I totally agree with Ed Norfleet of Westlake Village ("Suggested motto for Thousand Oaks: 'Love it or leave it,'" July 31 T.O. Acorn) in his response to a letter from Marilee Ullmann.

It seems Ms. Ullmann and about 20 others who continually bad-mouth our beautiful city in letters to the editor cannot accept the fact that Thousand Oaks is beautiful because of previous and present City Councils making the right decisions about its future.

These same 20 or so citizens, some of whom are self-appointed heads of "Save Our" groups, continually badmouth our City Council members at every meeting.

They don't seem to care that they're rude and, I guess you could say, cowardly in their personal attacks, as they know that the council members cannot respond.

No one likes the traffic, but it's the result of people moving here because it's safe, the schools are great and we're governed well.

Yes, problems arise from time to time, but these are looked at fairly by our city, and appropriate action is usually taken in a timely manner. I've reported concerns about perceived problems in my neighborhood and have always had a quick and courteous response by the city. I couldn't ask for more.

I grew up in this valley and have lived here most of my nearly 75 years. It was beautiful then, and it's more beautiful now, but I don't think it was ever Mayberry, as Ms. Ullmann claimed in her letter of July 10. Howard Smith Thousand Oaks