The City of Gilroy made a lot of people and their dogs happy
when they developed a dog park at Las Animas Park. I took my dog
there and he really enjoyed interacting and playing with other
dogs, and I also enjoyed talking to their dog owners.
Dear Editor,
The City of Gilroy made a lot of people and their dogs happy when they developed a dog park at Las Animas Park. I took my dog there and he really enjoyed interacting and playing with other dogs, and I also enjoyed talking to their dog owners.
Initially I picked up some dog poop that was along the fence but stopped because it became overwhelming. It is very unhealthy for dogs to have contact with other animal’s poop. The city placed containers of poop bags, trash cans, water, and dog water containers within the dog park.
Participating people need to pick up their dogs’ poop prior to leaving. I’m guessing that a lot of people do not care if the park is safe for their own dogs,other people’s dogs, or children as there is now dog poop all over the larger dog section of the park. Can you imagine what happens when the rain sets in?
People and dogs alike stepping on and spreading the poop. The gravel area surrounding the dog park also has so much dog poop that you find it hard to walk without stepping on it. The city should not have to waste its resources in patrolling and maintaining this area. It is shameful that people do not have the respect for themselves and others to maintain a decent environment so that everyone can enjoy this gift.
Consuelo Lerma, Gilroy
Take columnist ‘into a room’ and teach her about strip club decision
Dear Editor,
Someone needs to take Cynthia Walker into a room, query her about the subject of her column for the week, and counsel her before she embarrasses herself and the newspaper. Having the benefit of a soap box requires responsibility, and I have seen a spate of Walker columns where she obviously didn’t bother to research issues before putting pen to paper.
A recent column scolds the Gilroy Planning Department for not summarily rejecting the titty bar that was proposed for the big-box district in Gilroy. “It is interesting (and appalling) to me that the Gilroy City Planning Department did not summarily reject the application.” That would be illegal. Everyone is entitled to due process. When plans are submitted, planning staff are charged with determining whether they are consistent with the city’s general plan and any direction they have received from the City Council. When the reviews are completed, they are scheduled to go before the Planning Commission, appointed by the City Council, where the merits of the plans are debated. Planning staff reviews them from a highly clinical standpoint. By law, planning staff cannot inject any subjective opinions about any particular project. Indeed, it was the City Council that determined where and under what circumstances adult entertainment would be allowed within the city limits.
Either Walker failed to conduct even the most rudimentary research, or she knew these facts and did what neocons have gotten away with for a long time now: Trying to sucker us. It’s common knowledge among the neocon bloggers that my wife works for the planning department, which opens an entire new and nefarious can of worms. The bitter irony in Walker’s thoughtless commentary is that she often opines that government is the problem, and yet when something happens that is disagreeable to her sensibilities, she wants government to ruthlessly and illegally slam its fist on our right to due process. That, in a nutshell, is the definition of neoconservative.
Please, for the sake of informative discourse, help Walker understand issues before her columns reflect poorly on the very sound journalism the Gilroy Dispatch provides.
Dennis Taylor, Gilroy
Gilroyans vote for huge tax (bonds) increases – sell Gilroy Gardens now
Dear Editor,
I assume that the Golden Quill given to Mike Nesbit (The Dispatch, Jan. 6, 2009) was not for truth of content but for sentence structure and spelling.
Mr. Nesbit agrees with columnist Cynthia Walker’s pro-business stance then goes on to espouse all those things which kill businesses.
My guess is that Mr. Nesbit is not a business owner, but more than likely, a government employee. Mr. Nesbit criticizes Republicans for big spending and cutting services. I agree with the first statement but the rest is false.
Mr. Nesbit asks when the last time taxes were increased was. The answer is last November. Gilroyans – Republican, Democrat and all other affiliations – inexplicably voted to increase their taxes by an unprecedented $200,000,000 for both the library and school system, during a time of apocalyptic financial woes around the world.
My guess is that he fails to recognize a bond as a tax. I assure you, it is. I urge city leaders to seek buyers for the Gilroy Gardens property and sell it post haste. As much as I like the park, it was a reckless investment of the city’s reserves which could have been used to avoid layoffs of police and fire personnel. Other non-critical positions should be eliminated.
In the real world, people lose jobs. Why should government employees and institutions be immune from difficult economic times and resulting layoffs and closures?
California has the dubious distinction of being the highest taxed as well as the most expensive state to do business in. You cannot tax
yourself into prosperity. This is not about party affiliation I assure you. All politicians and people who vote yes for every tax, bond and fee are responsible for out of control spending and the increase of the size of governments at all levels. Now we are all paying the piper.
Mark A. Zappa, Gilroy
