Sept. 23 Letters to the Editor

Breach of protocol

EDITOR: On Wednesday, District Attorney Jill Ravitch held a meeting in the inner sanctum portion of the Family Justice Center that included Supervisor Efren Carrillo. This was totally inappropriate. Only after the Family Justice Center staff expressed its outrage at this breach of one of its most fundamental tenets did Ravitch inform the supervisor he could not return ("Carrillo told to avoid crisis center," Thursday).

The center is designed to extend to victims of sexual assault confidential and complete services. For every client who comes to the center, a check is run on the alleged perpetrator, and that person is carefully barred from being allowed inside, using a system of alarms and door locks, with law enforcement personnel on hand.

Yet Ravitch led a meeting with an alleged perpetrator allowed inside this very space. If the victim in Carrillo's case obtained Family Justice Center services, this was a serious violation of the center's work and promises. Even if the victim did not, the message Ravitch sent is one of obliviousness to the needs and concerns of victims.

KIM CLEMENT

Santa Rosa

The right direction

EDITOR: In the two years since Robert Haley began serving as the superintendent for the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District, enrollment is up, class sizes for primary grades are down, three vital teacher training days have been restored and two schools have reopened. Our district is finally headed in the right direction ("Leave Credo alone," Letters, Tuesday).

SUSAN ADAMS

Rohnert Park

Help homeless kids

EDITOR: If we didn't have Social Advocates for Youth, we would be looking to form a group like it for the benefits it provides. I'm grateful that SAY is here.

Many kids aren't blessed with a mentor, such as a father or mother, or didn't grow up in a caring environment as I did and most of you reading this did. They need some guidance. It's a tough life for children aging out (at 18 years) of foster care with no place to call home. Some kids become homeless to save themselves from dangerous home situations and need a source of adult-supervised living.

Warrack Hospital is an empty, unused building with bedrooms (patient rooms), bathrooms and a kitchen (to teach culinary skills), as well as offices and treatment areas. Surrounding neighbors opposed to the project should examine their fears and recognize that they arise from pessimism, not reality.

Come to the city meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Strawberry School to support this valuable project and, maybe, find a way to help out. Be part of the solution, for others and for yourself.

ANNE E. SEELEY

Santa Rosa

Not a mixed-use plan

EDITOR: The developer pursuing an East Petaluma apartment project has said that current zoning would allow a much larger development than the 144 units proposed at 35 Maria Drive, but this isn't in the spirit of the designation mixed use ("144-unit Petaluma project stirs concern," Sept. 3). The high-density complex would be a single-use development on a mixed-use site.

Petaluma's general plan says "land uses are designated to ensure balanced neighborhood developments, with a mix of uses and provisions of new parks and commercial centers in neighborhoods that currently lack them." This neighborhood has residential housing — it has apartments, stores, a park/ballpark, a school and one mixed-use designated office complex. If this office complex goes away, almost no offices will be in this area, forcing residents to drive for services. That's not in keeping with the general plan and exacerbating an already bad traffic situation.

Several members of the Planning Commission said it could be worse as they recommended this general plan change on Aug. 13. There were few questions to the developer. Residents' concerns were given perfunctory notice. Is this the smart growth we were promised in the last election?

KATHLEEN GARVEY

Petaluma