Hungry? Get to Work!

Regarding the CV Weekly Sept 12 article “Rep. Adam Schiff Visits Local Community Colleges to Fight Insecurity. ‘Food for Thought’ Program.”

What a troubling and sad news article. This referenced our Congressional Rep. Adam Schiff in pandering, to providing welfare programs for students of our local community colleges, all encouraged by the college administrators. They claim that students are going to classes hungry. To be politically correct, they call it “food insecurity” and need taxpayer subsidies to help them get by.

How things have changed! In my generation when we went to Glendale Community College and became hungry, guess what? We actually went out and got a job(s), even when many of us lived with our parents. Yes, to do that four-letter word, W-O-R-K, as we could then afford to go to Bobs Big Boy and buy a hamburger. Even better we were able to buy our own car and go through the drive-thru. I guess that is not acceptable anymore. The colleges of that era also had “work programs” to help students get part-time or full-time work. Many of the professors had relationships with some of the local companies, and vise-versa, to work in a field that was compatible with our major or career objective. Consequently, we were able to coordinate our studies and work hours.

Unfortunately, with the current political climate of today, many large businesses that were around at that time have left the area. However, perhaps Congressman Schiff should curtail his hatred for President Trump, take the President’s new work opportunities up with the college administrators and local businesses; i.e., get back to “work programs for students!”

I realize this would not be suitable for everyone, but think this would promote more pride and feeling of accomplishments for students rather than being “the victim” of Rep. Schiff’s and the administrators “Socialist Welfare 101” program.

Russ Ferbrache

Tujunga

My family moved to La Cañada in 1962, and I have lived here myself for 37 of those 57 years. Although not exactly welcoming to a Jewish family, La Cañada was a quiet, safe place to grow up and its inhabitants were law abiding. This appears to be changing.

I was horrified and outraged to learn that the local Republican club invited George Papadopoulos to be the guest speaker at its annual summer party. This is not something I want to see “in my backyard.” Papadopolous is a convicted criminal and liar (https://www.justice.gov/file/1007346/download), a traitor who put personal and party interests over country, colluded with a hostile foreign power to steal the 2016 election, and obstructed the investigation of that situation (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/us/politics/george-papadopoulos-sentencing-special-counsel-investigation.html).

How does this align with the values that the Republican Party has championed historically? Is this the image that the citizens of La Cañada Flintridge, whatever their political affiliations, want to project to the world?
Surely they can find a speaker who embodies the American values of democracy, justice and the rule of law. And if not, why not? Perhaps it is because the Republican Party no longer stands for these things. Or because Republicans in California now rank only as the third largest party in California behind Democrats and those who “decline to state” a party preference?

Because of their extremism, they hold no statewide offices and only seven out of 53 seats in the California Congressional delegation, having lost seven seats in 2018.
Is it their loss of local power that prevents them from engaging a worthy speaker? Or is it that they no longer stand for American values and no self-respecting American citizen would agree to speak at their functions?

This was a sad day for La Cañada Flintridge, the Republican Party, and the USA.

Dr. Debra Cohn

La Cañada