Ventura County Letters

Loved Nick Green's article "A Long Winter's Nightmare" (Dec. 10) on Santa Paula. He captured the situation extremely well. MARTHA K. HARRIS Santa Paula Ventura County Letters

Those of us opposed to the Lang Dam project appreciate the coverage of our protest on Sunday afternoon and the article "Protesters Bemoan Loss of Oaks for Dam Project." Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo called me this morning to tell me the dam is not going to be made of concrete. I told him I would let you know this fact. Thanks again for making our feelings known, even if I was off-base with my facts! Penny Burley Camarillo

I am writing to express my appreciation for our agency Many Mansions and the way all its people work long, hard hours to get people housing, provide counseling, food-share program and building Stoll House (formerly Community House). This agency has been there for people and has been a model for Thousand Oaks. I ask that Many Mansions be given a grateful thank you for a great job well done. MARY HARRIS Thousand Oaks Ventura County Letters

It will be a great day for the residents and schoolchildren of Ventura County when the Ormond Beach wetlands have been restored and transformed into the precious treasure that they are. It will be a great day when anyone can visit the wetlands and learn about the intricate and delicate relationship among the wetlands, the ocean, our water, animals, birds and people. It is time to move forward into the future of the Ormond Beach wetlands. Julianna Krolak Port Hueneme

Those of us opposed to the Lang Dam project appreciate the coverage of our protest on Sunday afternoon and the article "Protesters Bemoan Loss of Oaks for Dam Project." Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo called me this morning to tell me the dam is not going to be made of concrete. I told him I would let you know this fact. Thanks again for making our feelings known, even if I was off-base with my facts! Penny Burley Camarillo

I read with disbelief a recent quote in the L.A. Times attributed to Ventura County CEO Johnny Johnston in which he compared the risks faced by law enforcement officers in Ventura County to those faced by officers in Los Angeles County. He was quoted as saying that "deputies in Ventura County do not face the same level of danger as those in urban Los Angeles, where crime is higher." I contacted Mr. Johnston and was relieved to hear him say that the statement attributed to him in the paper was not a complete or accurate reflection of what he meant.

Re "Ventura Coldhearted in Not Funding Winter Shelter, Supervisors Say," Nov. 5. Isn't it interesting that the Ventura City Council sees a higher priority in spending $250,000 to build a gazebo in a downtown park, after just spending $270,000 to rebuild the toilets in that same park, while it refuses to give a measly $10,000 to Turning Point Foundation so that mentally ill homeless people won't have to live on the streets and freeze. And these councilpersons consider themselves moral?

A bill introduced by Assemblywoman Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento) would allow Ventura and other cities to continue their city-run ambulance service. [Nine months ago the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, under threat of lawsuits from private ambulance services, returned paramedic services in the city of Ventura to a private company.] Service by our Ventura firefighters had cut emergency response time, cut billing costs and added reassurance that an apartment full of seniors could depend on excellent immediate response, and that they would get to the hospital with necessary lifeline procedures.

The article "Young Shut Out by Rental Prices" in your July 23 issue was dead on. I've been waiting for someone to point out the lack of affordable housing in Ventura County, and Jenifer Ragland presented excellent research, depth and accuracy in her writing. I lived at my parents' home in Oxnard from the time I was 11 until I was 19. I went to university in Riverside, and when I returned to work in Ventura, I figured that getting an apartment would be a piece of cake. My boyfriend and his two roommates had rented a three-bedroom, three-bath apartment in Riverside for $750 a month, and I thought, "Well, a one-bedroom might be around $600 or so."

Linda Parks gives to our community in both big and small ways. I first met Linda when she fought to save the Conejo Creek soccer fields and wrote the parks initiative that protects parkland from being developed. Her votes on the Thousand Oaks City Council reflect her strong pro-resident views. Everyone in the Conejo Valley knows she led the fight to stop urban sprawl with the successful growth-control measure Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources. Linda also volunteered at our school's Halloween carnival.

The developers in Ventura County are showing that they have big-time worries. They have just circled their wagons to protect themselves from the possibility that Linda Parks might become our next county supervisor. They fear Parks because of her commitment to good planning that produces buildings on our land that benefit the needs of residents and not the needs of developers, who only care about their profits. Parks wants to protect us from over-development that leads to traffic congestion, poor air quality and strains our schools and police resources.

Linda Parks gives to our community in both big and small ways. I first met Linda when she fought to save the Conejo Creek soccer fields and wrote the parks initiative that protects parkland from being developed. Her votes on the Thousand Oaks City Council reflect her strong pro-resident views. Everyone in the Conejo Valley knows she led the fight to stop urban sprawl with the successful growth-control measure Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources. Linda also volunteered at our school's Halloween carnival.

Till now, I've been undecided on what position to take in the debate over the sheriff's retirement plan, especially since I have a friend who is a retired deputy. A letter in the Ventura County section Jan. 13 by Randy Workman was the clincher for me. I applaud him for the courage to write, I believe, what most people think but are reluctant to say. He convinced me with his letter. I especially liked when he wrote, "If they threaten to strike or walk out, replace them like President Reagan did to the air traffic controllers."

The article "Young Shut Out by Rental Prices" in your July 23 issue was dead on. I've been waiting for someone to point out the lack of affordable housing in Ventura County, and Jenifer Ragland presented excellent research, depth and accuracy in her writing. I lived at my parents' home in Oxnard from the time I was 11 until I was 19. I went to university in Riverside, and when I returned to work in Ventura, I figured that getting an apartment would be a piece of cake. My boyfriend and his two roommates had rented a three-bedroom, three-bath apartment in Riverside for $750 a month, and I thought, "Well, a one-bedroom might be around $600 or so."

I read with disbelief a recent quote in the L.A. Times attributed to Ventura County CEO Johnny Johnston in which he compared the risks faced by law enforcement officers in Ventura County to those faced by officers in Los Angeles County. He was quoted as saying that "deputies in Ventura County do not face the same level of danger as those in urban Los Angeles, where crime is higher." I contacted Mr. Johnston and was relieved to hear him say that the statement attributed to him in the paper was not a complete or accurate reflection of what he meant.

Re "Ventura Coldhearted in Not Funding Winter Shelter, Supervisors Say," Nov. 5. Isn't it interesting that the Ventura City Council sees a higher priority in spending $250,000 to build a gazebo in a downtown park, after just spending $270,000 to rebuild the toilets in that same park, while it refuses to give a measly $10,000 to Turning Point Foundation so that mentally ill homeless people won't have to live on the streets and freeze. And these councilpersons consider themselves moral?

The developers in Ventura County are showing that they have big-time worries. They have just circled their wagons to protect themselves from the possibility that Linda Parks might become our next county supervisor. They fear Parks because of her commitment to good planning that produces buildings on our land that benefit the needs of residents and not the needs of developers, who only care about their profits. Parks wants to protect us from over-development that leads to traffic congestion, poor air quality and strains our schools and police resources.

It will be a great day for the residents and schoolchildren of Ventura County when the Ormond Beach wetlands have been restored and transformed into the precious treasure that they are. It will be a great day when anyone can visit the wetlands and learn about the intricate and delicate relationship among the wetlands, the ocean, our water, animals, birds and people. It is time to move forward into the future of the Ormond Beach wetlands. Julianna Krolak Port Hueneme

A bill introduced by Assemblywoman Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento) would allow Ventura and other cities to continue their city-run ambulance service. [Nine months ago the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, under threat of lawsuits from private ambulance services, returned paramedic services in the city of Ventura to a private company.] Service by our Ventura firefighters had cut emergency response time, cut billing costs and added reassurance that an apartment full of seniors could depend on excellent immediate response, and that they would get to the hospital with necessary lifeline procedures.

Loved Nick Green's article "A Long Winter's Nightmare" (Dec. 10) on Santa Paula. He captured the situation extremely well. MARTHA K. HARRIS Santa Paula Ventura County Letters