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Preservation agency
violating property rights
Re: “Preservation agency aims to force sale of family land” (Page A1, Nov. 6).
“Nobody would allow a two-story mansion to be built in the middle of Golden Gate Park,” said Andrea Mackenzie, the authority’s general manager.
That’s not a legal reason to justify taking away this man’s property rights. It’s also an ineffective analogy. Golden Gate Park is public property. This man wants to build a home on his private property.
This is a case of a taxpayer-funded organization operated by unelected bureaucrats taking away property rights from an individual for no measurable public benefit. It seems greedy for the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority to go after 4.6 acres when they already control thousands of acres in Coyote Valley.
Their offer isn’t even fair. The compensation should be enough to purchase an equivalent property, not just $50,000 more than he paid two years ago.
Tom Ferro
San Jose
Mahan’s vision for S.J.
is coming to fruition
I am writing to commend San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan on his good work to help implement noticeable improvements to the San Jose downtown area since he took office in January.
Before I retired in August 2022, I rode the VTA Light Rail daily from the Santa Teresa station to my place of employment in North San Jose. For many years, I was saddened to see daily the deteriorating and dangerous conditions in San Jose, particularly along the route of Highway 87, the Children’s Discovery Museum and St. James Park.
Today I rode the Light Rail along my familiar route. Downtown has transformed into a cleaner, safer and more livable environment for San Jose residents and visitors. This positive transformation should rightly be attributed to Mahan’s leadership.
Good job, Mayor Mahan.
Mark van Wyk
Morgan Hill
Civilian casualties raise
questions of Israeli intent
The World Health Organization estimates that 67% of the 10,000 Palestinians killed are women and children and that 420 Palestinian children are killed or injured every day in the present Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
These statistics raise serious questions about the true Israeli intentions.
Rosemary Everett
Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
Campbell
Palestinians need
a leader in peace
The Palestinians need a Ghandi-type leader to develop a Palestinian state. Israelis deserve to be able to live in peace without the threat of antisemitism and attacks such as the one recently perpetrated by Hamas. But defending themselves does not justify killing large numbers of civilians.
Palestinian civilians would be best served by helping destroy Hamas and the violence it perpetrates on Jews. There are many Israelis who are just as against the war as there are Palestinians. The development of a peaceful Palestinian state would best serve Palestinians and Jews.
Peter Miron-Conk
San Jose
