Dear Editor:
The future of Alamo has moved to neighborhood-level efforts to ally the community and its business district into new leadership as a majority of residents select their destiny as an incorporated municipality.
Most residents in Alamo understand that an unfunded Municipal Advisory Council (MAC), with no authority and very little likely respect for its advisory, would be a lesser organization than our funded Alamo Improvement Association (AIA) and its community-elected board members. Let’s face it: A MAC is just another county agency in much the same manner as the reconstituted Zone 36 and R-7A special districts.
Alamo’s majority of residents support the AIA as members or by participation through their neighborhood groups’ AIA members. In recent years, majority community support of the AIA planning advisory has not been enough to protect Alamo from county overrides and approvals of major housing projects, commercial/institutional facilities in neighborhoods, and large-scale projects in bordering city neighborhoods.
Alamo is now choosing its future with formal political and planning control of development, traffic access, commercial/retail renovation and zoning, ridgeline protection and our natural open-space, large-lot environment. Without incorporated political and planning control, Alamo can expect aggregated political interests to increase infill with housing projects, expansion of roads as traffic corridors, commercial/institutional expansion into our neighborhoods, and a skyline and ridgeline of commercial and residential large-scale facilities.
If you think about it, Alamo Tomorrow is at risk today,
Hal Bailey,
Alamo
Parents need to set limits
Dear Editor:
Great job on the issue of vandalism and “out of control teens” in our area (Feb. 17). Your “Fixing the disconnect” editorial was a great response. More often than not when a parent in this area finds their “young one” has committed an act of vandalism or other crime, they send their “young one” to counseling. Unfortunately there, the “young one” is counseled by an intern who, wanting to be liked, joins with the “young one” to see the family/parents as being unreasonable. Parents have told us time and again that when they asked the counselor what was going on, the counselor responded, “I can’t talk to you about this as it is confidential.”
Situations such as your featured article point to the need of real family/parent training. This means the “entire family” and not just the “problem child.” The issue in your article is not handled by the usual, “how does that make you feel” approach. If these parents don’t know how to set limits, they need help and training to learn how to do it. I have rarely found a situation where the handwriting wasn’t already on the wall by sixth or seventh grade. Parents can’t afford to wait until the police knock on the door. Many feel they know it all and are entitled to allow their “young one” do as he or she pleases. Parents with questions should look for real professionals with the training and experience to truly assist. At least those parents that actually want to be parents and not their “young one’s” buddy.
William Shryer,
Clinical Director, Diablo Behavioral Healthcare,
Danville
