Kudos to union, MTS on drivers' pact
Regarding “Bus drivers and MTS reach labor agreement” (Around Our Region, May 13):
As the holder each month of a Metropolitan Transit System bus pass, I feel I need to congratulate the drivers' union in their negotiation of a new contract for the drivers and other staff at MTS. This new contract includes decent wage increases, as well as good benefits. I know this will ensure continued excellent service from the drivers and other staff, as well as continued great service from the newly rescheduled MTS routes.
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Like many bus users, I complained when the changes were happening (my favorite bus at the time – the 34 – was canceled). But once the changes were complete, the service supplied is now definitely better. It is great to see that the management of MTS is looking out for the workers by giving them good contracts – too often these days we see the workers being ignored, or their jobs shipped overseas. Well done, MTS!
PAUL NELSON
San Diego
Peters urges return to bargaining table
Regarding “Day of decision/Will City Council back taxpayers or union” (Editorial, May 12):
While I agree that this week's discussion of reforming city pension and health care benefits is of great significance, it would be reckless for the San Diego City Council to push ahead when the city attorney changed the rules in the middle of the game. This only invites future costly litigation. We have already had too much of that, thanks to our current city attorney.
The health care portion of the proposal on the table Monday would have actually cost the city more than the existing contract. Additionally, other pension reform options met the mayor's objectives while saving even more over the long term. We need to demand that our leaders do more than make headlines – we have a duty to make change that will improve our finances in these tough times.
I have been one of the strongest supporters of the mayor's reform agenda, especially his efforts to lower health care costs. I was encouraged by the movement yesterday in the discussion between the mayor and employee groups on this and other key issues. I encourage the mayor to return to the bargaining table to find a way to reduce pension and health care costs while allowing the city to recruit and retain future employees.
SCOTT PETERS
President
San Diego City Council
Sightseeing not part of school's role
Regarding “Headed Out to Sea” (Around Our Region, May 10):
Although the photo of the two little girls waiting to board the Cabrillo was cute, the caption information shows just one of the many ways our schools are wasting funds and then complaining about proposed budget cuts.
It states: “The trip was the first time that many of the City Heights students had seen or been on a boat.” Since when is it the school district's job to make sure that kids get to “sightsee”? When I was young, we did it on weekends with our parents with no cost to taxpayers. Not all of us got to go as much as others, but that is part of life!
The girls pictured with this story were 5 and 6. I doubt they will remember much of this trip, and they have their whole teen and adult lives to get themselves to places they want to see and learn about if their parents or guardians are unable to do so now. If all of these non-school, nonsense programs were taken out of the budget, we could keep our teachers and kids in the classroom, teaching and learning, where they belong.
JUDY BRUCE
San Diego
Spreading the blame for education's woes
Regarding “Jackson in jeopardy/Union rules a threat to years of student progress” (Editorial, May 11):
What the Union-Tribune continues to deny are the efforts by thousands of teachers to retain what little dignity they have left in keeping a relatively low-paying job vis-a-vis their education level. It is, perhaps, an anomaly that so many teachers with the same number of years of service at the same school became “reduction in force,” or RIF, victims.
Those same teachers had choices to move to other schools. Other teachers, perhaps with more experience, could have been easily moved to Jackson under current employment guidelines and administrative procedures. I applaud the Union-Tribune for recognizing the supreme efforts of the Jackson staff, but there are plenty of examples of schools making great strides in improving the education of children in San Diego. The annual Sacramento angst over the state budget has everything to do directly with what kind of budgets local school districts may manage and who gets the employment ax.
JOHN H. BORJA
San Diego
Columnist George Will believes current efforts to improve education in America's school system, such as No Child Left Behind, are taking the wrong approach and progress is unsuccessful (“Schools can't solve nation's problems,” Opinion, April 24). According to Will, what seems to be the underlying cause of problems in schools, the disintegration of families and communities, has been ignored for many years now. If we are to effectively improve our education issues, we must look beyond just the problems in our schools and find a way to deal with the troubles at home.
BRANDON WONG
San Diego
Addressing tribes' game standards
As executive director of the California Tribal Business Alliance, and on behalf of the Pala Band of Mission Indians, Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians and United Auburn Indian Community, I'm writing in response to the editorial concerning financial and game security standards at tribal casinos (“Tin ear/Tribes risking integrity of casino games,” Editorial, May 5).
Our tribes adopt, monitor and enforce industry standard security regulations at our casinos as stringent as the federal standards the state is proposing. A federal regulatory agency – the National Indian Gaming Commission – audits and enforces compliance with these standards. There is no need to have a state agency duplicate what is already being done by a more experienced federal agency.
To set the record straight, an amendment to the compacts between the tribes and the state is necessary to authorize the state to additionally regulate these security standards. The state can't gain by regulation what it failed to include in previously negotiated compacts.
So what's really going on here? The California Gambling Control Commission is looking for more state funding from the Legislature and justified its request by raising issues with “obsolete” game software in a recent report.
The independent gaming test laboratory, Gaming Laboratories International Inc., or GLI, wrote the standards to which the games are tested and tests all game software before it is put into play at our casinos. GLI has made clear that: “Obsolete software, when used as directed by the test laboratory, does not pose any type of integrity risk to the property or players.” Obsolete means an updated version is now available, analogous to the way you might replace an older version of Windows when upgrading your computer.
There is no risk to the integrity of games at our casinos, and we have not opposed federal regulation of security standards at our casinos. We simply don't believe that the state needs to build a new bureaucracy to do over what the federal government is already doing.
ALISON HARVEY
Sacramento
