THE PENINSULA TIMES TRIBUNE, Monday. March 26. 1984-Paaa A-10 Sew lip the pockets JO NO PLEASE ITU. STRENGTH that when more than one defendant is involved and any of the defendants is unable to pay bis share of the liability, the remaining defendants have to pay what he cant As a typical example, the victim of an accident will sue the driver who plowed into him, and the city will be named as well for not keeping its streets safe for driving The Judge or jury may assign, say, 97 percent of the blame to the negligent driver and 3 percent to the city. If the driver is underinsured or uninsured, however, the city, can end up paying most of the 97 percent as well as its own 3 percent The Foran bill, SB 575, represents a compromise that would compensate the victims of misfortune without draining the coffers of public agencies.
To compensate a victim for out-of-pocket" expenses, such as medical bills or property damage, every defendant would have to pay bis entire share. But for other damages, such as loss of companionship or emotional stress, defendants less than 40 percent responsible typically the lie agencies would no longer have to pay for more than their share of the blame. Now that Proposition 13 has put such tight fiscal restrictions on city budgets, the deep pockets suits are especially inappropriate. The law should demand compensation in a way that reflects re-, sponslbility, not wealth. A DRIVER was speeding down a Mountain View street in the pour lng rain when the car hit a puddle, skidded out of control.
Jumped the center divider and hit another car head-on. One person was killed and five others were injured. As with many tragedies in this litigious society, a lawsuit soon followed. And as with an Increasing number of such lawsuits, the city was named as a defendant Mountain View was sued apparently for allowing a depression in a city street that could create a dangerous rain puddle. Mountain Views exposure in the lawsuit was $300,000.
It was, of course, the taxpayers of Mountain View who would be paying not because the city was primarily responsible for the accident but because cities have multl-mlllion-dollar budgets what lawyers call deep pockets. But a bill has been passed in the state Senate to reduce the potential depth of the cities pockets. We urge the Assembly to pass it as well. Mountain View was lucky in the puddle case it settled out of court for $5,000. Other cities are not so lucky.
According to a League of California Cities survey, Menlo Park paid out $65,000, Palo Alto paid out $210,000 and Sunnyvale paid out $606,000 in liability litigation from 1980 to 1982. In 1978 the state Supreme Court ruled Letters Earmarks on the jail funds would rather have on campus! But the local community, students, and alumni need not worry about the intellectual pursuits at this prestigious institution. Next year Stanford will give us America's own Circus Maximus, Super Bowl XIX! He doth protest too much, methinks. R. W.
Dorst ATHERTON THE HOPES for sorely needed new jails In Santa Clara and San Mateo counties got a psychological boost last week with the approval of two funding bills by the Assembly Criminal Law and Public Safety Committee. However, even if both bills make it all the way through the legislative process and are signed by the governor, the funding is dependent upon passage of Proposition 16, a $250 million bond issue for county jail construction that is on the June 5 primary ballot One of the bills approved last week was by Assemblyman Byron Sher, D-Palo Alto, who is doing his best to get new jails for his constituents in the two counties. His bill, AB 2357, would allo- cate the $250 million from Proposition 16 among eight counties, with $34.1 million going to Santa Clara County and $8.2 mil lion to San Mateo County. In an attempt to win more widespread support for bis bill, Sher has double-joined it with the second measure approved, AB 3805 by Assemblyman Richard Robinson, D-San Francisco. Robinson's bill would appropriate an additional $125 million for counties not included in Shers bill, such as Los Angeles and Alameda.
However, Robinsons bill requires a two-thirds majority vote for approval and is less likely to make It through the Legislature. In that case, Sher Is going to have to unlink his bill from Robinsons and try to get it approved by itself. Its a complicated procedure, but Sher is doing his legislative best to get the Jail funding. Left hope the voters reward his effort with approval of Proposition 16 in June. Recognition for teachers that has taken the position that we are rich! While senior citizens huddle about in sweaters trying to save on their ever increasing utility bills, our City Council has voted to add a 5 percent tax to our bills.
Now that amounts to a lot of money, even in the summer, but in the winter it is much worse! The only chance we have to rid ourselves of this burden is to vote at our general municipal election on April 10. We must let the incumbents know that they are not to spend our money, by voting them out of office! When they start adding to our taxes, they have been there too long! If you like our utility taxes, Just dont bother to vote. Doris Danz REDWOOD CITY Spread penny power I THOUGHT the article on the importance of Penny Power (March 20, Page C-l) was hilarious! Grace Weinstein and the Consumers Union could perhaps save the world if they would take a few months off from teaching the kids" and spend some time with our adult leaders. Start at the White House and make it the Year of The Piggy Bank. I would love to watch the expression on Nancy Reagan's face as she listens to Grace explain the value of money.
The good generals would love her ideas on thrift and practicality, and they could perhaps earn a sixth star as they explain that on today's market bullets are a better buv than hot dogs. The gigantic arms show in Paris could be the yardstick. Who needs starvation? Ift tacky. Yes, by all means, teach the kids! We' want them to grow up and be responsible adults. Did I say grow up? Well when is the next Nuclear Ash Summit? Maybe one of the kids could go.
Carole Frederick WOOPSIDE Zschau leans again ITS GETTING kind of tiring that every time U.S. Rep. Ed Zschau leans one way or the other on the MX missile, he gets big news coverage and editorials in the Times Tribune. Zschau campaigned for the nuclear freeze and against the MX in 1982. Once In office, he voted for the MX three times in 1983.
Now in 1984, he's leaning against il Personally, I'm fed up with all this leaning. The MX is a wasteful dangerous, destabilizing first-strike weapon. It is hardly the Peacemaker, as Reagan refers to it. What we need is a congressman who will stand up once and for all against the MX. That's why I am endorsing Martin Caraoy.
Bob Langfelder PALO ALTO Explore real issues THE COLORADO contender, Gary Hart, is beginning to tear Into the Establishment's program for consolidating a capitalist system that is sinking into putrescent decay. The program Includes bullying Latin America, reducing US. living standards and crushing Soviet Russia by force of arms. Our ruling elites, with their ownership and control of press and airwaves, are confident that public opinion is sufficiently drugged with untouchable myths and dogma as to assure no broad, public hindrance. Now along come Establishment men Hart and Mondale each panting for presidential glory.
The first captures the mood of younger voters when he affirms he has something new to offer, something different They know what but they throw him support la short order, the front-runner feels the hot breath of his competitor on his neck. He cries out that he has "experience" and deserves the nomination. This does not help, so he does the next plausible thing: He demands of Hart to flesh out his generality aid provide particulars; he is confident his rival will stay within the boundaries of Establishment dogma. Hart realizes he has boxed himself in and must either retreat by mouthing things stale or ancient or plunge on, eating away at Establishment rot and cant He did the latter last week, and the public came off a winner. Reagan cannot be beaten without opening up the dormant mind of the public by an unconditioned, unrigged discussion of the issues.
It makes little difference how this will be brought on. At present many voters feel they do not know either Hart or Mondale. The latters cry about this experience is his wont recommendation because it may be hardly anything beyond serving the plutocracy faithfully. And as for his endorsem*nt by the labor hierarchs, this may be his second-wont I hope working people gain enough insight to spurn the tradition represented by such leaden as William Green, George Meany and Lane Kirkland, the tradition of labor as milch cow for capital Worken are better guided by Jacksons campaigning and the progressive moves of Hart Both foster genuine debate. Sol Segal PALO ALTO Values at Stanford THE STANFORD president and trustees have stated clearly the philosophy and values they wish for the university.
The values of the current Stanford leadership are better understood not by their protests and arguments about control of the Reagan Center, but by their actions. Stanford campus has become the temporary home of leading gay-lesbian statuary. Stanford has provided a prominent forum for the Dutch advocate of pedophilia who wants not only to lower the age of consent but to eliminate IL That certainly makes a statement about what Stanford OFFICIALS OF the Redwood City School District have shown a commendable flexibility and willingness to rectify a mistake in the matter of incentive bonuses. The district first proposed to award such bonuses to principals who demonstrated outstanding performance during the coming school year. When it was pointed out In several quarters (including this one) that it didn't make sense to provide incentives for principals while ignoring teachers, the district officials came up with a similar plan for teachers.
Under the proposal announced last week, the district is offering bonuses of $1,000 each to develop exemplary classroom programs. Details, such as the number of teachers who would be eligible for the bonuses, are not yet worked out because the district proposal was part of the initial contract offer in bargaining with the teachers union. Since it is part of a contract offer and thus subject to negotiation, the teacher bonus plan could undergo considerable revision before it becomes reality. Nevertheless, an incentive bonus plan for teachers is a good idea. The Redwood City School District is making a good move by proposing it Right knee is jerking ON MARCH 16, President Reagan agreed, under severe pressure by Republican senators, to reduce the defense budget lV about $14 billion, from $305 billion to $291 billion.
This could have beentfone two months ago but he was too busy standing tall The General Accounting Office tells us that military spending, 1984-1988, is likely to run as much as $384 billion over original estimates and still be insufficient to buy all that was wanted. We also learn that in the haste made necessary to meet unrealistic target dates for deployment of the MX missile, not only will heavy cost overruns be generated but the test program will have to be shortened, thus subjecting military personnel to unnecessary hazards when the missiles become operational Last year, because of the unacceptably poor performance of the M-l tank and the F-18 Jet fighter, Congress wisely wrote into the Defense Appropriations Act a provision requiring defense contractors to warrant their products free from defects. Now, Reagan has asked the Congress to repeal that provision of the law; Weinberger wants defense contractors to be free of warranty requirements. A commission to find ways to reduce waste in government produced a preposterous report: The reports political naivete is exceeded by Its intellectual muddle on what constitutes waste and that is exceeded by its Intellectual arrogance, wrote Geoige win The report did not mention that in the current fiscal year, US. corporations will receive more in subsidies ($295 billion) than they will pay out in federal income taxes and the fiscal hemorrhaging goes on.
And on. This was the year Reagan promised a balanced budget Remember? It used to be believed, in some circles, that the kneejerk was due to a mental infirmity afflicting liberals, who were accused of spending us into bankruptcy. Now, there are more world-class knee jerk conservatives in the current administration than at any time since Coolldge. They have managed to outspend FDR, Truman and Carter combined and in Just one term. Think what they could do in two.
T. Morphy LOS ALTOS Tax unfair to seniors WE ARE so lucky to have a City Council tlmeSTrlbune P.Oi Box 300, Mo Ah Calif. 94302 Thomat J. CuMigan, Frwudmt and MUttr Albert Reynolds A drortiimg Dhoctor i. Ron Hemig GicvfetiM William B.
Burke Uonord Koppeft, editor Ward Winslow, Manogmg editor Thad A. spinola, Drputy Monogmg drtor William Hark, MotmpoAton editor Carolyn Snyder, Auktort Manogm editor William Shilstone, City editor Dennis Kennedy uploytt Ovvctpftobfif GmmW Jifffvy Rodgtn Phillip G. Quinton Paul Vockes, editorial Pogo editor Ranald D. Goben, AmocM Muriel Pep Mtor Letters to the editor must be orighu topical and no longer than 350 words ar must bear the writers signature, addrei and telephone number. Write: Editor I Page Editor, Peninsula Times Trlbun P-O.
Box 3Q0, Palo Alto, 94302. Dont overlook that other presidential race in the U.S.S.R. William Beecher WASHINGTON The Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses are generating a lot of newspaper and TV coverage, but another presidential election of sorts is under way that could have at least as much impact on the course of events. And Ift getting practically no attention whatever. It is for the presidency of the Soviet Union.
The announcement the other day in Moscow that the Supreme Soviet, the Russian parliament, will meet on April 11 generated little more than a blurb In most newspapers and nary a comment on television. After all most analysts realize it is little more than a rubber stamp for decisions made by the Politburo and the Central Committee. BUT THE SUPREME Soviet was not expected to meet until late May or early June. The earlier call suggests something important may be afoot, the best cuess being the naming of the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet otherwise known as the Andropov, the Soviets finally have a relatively robust leader who has consolidated power and can make decisions. Also, both Brezhnev and Andropov felt the presidency was important for protocol reasons in meeting other heads of state.
Thus if Chernenko intends a more active role In foreign policy, perhaps to restore the tarnished spirit of detente, which he has recently brought back to the Soviet vocabulary, the title end the image of a man in charge will be helpful. TO DO WHAT? To do what? Since he to not thought likely to use what few years may be available to thoroughly reform the economy or society, the best guess to that Chernenko will seek to Improve relations with the West, and particularly with the United States. That could Include increased trade, especially in high technology, which the Russians sorely need, and arms control Unfortunately, no one outside the Kremlin walls knows his current delegate count BostonGMw agriculture hasn't done all that well with him in charge. Gorbachev is the No. 2 party secretary in the Central Committee, currently overseeing the entire economy.
But if he steps up, it would tend to confirm he is Chernenko's heir apparent and other young rivals, such as Grigory Romanov, 61, may not want to concede that point Andrei Gromyko, 74, the dour foreign minister. Is thought to be an advocate of a tough line toward the United States. Ironically, if he takes over as president he might lose line authority over foreign affairs and. In effect lose some of the real power he now possesses, Dmitri Ustinov, 75, the defense minister, like Gromyko would lose some power if he had to give up his role In running the armed forces and defense industry for what customarily has been the largely honorific post of president Chernenko is widely considered the front-runner. If he grasps the third hat of leadership, it would suggest both externally and internally that after years of illness at the helm, on the part of both Brezhnev and frontrunners.
That has led to a feverish guessing game among Kremlinologists. The early line: Konstantin Chernenko, 72, is the recently annotated successor to Yurt Andropov as general secretary of the party and head of the Defense CouncIL Chernenko is generally viewed as a bag-carrier for Leonid Brezhnev. He lost out In an earlier race with Andropov and was vaulted to the top because the gerontocracy didnt want a young upstart to lord it over them and didnt like KGB files to continue to be used to root out regional party secretaries. Not a charismatic figure, Chernenko tends to slur his wentt tod even lose his place during Important speeches. Mikhail Gorbachev, 53, was reputedly Andropov's personal choice to succeed him.
The youngest man in the Politburo, he is said to be sophisticated, well-liked and has a reputation as a manager, although Soviet ir some reason, the Russians do not choose to available the results of Internal polls on the.
