Letter to the Editor

Headline writers crack me up

A good headline sometimes provides all the information you need. Take this article, posted by the SGV Tribune: Man chased by imaginary pumas gets stuck in tree, South Pasadena police say.

What more do you need to know?

San Gabriel Valley News Group

Letter from Barbara Murphy. (Sixth letter down on the Star-News website).

By they way, how do you guys like their new web design?  On the one hand, it's cleaner.  But it also loads much slower.  And it's more work to get to the blogs.

Recent letters to the editor in the local papers

Pasadena Star-News, Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Curfew ignored

What does it take to get Wal-Mart to abide by its contractual agreement for the building of a supercenter?

Wal-Mart's violations of the conditions imposed by the city of Rosemead and agreed to by Wal-Mart are numerous and egregious and have been amply documented by neighborhood residents.

As an example, Wal-Mart's construction activities are supposed to stop at 8p.m. Yet from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. the other night, Wal-Mart's employees refused to stop the deafening roar caused by the workers breaking up cement.

Not Quite All the News That's Fit to Print

     A recurring issue we've had here in Rosemead is that the editorial board of the local paper has been vocally and unabashedly pro-Wal-Mart.  Headlines, letters to the editor, and (presumably) news stories are often edited in ways that both subtle and unsubtle to present the point of view that a Wal-Mart in Rosemead would bring unimaginable wealth to our city while having no plausible downside.  A recent letter to the editor illustrates this point

Campaign Finanace

This was clipped from the SGV Tribune, March 3. It's not a letter to the editor, but is relevant nonetheless. Note that these numbers do not include individual contributions made outside of the listed groups. Also, note that the contributions are counted only up to the 19th of February, three weeks before the election. (Also, note the interesting construction of the title, which starts with the phrase "wal-mart puts candidates in lead", as if their candidates are "in the lead". They could have more simply written "Wal-Mart Makes Largest Contributions to Candidates.")

Gail Tazawa: SGV Tribune March 4

Heartbeat away

On Feb.18, your newspaper endorsed the three incumbents for the Rosemead City Council election on March 8th and declared they would be winners.

The editorial board obviously don't hear the heartbeat of the city of Rosemead. If they did, they would be aware that the voters overwhelmingly reject the three incumbents' bid for re-election.

Public sentiment is strongly in favor of a change on the City Council. I predict that John Nunez, John Tran, and write-in candidate Polly Low will win in a landslide.

David and Mary Ellen Perea: SGV Tribune March 4

Will resentment win?

Public resentment by Rosemead residents toward the five City Council members is not just about the council's approval of a Wal-Mart supercenter.

It has gone far beyond that. Rosemead voters were denied the right to vote on Ordinance 836 which approved the Wal- Mart project. This cuts to the very heart of democracy.

Because of their role in undermining the democratic process, the three incumbents running for re-election on March 8 will be defeated.

Marlene Shinen, SGVTrib, Feb 28

Anti-Wal-Mart slate

I want to express my admiration for the dedicated hardworking Rosemead residents who have worked so diligently to overcome all obstacles in their fight to prevent a Wal- Mart Superstore from-being built in southern Rosemead.

These residents went to City Council meetings and voiced their concerns about the problems a Wal-Mart big-box development would cause the residential area. They cited facts and statistics about traffic gridlock and noise and air pollution. But all to no avail. The five members of the Rosemead City Council ignored the pleas of their constituents and approved Wal-Mart's proposal.