Dear Editor, On behalf of the small businesses in this area, I
want to express my deepest appreciation for the excellent article
published on the front page of the July 1 edition, and urge other
editors to re-publish it.
Great story outlines the perils facing many small businesses
Dear Editor,
On behalf of the small businesses in this area, I want to express my deepest appreciation for the excellent article published on the front page of the July 1 edition, and urge other editors to re-publish it.
With small business persecution by local, state and federal government at unthinkable levels, confiscatory taxes and fees, crucifying regulations and ordinances, and small business failures, closures and bankruptcies at historic high levels, our community has found a rare ally in the form of a vigilant local press.
Having represented small business debtors and creditors, and their trustees, in this region for more than 30 years, I would be negligent if I failed to accord proper recognition to such an excellent article, which covered a difficult subject matter with the acumen of a veteran in the small business wars.
For every farmer, or other small and very small business owner, who seeks relief in bankruptcy court, there are scores who just close their doors, run from creditors, or flee to other states or countries. Like those small business owners who opt for bankruptcy court protection, they leave unpaid debts owing to creditors, and the symbiotic relationship between debtors and creditors results in growing tsunami of insolvency spreading throughout our community. Failed businesses are usually accompanied by foreclosures and evictions. Tax burdens to government are shared by the few of us left to pay an ever-increasing burden imposed by our government and its regulatory “Code Enforcers.”
The unspoken conclusions that this downward spiral is sucking us all into a black hole of insolvency, while our government leaders sit on their hands, pointing the finger of blame, but never looking into their mirrors to see the cause of the insolvency.
Having testified three years in a row at Governor Pete Wilson’s Regulatory Reform Roundtable, whose final report culminated in the Governor’s Executive Order, which our Legislature ignored then did the opposite by increasing burdens of every possible description on small business owners, especially on agriculture, trucking and construction and other black and blue (as opposed to “green”) businesses.
The article is a keeper and teaches me again, “Never send to know for whom the bell tolls – it tolls for thee.”
Well done. Keep up the great work.
Joseph P. Thompson, Esq., Past-Chair, Legislation Committee, and Past-President of the Gilroy-Morgan Hill Bar Association
Project Cornerstone will be an asset to our community
Dear Editor,
Kudos to MHUSD and the city for their joint resolution to support the Search Institute’s Developmental Assets and Project Cornerstone. I have been involved with Project Cornerstone at the Charter School of Morgan Hill for the past seven years, helping to implement their ABC Parent Program. Here is more information for those who are interested:
– The Developmental Assets were identified by the Search Institute researchers in 1990, which chose to focus, for the first time, not solely on our struggling youth, but on those that thrived. What were we doing right?
– Of the 41 Developmental Assets, only two cost money – 39 are absolutely free. Developmental Assets are defined as “experiences, values, relationships, opportunities and competencies which all children and youth need.” Building assets is “the accumulation of thousands of moments in life in which a young person is valued, respected and known.” Not surprisingly, what kids really need is “time and attention” from all of us.
– Project Cornerstone offers the ABC Parent Program in which, after completing a two-hour training program, parent volunteers spend 45 to 60 minutes in a K-5 classroom once a month reading a book and doing a lesson. Lessons focus on the topics of anti-bullying, character development and social skills. Every lesson specifically addresses several of the Developmental Assets. There are currently 2,800 parent volunteers helping at 170 schools in Silicon Valley.
– Other programs offered by Project Cornerstone include Los Dichos, specifically designed to open doors for Spanish-speaking parents wanting to volunteer in the classroom, and Expect Respect, a program creating leadership opportunities for middle school students.
– If you are interested in having an ABC Parent, or other program, at your child’s school, contact the school principal or representative directly. In my opinion, it will be best implemented on a school-by-school basis.
– In addition to the kids, who love the lessons and learn to implement the strategies, our teachers at CSMH have been enthusiastic and supportive and are present during the lessons, and I can personally state that I am a better parent for my own children and a better adult for other children in our community thanks to my involvement.
Check out Project Cornerstone at www.projectcornerstone.org or I’d be happy to share my experiences or answer questions at da*********@ya***.com. Thank you again, to MHUSD and the city for caring about our children.
Dana Miller, Morgan Hill
