Letters

From Our Readers

NOT GIVING UP

Regarding your article on San Diego’s foster care system [“When Loving Care Crumbles” by Bob Rowland, November]: I have been a foster parent for nearly eight years. And while the love and tireless efforts put forth for the children we have cared for are critical, the “hobbles” mentioned in the article are too often self-induced by the system. Unfortunately, foster children are sometimes removed from the foster families they have bonded with——and who are willing to keep them——due to system problems. Even worse, they are sometimes removed from stable foster homes and returned to “less than minimal-care standards” well past the legal time period allowed because of poor social work or legal technicalities.

Situations such as these are hard for foster parents to swallow. Many won’t; they simply give up. No one can teach you in a foster parenting class how quickly you will fall in love with a child, and how quickly that child trusts and depends on you. And no class can prepare you for the often unfair circumstances that lie ahead, many of which aren’t even related to the child. But the consequences will affect them.

As the director of Connected Through Kids, a nonprofit organization serving foster children and the families who care for them, I deal with disheartened and devastated foster parents all too often. Unfortunately, a very broken system is what often causes the problems mentioned in your article. Some of the problems could be simply remedied if those of us who care for the kids, know them best and who are desperately needed and sought out with recruitment ad campaigns, would just be heard. The best method of advertising is word of mouth, and it costs nothing. And so, those of us who are these helpless children’s advocates, and do it from our hearts, will just keep plugging along, loving and providing care for them, feeling grateful when we get to work with a social worker who cares about them as much as we do, knowing we are making a difference and hoping and praying for positive changes——one child at a time.

BARBIE C.
SAN DIEGO

50 MINUS ONE?

In your “50 People To Watch in 2008,” you named City Councilman Jack Feller of Oceanside. We read the article while on vacation and are still laughing. Feller and City Attorney Mike Aguirre of San Diego are in a “club of two.” Neither can complete a sentence without stammering, apparently unable to complete a thought. These two city officials/politicians like to hear themselves speak and are very adept at getting others to drum up publicity for them.

What’s really amusing is that you placed Feller’s photo next to one of Steve Francis, a polished and successful businessman who recently praised Aguirre. How ironic.

Thank you so much for the belly laugh. It was definitely worth the price of our subscription!

TERESA CARROLL
OCEANSIDE

A MATTER OF PRIDE

Thank you so much for including me among your 2008 “50 People To Watch” [January]. It came as quite a surprise, and I am truly honored and humbled to be a member of this year’s list, as I know there are so many others who give so much to this city. While the social contribution of a baseball analyst pales in comparison to the impact made through a life devoted to saving orphaned children (Carol Sasaki) or the cure for brain cancer (Dr. Carol A. Kruse), I do hope my inclusion will bring to the attention of your readers two things:

First, how proud San Diegans should be that our city is one of only 28 in the world (New York and Chicago each having two teams) entrusted with a Major League Baseball franchise. Padres fans have celebrated the highs and endured the lows of being MLB fans, but they have staunchly supported their team through thick and thin. Because of that support, they have put San Diego’s mark on baseball history forever.

Padres fans have been witness to individual accomplishments on the field by superstars like Trevor Hoffman (also on your 2008 list) and Tony Gwynn, who are respected by their peers for being pillars not only of athletic professionalism but, more importantly, personal character. Hopefully, Padres fans will soon be rewarded with the ultimate team accomplishment they deserve: a World Series championship.

The second reminder is that——along with your tremendous monthly contributions through San Diego Magazine——San Diegans also have a TV station in Channel 4 that is devoted to the promotion and betterment of this great city and all that it has to offer. The production of shows like Padres Pre-Game and Post-Game, Inside San Diego, Shades of San Diego, One-on-One and other Channel 4 broadcasts requires the commitment of a large team that includes everyone from programming decision-makers to the sales staff to the amazing production crews whose efforts behind the scenes often go unnoticed.

Thank you for all that your magazine does for our city.

BOB SCANLAN
SAN DIEGO

A TINY PROTEST

I have enjoyed San Diego Magazine for many years, and always thought your staff cared for animals, so I was horrified to see in your January issue “Tiny Aspirations” [by Wayne Niemi, Front Pages] and one Crystal Baines who has “designed” the smallest cat.

I love animals and have a beautiful cat who came into my life by way of the Humane Society. We need fewer breeds and more homes for the millions of cats and dogs this country kills because the animals can’t find homes.

Please don’t run stories like this. These poor little animals suffer with many problems when they are bred so small. Why not do stories about animals needing homes and how to take better care of them?

IRENE LOPEZ
SAN DIEGO

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LETTERS WELCOME

San Diego Magazine invites letters from its readers. Send comments to Letters to the Editor, San Diego Magazine, 1450 Front Street, San Diego, CA 92101, or e-mail tblair@sandiegomagazine.com or fax 619-230-0490. Letters must be signed to be considered for publication. Please type or print your name, as well, and include a daytime phone number. E-mail should include the writer’s full name and city. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity and to excerpt them.

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