This and that

Dear Editor:I found the Sept. 16 Downey Patriot singularly interesting and informative. As a 58-year resident of Downey, I think the Patriot staff is doing an excellent job of producing a local newspaper. I might even enjoy the legal notices if I could read them, but my eyes are too old for that tiny print. Several of the articles and letters had to do with financial matters. That's no surprise in this financial climate. I see DUSD will receive $4.3 million in stimulus money. I'm glad it won't all be wasted in Washington. Then there is the $400,000 grant for Treasure Island Park, also from federal funds, I gather, and an article advertising a workshop on how to write grants. In a letter from Manny Rodriguez, he comments on suggestions from two City Council members, one to put Astroturf on one or more soccer fields, and another to build bike paths along the railroad tracks. I hope those last two ideas get dumped. I don't know what Downey can do to help the homeless other than create jobs, but we sure need our infrastructure upgraded. The streets are falling apart. Then there's the letter on OASIS, a follow-up to Harriett Paine's letter two weeks ago. I didn't attend OASIS regularly, but I know a lot of older adults did. I think it is a useful activity for older people like me, and I don't think it could be too expensive. It's also good advertising for local restaurants when they supply the food. My wife and I made a significant contribution to getting computers, which I understand, for the library, but I don't even know what wi-fi is, so I have no opinion on its potential value to library visitors. I enjoy the trees in Downey, especially the palm trees, and I found the letter from Larry Latimer fascinating. I've written and published five books myself, and I must look into the book he has published. I have come to realize what a significant facility Rancho Los Amigos is. I recently had occasion to visit there, and it is enormous and impressive. I should have attended the open house last Saturday, but the article advertising it just came out in the Patriot the day before. Hint, Editor. I think I've commented pretty extensively on articles in the current Patriot, but I have one more to make, on John Vincent's letter on garden hoses. Either his date is wrong or there were later incidents, because my son buried a hose several feet in the ground in about 1962. He was earnestly trying to dig it out when I came home from work. He had inadvertently left the water on in our garden area, and the hose buried itself. I seem to recall there were similar events that summer, but never again. Must have been global warming. -- Don Niemand, Downey

********** Published: September 23, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 23