Squid Is Not Fair

Once again you have shown your lack of journalistic balance by printing yet another one-sided story about Salinas High’s principal, Dr. Joseph Pawlick [SquidFry, March 4-10]. By choosing to highlight only the negative aspects of his tenure (including the very-tired-by-now, never proven, alleged “thong incident”), you are once again far from providing balanced journalism. What are the chances you were spoon-fed the article from the teacher’s union, and didn’t bother to check the facts?

If you had, you would have learned that since Dr. Pawlick has been principal at Salinas High, academic test scores are up, and the school’s API rating has gone from a two in 2000 to a nine in 2002. Test scores aside, attendance has increased from 45 percent of the eligible students within some of the school’s boundaries attending Salinas High, to over 90 percent, proving that Salinas High is now “the place to be.”

Dr. Pawlick supports all types of students, from FFA to athletics, to migrant and more. I heard he was the first principal in recent history to attend the Salinas Valley Fair in King City to see first-hand the success of the Salinas High students.

By choosing to only highlight the negative aspects of the story you are doing both the community and your paper’s reputation a disservice.

Marianne Gennis | Salinas

It’s Only Logical

The questions concerning the regulation of restrictions on marriage all ignore landmark US Supreme Court precedent from Reynolds v. United States in 1878. Ironically, this decision produced the idea of “separation of church and state” as legitimate points of case law. The court decided that it was within the power of the legislative branch of government to regulate marriage by statute alone.

Congress and almost all of the states have statutorily determined both polygamy and homosexual marriage as unlawful.

Marriage is a privilege, not an enumerated right.

Jeffrey A. Kellog | Carmel

The Animals Can Talk

The Planning Commission’s first public hearing on the draft General Plan provided an insight into the intriguing concept of environmental representation. After one gentleman remarked that people are the most important resource our county has, a kindly-looking lady stood up to object, declaring that, while people are nice, we must speak for the animals as they have no voice! We must be their representatives!

Armed with a mail-order degree in animal linguistics from the University of Barbados, I ventured into the Monterey Pine Forest to conduct a poll on what the animals thought of being spoken for.

“All I wanna do is eat the forest,” said one woodchuck. “The whole forest.”

“No representation without taxation,” mumbled a skunk.

“People are so thoughtful,” said a mountain lion, “So obliging, so sweet. Might I ask how much you weigh?”

Thankfully, before I could reply, a troop of birdwatchers trotted by in pursuit of a red-throated warbler. The mountain lion fell in behind them in order to cull out the most infirm of the herd.

There you have it, folks. The animals don’t mind being spoken for, though several have requested that hikers please carry bottles of steak sauce in their backpacks.

Chris Bunn, Jr. | Salinas