Sept. 17 Letters to the Editor

A lost art

EDITOR: Concerning cursive handwriting in our school curriculum ("Cursive not part of core," Sept. 6): Cursive has been the standard for centuries. Original national documents used it. It was taught in every generation in our schools. Almost all letters were written in cursive. Soldiers wrote with it from war. Relatives' and ancestors' letters and autobiographies use it. Our history is written and preserved in the National Archives in cursive. "Sticky Notes" and "Kilroy" were cursive.

It seems our educators believe it takes too much time to teach and thus ignore it. Imagine the task of translating documents of the past into digital medium so history will not be lost and the current lazy generation can read it on a smartphone or pad of some type.

It is a shame when anyone signs their name to a document and you cannot imagine what the name is. Will the signatures on checks be printed in the future? Where is the organized revolution in education to fight this trend?

Incidentally, beautiful cursive handwriting is an art form admired by all.

MORGAN RIRIE

Santa Rosa

One-note columnist

EDITOR: I'm puzzled as to why you still print Charles Krauthammer's column. All he ever does is slam President Barack Obama. It gets old after a while. Doesn't he have anything meaningful to say?

R.G. "BOB" BATTLES

Windsor

Leave Credo alone

EDITOR: I'm dismayed that the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District is trying to shut down Credo High School ("Credo still faces warning," Wednesday).

Credo has started its third year. It's growing slowly, but its students have high API scores, and the school has excellent leadership and a balanced budget. Credo is a valuable contribution to our community and should be nurtured not destroyed.

Considering the current state of education, doesn't it make sense to embrace new endeavors rather than eliminate them? Unfortunately, it appears that Superintendent Robert Haley has made it his mission to shut Credo down.

I suggest that Haley and the school board focus on their own problems — specifically, a three-year financial plan that projects a $10 million loss. In light of this fact, it can't be long before schools are closed, programs eliminated and teachers are laid off. So why does Credo seem to be their most pressing concern?

Is it time for a change of leadership? St. Helena recalled Haley's last board, and he quickly resigned. Do we need to follow St. Helena's lead here?

I urge this board to stop bullying Credo and focus their efforts on the real problems facing this district.

TIM NONN

Rohnert Park

Shanahan backer

EDITOR: The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office has been mired for years in politics, questionable ethics, self-aggrandizement and cronyism. The current administration is knee deep in this swamp. The losers are the community and, particularly, the victims of crime.

The most recent ethical debacle was reported in this newspaper. A young child molest victim was not told the truth by a chief deputy district attorney ("Plea deal conflict delays molestation sentencing," Aug. 9). An assistant district attorney then offered the preposterous explanation that it was all a "misunderstanding."

I retired two years ago as a senior deputy district attorney. I was fortunate to have Victoria Shanahan as a colleague. She possesses excellent trial skills, compassion for crime victims, great people skills, a top-notch work ethic and the gift of self-deprecation. There is no better person to be our district attorney.

I am a wounded/decorated Vietnam combat veteran. I ask all my brother and sister veterans to vote for Shanahan. I ask all the judges, defense attorneys and courtroom staffers I have worked with over the decades to do the same. I would also respectfully ask all the crime victim families I have helped over my career to vote for her.

Wouldn't it be nice to (finally) feel proud and secure with our District Attorney's Office? Shanahan will do that for us.

JAMES PATRICK CASEY

Sonoma