Ramona Ripston

Growing up with a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, Ramona Ripston learned early about intolerance. Her maternal grandparents sat shiva to mourn the marriage of her parents and snubbed their grandchildren for a decade. As a young woman, Ripston witnessed her parents' fears as her father's colleagues from Brooklyn College in New York were summoned before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Re "ACLU's victory is a loss for skid row," Opinion, April 18 What a difficult position L.A. City Councilwoman Jan Perry has chosen to defend. According to her commentary, it's acceptable for police to arrest and jail homeless people only because they have nowhere to sleep. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Constitution prohibits punishing people for "the unavoidable consequence of being human and homeless without shelter in the city of Los Angeles." The court also said it was "undisputed" that the plaintiffs "had no choice other than to be on the streets."

Re "Help the homeless don't need," editorial, Aug. 16 The Times described the ACLU as an impediment to settling a lawsuit about how the city treats homeless people in downtown L.A. In fact, we are doing everything in our power to settle this case. Earlier this year, a federal appeals panel enjoined an unconstitutional city code that allowed police to throw the homeless in jail simply for sleeping or sitting in public when there was nowhere else to go. The editorial suggests that not all parties are adhering to a court-ordered confidentiality agreement designed to move the mediation process along expeditiously.

The American Civil Liberties Union is not a labor union and does not contribute money to political candidates (letters, Feb. 26). The ACLU is strictly a nonpartisan organization committed to preserving the civil liberties and civil rights of everyone. Ramona Ripston Executive Director ACLU of Southern California Los Angeles

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has nominated the head of the local American Civil Liberties Union to the region's top homeless agency, angering those who believe the ACLU has stymied solutions to one of the nation's largest homeless problems. Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, is one of four nominees the mayor's office hopes will fill seats on the 10-member Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority board.

A divided Los Angeles City Council confirmed the mayor's appointment of a third person with ties to the ACLU to a panel on homelessness Wednesday, ending a bruising political battle over how their appointments would affect the city's efforts to clean up skid row.

"Cost of Inaction Is Too High" (editorial, March 3) misses the point about the ACLU lawsuit on the homeless sweeps. The purpose of the suit is to stop the pattern of arrests and intimidation that the homeless are continually subjected to. Even The Times agrees that the sweeps are not a part of the solution. The federal lawsuit seeks an injunction against the unnecessary police sweeps that only result in shifting the homeless from one area to another. Real solutions will require leadership, creativity and, most of all, investment.

There is a tiny girl in a red shirt and orange socks standing in the doorway of Ramona Ripston's office. "Ready now, Ramona? Ready for my song?" Ripston nods and the child begins to sing: It's still the same old sto-ree. A fight for love and glo-ree. A case of do--or die! The fund-a-men-tal things ap-ply . . . AS . . . TIME . . . GOES . . . BY. It is the day of the American Civil Liberties Union's first victory in the battle to overturn state Proposition 209.