Preserve green space, McKenzie heir urges
I write to you as a representative of the McKenzie family. My grandparents, John and Elizabeth McKenzie, sold the land for McKenzie Park to the city of Los Altos in 1965. This land was where my grandparents had their home and raised their three children. It was sold to the city with the intention of it being open space and parkland for all Los Altans to enjoy.
Our family is distressed to learn that the city plans to fence in the front of McKenzie Park, where my grandparents’ home once stood, to become a dog park. We urge the city council to reconsider eliminating green open space and jeopardizing the beauty of this park. McKenzie Park is part of the heritage of Los Altos, and its open space should not be repurposed so cavalierly.
Caroline McKenzie Appling, the daughter of John and Elizabeth McKenzie, wrote to the city council in 2014 when McKenzie Park was proposed to become a school site. Her words are still true today: “The fact that land is at such premium in Los Altos makes it even more essential to maintain the existing Los Altos parks.”
Please honor the wishes of my grandparents and keep McKenzie Park as open, green space for all to enjoy.
Ann McKenzie Marrier
Sarasota, Fla.
Civil War monument: Don’t tear it down
Regarding the “A Piece of My Mind” column “Hallowed ground?” (Jan. 19) about a millennial’s reaction to statues and monuments of the Civil War and the preservation of land to commemorate warfare and dying: Please ask your millennial friend to resist the urge to tear it all down and deny the rest of humanity the chance to form an opinion.
Victoria Byrd
Los Altos
Solution to crow about: Close dumpsters
The crow problem: It’s been reported that Sunnyvale is having some success scaring its crows away using lasers. If the crows aren’t staying there, they might well be coming here. And we already have more than our fair share.
This writer notes, walking through downtown Los Altos, that the crows are congregating around the many open food dumpsters, and in the parking lots, where fallen pepper berries also appear to be an attractive buffet.
Perhaps it’s time to require closed dumpsters everywhere, and better clean up in the lots when the pepper berry season comes around? Or we might have to invest in lasers ourselves?
Lizebeth Burch
Los Altos
Justices play politics with court retirements
It is reported that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer “bristled” at the accusation that judges act politically.
And Chief Justice John Roberts has said in the past, “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.”
Why then do liberal judges retire during Democratic presidencies and conservative judges during Republican presidencies? It isn’t politics … wink, wink.
Kathryn Tomaino
Los Altos
WomenSV salutes Police Chief Galea
Whenever WomenSV has a local survivor in need of high-level safety planning and support, we connect them with the Los Altos Police Department, knowing they will get the highest-quality service they – and we as advocates – could ever hope for.
Our survivors invariably come away feeling empowered, protected and with new knowledge about how to keep themselves safe.
As a domestic violence nonprofit, we serve victims of powerful, sophisticated abusers who have been stalked, threatened, harassed, terrorized and assaulted by their intimate partners. At the most vulnerable time of their lives, our survivors know that the Los Altos Police Department has their back.
And that’s because Chief Andy Galea chooses each one of his officers so carefully and in a way that reflects his own core values. We all feel blessed to have had the support of Chief Galea and his incredible team of officers.
The character and values of a leader tend to filter down through any organization, and Chief Galea is a shining example of what dedication to serving and protecting citizens from the darker side of human nature looks like.
Thank you, Chief Galea, for putting yourself in harm’s way all these years to keep us safe, and God bless you for your dedicated service to our town, to our citizens and to our survivors.
Ruth Darlene, M.A.
WomenSV
Founder and
executive director
