Letters

View from the other side
RegardingEllen Snortland’s frustration with the news media’s inaccurate reporting of the Hillary Clinton rally at Cal State LA (“Caveat Emptor,” Feb. 28): If you are conservative, the mainstream media are like this 24/7. Whether it is Bush’s well-received trip to Africa to give aid, positive economic news or any progress made in Iraq, it will be misreported or completely ignored by the mainstream media.

I have noticed lately that not only is the media dominated by the left, but since Obama has taken the lead in the primaries the media has decided that he is their candidate, and Hillary Clinton’s campaign is over. They seem to write the news as they want their outcome to be.

I attribute this to a combination of liberal bias, laziness, lowering of journalistic standards, and journalists’ lack of self-awareness of their role in reporting the news.

Conservatives have long since gone to the “new media” of FOX News, talk radio, and the Internet for their news and gave up on traditional sources like the LA Times and network news, whose readership and ratings continue to drop every year.

I don’t want or expect the media to become conservative, but it would be nice for them to be closer to 50-50 in the ideological makeup of their journalists, like our country is.

I do sympathize with Ms. Snortland’s frustration with the media when this historic election means so much to her and others, but there is a certain satisfaction that someone on the left is seeing firsthand what it is like when you are on the wrong side of today’s powerful media.

MICHAEL CARR PASADENA 

Another way
In the best interest of the Democratic Party, I think Obama should concede Florida and Michigan in exchange for a DNC commitment that the super delegates must overall mirror the will of the people and the pledged delegates at the end of the contest.

(a) Hillary is pushing hard to have Michigan and Florida seated.

(b) Hillary is already trying to influence the officials of the DNC Appeals Board to overturn the DNC decision in June.

(c) Barack wants the super delegates to not overturn the pledged  delegates.

Negotiating this concession as an assurance that super delegates sanction the results — and not overturn it — favors Barack and

—Keeps the Democratic Party  from potential disaster and collapse

—Gives Barack the goodwill of the party and of voters

—Keeps his momentum going

—If he continues winning, he secures his nomination without the risk of a super delegate upset

This concession should also be  attractive to Hillary:

—She would gain more than 300,000 popular votes

— She would acquire more than 60 + delegates, cutting Obama’s lead in half!

—She gets a second shot at winning the election!

There is no perfect solution to the Michigan and Florida situation. However, I think this compromise is best considering all issues.

DARRELL HUBBARD BURBANK 

Fired up
Being the executive director of Vanguardians, a government accountability watchdog group in Glendale, I was pleased to read the article about retired Pasadena Police Chief Bruce Philpott and the work he is doing regarding accountability in the Glendale Fire Department (“Fire Starter” Feb. 28). 

His work is being watched closely by members of the community. People are aware of the fiscal crisis being created by the Fire Department and its total disregard for the medical emergencies by “slow rolls” — taking longer to get to an emergency by being out of their district.

Philpott has demonstrated that significant time can be cut from emergency medical responses through minor modifications of existing policy while staffing can be safely reduced, saving up to $15 million per year that can be used for critical infrastructure needs. 

Documents obtained under the Public Records Act demonstrate that first responders close their district fire stations for reasons that cannot be justified. These station closures are clearly the product of self-interest. Public safety, unfortunately, takes second seat. Some of the reasons given for closing the neighborhood fire stations by driving out of their districts are to take coffee breaks, go food shopping twice a day, jog in remote areas and attend union meetings. These are practices that ultimately degrade quick response times to critical medical emergencies. “Geographic integrity,” the one-time standard for professional firefighters, has been sidelined. 

The article did not cover the issue of “failed incidents,” the term used by a consultant hired by the Glendale Fire Department in 2004. Failed incidents are the excessively slow responses identified by the consultant. The GFD has not conducted its own anticipated due diligence to determine what is causing them. Philpott has conducted his own due diligence through the Public Records Act and identified some of these causes. 

In one fire district with a high frequency of failed incidents, first responders jog in a remote park up to a quarter-mile away from their emergency response vehicle. When responding from this location, it takes (on average) 7.7 minutes to arrive at the scene of a medical emergency, time that is unacceptable when the average response time from the centrally located district fire station is four minutes. The GFD has decided to ignore this data because it cuts into its own agenda.

Philpott points out that over 99 percent of medical calls are single-person incidents. The backup engine company can adequately support the rescue ambulance with three firefighters rather than the four presently deployed. The fourth firefighter is superfluous and very costly, at $200,000 per year with benefits. 

Of fire alarms, 93 percent are false and most real fires are of a minor nature and can be easily handled by the engine company when staffed with three. There were no significant (structural damage of $500,000) structure fires last year in Glendale. With overtime averaging more than $30,000 per firefighter last year, it is apparent why the Fire Department wants to continue staffing with four.  It’s comforting to know that someone is out there trying to change policy that will protect us better by reducing response times and saving $15 million in the process. The public debate is just beginning. 

BARRY ALLEN
VIA EMAIL  

WRITE TO US
Unlike other newspapers, we try to publish every letter we get. We also try our best to leave the writer’s voice intact. But perhaps best of all, we do not respond to your criticisms, unless they are accompanied with a question that demands an answer. In that case, we will respond, but only to answer. Letters to the editor should include a return address and a telephone number. If writing via email, leave a phone number. Just know that all correspondence becomes our property, and it will be edited for libel, spelling, grammar and possibly space.  Mark your letter “Letter to the editor” and send it to Pasadena Weekly, 50 S. DeLacey Ave., Ste. 200, Pasadena, CA 91105. If sending an email, write to:     kevinu@pasadenaweekly.com,      joep@pasadenaweekly.com,  andrec@pasadenaweekly.com, carlk@pasadenaweekly.com.