Likes North Park to be like Seattle

Celebrating scooters

I am incredibly ecstatic about the approval for bike lanes on 30th street in the North Park neighborhood and would like to encourage Chris Ward and Kevin Faulconer to continue their efforts (“North Park storefronts take on Faulconer and Ward,” Neighborhood News, August 28). I moved to San Diego seven years ago from Seattle, WA – a city where public transportation and cycling are widely used by its residents for practical and environmental reasons. My sole form of transportation is by bike; I also bike regularly with my dog, so safety is of great concern to me. San Diego has such a sprawling (and promising) infrastructure that the addition of bike lanes to our city will be a positive change for future generations. As an employee of the North Park neighborhood, I witness on a daily basis the advantages of last-mile transportation (biking/shared biking/scooters) and look forward to the changes the bike lanes will bring to this bustling, trendy neighborhood.

• Lisa Méndez
• Golden Hill

Cause and incompetence

Interesting story on what at best is sheer incompetence with respect to the $30 billion in red ink our SDCCD (“Software headaches for San Diego city colleges,” City Lights, August 21). has racked up on the faulty, problematic and downright LOUSY PeopleSoft system, currently confounding students, faculty, and staff at all four of the districts campuses (Miramar, City, Mesa, and the College of Continuing education.

Until just yesterday, Peopllesoft’s Canvas Interface service for students and their new Fall semester courses, was indicating the district was still conducting summer school, which ended August 10, over two weeks ago. Many among all four campus communities, believe the situation involves a little more than incompetence. There may be favoritism, closed-door SDCCD meetings (a clear violation of the state’s Brown Act),and collusion. No wonder Bonnie Ann Dowd refused to respond to writer Deegan. Please join me and other campus community members, in requesting a thorough investigation of the entire affair to the Office of California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley so that a full investigation into this malfeasance can be conducted. We owe the future students of the SDCCD, not a penny less.

• Robert C. (Bob) Thomas
• La Jolla

Puzzled again

“I’m calling about last week’s crossword puzzle. I’ve been trying for over a week now to figure out what the relationship was to the numbered puzzle answers. For instance; number #15 of 26, number #13 of 26. I am curious what “26” referred to. I didn’t have any trouble with the puzzle. I got it without that. I would appreciate it if you could could let me know what that relates to.

• Gordon Morris
• San Diego

David Levinson Welk responds:

The numbers refer to the letters of the alphabet and the placement of the letters within the alphabet (e.g. A is #1 of 26, B is #2 of 26, etc.).

The puzzle’s theme has taken familiar phrases that each have a four-letter word whose first three letters are T-H-E. then the fourth letter is supposed to be read as a stand-alone letter. so, instead of LET THEM EAT CAKE, you’re supposed to read the answer as LET THE ‘M’ EAT CAKE.

Sic transit Gloria

The author of the letter (“Idle Worshiper,” Letters, August 21), Daniel Smiechowski, seems to be jumping on the very latest trend of claiming that whoever we may endorse politically is also endorsed by God. This new trend is almost as bad as people wearing pants that are falling around their knees and it just seems to be getting ever more popular. Daniel seems to equate mayoral candidate Todd Gloria with God. Perhaps readers might have forgotten it, but when Mr. Todd Gloria sat on the San Diego city council, at a meeting he said that it was not the right thing to do to feed the homeless or they might leave a mess behind, or give them money because they might spend it on drugs, encouraging good samaritans to donate instead to whatever local causes might be available. So, telling good samaritans to try to find another way to help, some people might not feel that’s godlike. But whatever the case is, here we have a growing trend. So perhaps we can all play a tug-of-war over who’s side God is really on.

• Vivian Marlene Dunbar
• San Ysidro