Thursday's Letters to the Editor

<p><b>A thing called love</b></p><p>EDITOR: When we think of Feb. 14, we see visions of flowers, chocolate and teddy bears. We commonly know this day as Valentine's Day, and like most other holidays, there was a significance that brought it about. The original meaning has gone astray over time, and it has developed into a day of giving to that special someone. We are bombarded with TV ads that have convinced us that we have to buy our love. However, like Christmas, Valentines' Day has a deeper meaning than gifts.</p><p>Valentine's Day is the day we celebrate love but not just the romantic, relationship kind. If they don't have a valentine, many people update their Facebook status with “forever alone” or “happy single awareness day.” This day has transformed our society into believing we have to be in a relationship and prove our love to one another. This is not what should define Valentine's Day.</p><p>This is the day we celebrate our love. Love for ourselves, our lives, for the struggles, for everyone in and out of our lives and, of course, for our family and loved ones. Let this day be a day we celebrate this little thing called love.</p><p>RACHEL KREAGER</p><p>Santa Rosa</p><p><b>Activists gone silent</b></p><p>EDITOR: What happened to Cindy Sheehan, Code Pink, Women in Black and the peace movement? Did the war end and peace break out?</p><p>During the last six years of George W. Bush's presidency, we saw and heard these people almost every day. In the past four years, not a peep. The only conclusion I can come to is Republican wars are evil and Democratic wars are good.</p><p>WAYNE THOMAS</p><p>Rohnert Park</p><p><b>Behind the curve</b></p><p>EDITOR: If what I read in the newspaper is accurate, I'm shocked to have seen that Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin promised a constituent that she would see if the implementation of the roundabout on Arnold Drive at Agua Caliente Road in Sonoma Valley could be delayed. (“Gorin ventures into Sonoma to hear constituents,” Jan. 26.) As anyone who has driven through that intersection lately knows, work has already begun.</p><p>I, too, was opposed to the roundabout. I think there were higher priority uses for the money. But what's done is done. Delaying the project now, simply to pander to constituents who opposed it, accomplishes nothing except to drive up costs and waste staff time. I suggest the next time Gorin drives to Sonoma from her rented home in Oakmont, she take Arnold Drive so as not to be so out of touch with what is happening.</p><p>ROY TENNANT</p><p>Boyes Hot Springs</p><p><b>Stuck in traffic</b></p><p>EDITOR: Highway 101 traffic congestion was supposed to be solved with the widening project that took years and hundreds of millions of dollars. The final result? Many times, traffic is stopped.</p><p>I wish to propose several solutions: </p><p>• Close the northbound entrance at Ninth Street from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.</p><p>• Stagger the entrance and exit ramps so traffic is not bottlenecked under the freeway.</p><p>• Restripe the highway so there is a Bicentennial Way-style auxiliary lane from the downtown exit to Fountaingrove.</p><p>• Make the left lane a through lane where there are no lane changes through Santa Rosa. All local traffic would be limited to the right lanes.</p><p>• Reconfigure roadways parallel to Highway 101 so traffic doesn't create gridlock.</p><p>I challenge Caltrans to study the failure of the system and propose meaningful improvements. I write this because I hate sitting in traffic, and I am fearful that someday a truck is going to plow into stopped traffic and cause a horrendous tragedy.</p><p>PAUL OGASAWARA</p><p>Sebastopol</p>