No Longer One People

Re: Vietnamese-American influence in Silicon Valley politics ("New Power Generation," Cover, Oct. Nov. 1). Very insightful story that acknowledges the emotional and social aspects of Vietnamese-Americans. Many of the younger generation minimizes the experiences of their elderly by discounting and in many cases ignoring altogether the fact that without the sacrifices made by the elders who were exiled by the Vietnamese communists, they would not be driving Mercedes-Benz, running for City Council, or worse yet use their privilege to exploit their own people and countless others by erasing all histories and experiences of those who lived through the war. Greed and capitalism rule this and the future generations of Vietnamese on American soil. Politics and histories will be traded for American-style capitalist greed. Speaking of trade, the communists and the American government have one thing in common: The realization that profit is the bottom line, not values. Normalizing relations with Vietnam is a process that benefits the communists and American venture capitalist. That's why they make good bedfellows. That's also why many first-generation Vietnamese will carry this sadness to their graves. We are no longer one people with a shared identity.

Phuonglan Nguyen Denver, CO

Memories Are Made of Lynch

Re: Hanging in San Jose ("Mob Seen," Cover, Oct. 3). Great article. My father died in 1971, and among his things I found one of those souvenir postcards of the event. Thanks for clearing up this longtime mystery!

Warren Fairbanks San Jose

Development In Development

I would like to express my position about Diane Solomon's article "How High Can They Go?" (MetroNews, Dec. 27, 2006). I live in North San Jose and attended a community meeting to discuss proposed residential development PDC07-057, the rezoning of the "Wyse" parcel at the corner of River Oaks Parkway and North First Street on Tuesday, Oct. 23.

I would like to express my concern about the project. The developer proposes to build one 16-story, 150-foot-tall residential tower and several six-story condominium buildings between Guadalupe River and North First Street.

According to the plan presented by the developer, the 16-story tower will be just less than 50 yards from the river. And the six-story buildings near the river include deep underground parking garages.

I am concerned that the riverfront environment with underground water flow doesn't provide stable enough ground to build such a tall building at the proposed location. And for the underground garages the river water could be destructive hazard, too.

I have lived in the area since 1995 and know that this is the flooding land, and we need to be especially careful when we plan to built such substantial housing development here.

I would like to know if the proposed project meets the terms of San Jose's residential building code.

My second concern about the project is that our River Oaks neighborhood might turn into a nightmare of traffic and high-rises. I fully support River Oaks Neighborhood Association's position not in favor of residential high-rises in our area. I think we need to pursue our neighbor Mike Bertram's point of view brilliantly expressed in Diane Solomon's article.

Vladimir Raykin San Jose

Coming Full Circle

Regarding your recent article on Green Tech (Cover, Oct. 24), are you aware that there is a new farm in Sunnyvale that represents a fundamental change in the way that we grow, get and eat our food?

Full Circle Farm (www.fullcirclesunnyvale.org) represents a shift toward food systems that are local, fresh and sustainable. As a working and self-sustaining, non-profit farm, Full Circle Farm will provide the community, schools and local businesses with fresh organic food.

Google and other major corporations are supporting this new farm, which has been formed on 11 acres of underutilized land, leased by the Santa Clara Unified School District.

George Harrison Sunnyvale

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