost fewer lives.

As Mike Davis so correctly points out ("The Charade of Preparedness," Opinion, Jan. 23), planning for an earthquake or any other natural or man-made hazard has been too much under the control of developers, dependent and friendly politicians and the corporate bottom line. Too often, politicians allow self-regulation and compliance while reassuring the public that inspections and building codes will protect us from financial and personal harm. Buildings are allowed in areas that should never be built upon.

Recently, the producers of "L.A. Law" (NBC) decided to quickly and painlessly kill off the character of Roxanne's father after he was diagnosed as suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The character was used as comic relief for several episodes, without ever exploring the real devastation this disease causes to the victim and their families. He couldn't even escape the jokes by dying. In the episode where they dismissed him, the producers treated the victims of Tourette's syndrome and Elephant Man's disease with dignity, and made a real attempt to educate the public.

Policyholders who lost their homes in the Oakland and Santa Barbara fires and the Loma Prieta earthquake are lucky in at least one regard ("Insurers Brace for Tally from Huge Oakland Fire," Oct. 22). These events are so high-profile that it will be difficult for insurance companies to deny coverage without suffering a public relations backlash. Many homeowners might be surprised to find that policies that cover fire or theft have been quietly rewritten to exclude coverage for other catastrophic and costly events such as earth movement, landslides and defective construction.

The decision of the Ventura County court system to shift one judge hearing criminal cases to the civil courts is a welcome development for any litigant waiting for civil justice. I only wish the decision could have been made sooner. My husband and I filed a Superior Court action in August, 1986. In the five years since, we have had at least 10 court appointments at which our trial was supposed to start. Each appointment has required our Los Angeles attorney to travel to Ventura.

I think that columnist Robert J. Bruss usually does an excellent job of informing the public on real estate issues. But in the Aug. 11 issue he was not only uninformative but insensitive. A letter writer asked what he should do about his mother, who held a life estate in a home the son hoped to inherit. The mother wasn't keeping up the property, and the son feared that little value would be left when she finally died. The son also stated that his mother was senile and that he had little contact with her because she was "difficult."

Policyholders who lost their homes in the Oakland and Santa Barbara fires and the Loma Prieta earthquake are lucky in at least one regard ("Insurers Brace for Tally from Huge Oakland Fire," Oct. 22). These events are so high-profile that it will be difficult for insurance companies to deny coverage without suffering a public relations backlash. Many homeowners might be surprised to find that policies that cover fire or theft have been quietly rewritten to exclude coverage for other catastrophic and costly events such as earth movement, landslides and defective construction.

As Mike Davis so correctly points out ("The Charade of Preparedness," Opinion, Jan. 23), planning for an earthquake or any other natural or man-made hazard has been too much under the control of developers, dependent and friendly politicians and the corporate bottom line. Too often, politicians allow self-regulation and compliance while reassuring the public that inspections and building codes will protect us from financial and personal harm. Buildings are allowed in areas that should never be built upon.

Re "Caring is a man's job too," Column One, Nov. 27 It should hardly be surprising that men are providing more home care-giving than ever before. Illness and disability are equal opportunity factors in family life. My hope, and the hope of many in long-term care, is that the increased involvement of men as primary caregivers will lead to a new urgency and solutions for care giving. Families want and need to care for their own, and community-based services are often best for the person who needs care.

"A Policy That Puts the Elderly at Risk" (Commentary, Nov. 29) presented a strong case for changing our health care system for the elderly. As part of an organization which provides services to persons with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, I talk to families every day who have been given a diagnosis of this devastating illness, or worse, no answer at all for their loved one's symptoms. The diagnosis is usually given by a family practitioner or internist without the proper referral to a neurologist for appropriate testing.

I think that columnist Robert J. Bruss usually does an excellent job of informing the public on real estate issues. But in the Aug. 11 issue he was not only uninformative but insensitive. A letter writer asked what he should do about his mother, who held a life estate in a home the son hoped to inherit. The mother wasn't keeping up the property, and the son feared that little value would be left when she finally died. The son also stated that his mother was senile and that he had little contact with her because she was "difficult."

The decision of the Ventura County court system to shift one judge hearing criminal cases to the civil courts is a welcome development for any litigant waiting for civil justice. I only wish the decision could have been made sooner. My husband and I filed a Superior Court action in August, 1986. In the five years since, we have had at least 10 court appointments at which our trial was supposed to start. Each appointment has required our Los Angeles attorney to travel to Ventura.

Your editorial on the switch in views of the NIH nominee on fetal tissue research, together with news of the FDA rejection of Tacrine (THA), the only drug close to approval for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, makes the families and friends of Alzheimer's patients wonder when our loved ones will get the attention they deserve from Washington. Four million people in this country suffer from Alzheimer's and more than 100,000 die of it each year, yet federal research funding for 1991 sits at $267 million, still many times less than AIDS and other diseases that cost fewer lives.

Recently, the producers of "L.A. Law" (NBC) decided to quickly and painlessly kill off the character of Roxanne's father after he was diagnosed as suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The character was used as comic relief for several episodes, without ever exploring the real devastation this disease causes to the victim and their families. He couldn't even escape the jokes by dying. In the episode where they dismissed him, the producers treated the victims of Tourette's syndrome and Elephant Man's disease with dignity, and made a real attempt to educate the public.

In the Simi Valley debate over school closings, some parents have complained that the district will be closing at least one school while it plans to build a new school in Wood Ranch. I live in Wood Ranch, and my house backs up to the site where the school will go. I do not support the district's haste in deciding to close a school without thoroughly looking at other alternatives first. But I hope that parents of the schools threatened by this action will not fall into the trap of neighborhood against neighborhodd and class warfare.

About a dozen Simi Valley political activists, labor union members, business owners and environmentalists said Friday that they have joined forces to oppose the construction of a Wal-Mart store in the city. During a news conference, members of the Coalition to Save Jobs, the Environment and Business cited various reasons for opposing the store.