Spending money is a bad idea for the American people
      I literally choked reading your editorial on March 26 ("People who can, should buy things.") The Acorn is now our local economic commentator. You must be out of your minds. The message "buy local" became that everyone should do their civic and patriotic duty and buy, buy, buy - - with a disclaimer "if one can.
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Teachers must be paid if we want first-rate education
      As hard as I try to refrain from writing to this paper because of the tiresome, predictably bitter responses that consistently come afterward, there always seems to be something that triggers a response from me. That said, I'm accustomed to "illegal aliens" being used to explain our financial woes, but now it's "lazy, undeserving, overpaid" teachers.
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Schools should be the No. 1 priority, student says
      Reading the April 2 letters which belittled the funding woes of the California education system, I became very close to irate. I am not a teacher, a school board member, a parent. I am not an administrator. I am a student.
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Throwing money at schools won't solve the problem
      Superintendent Mario Contini should study California history and math if he believes "crisis is the result of a fall in revenue, not a plethora of spending," (March 19 T.O. Acorn , "Public education in California is taking a major hit due to budget cutbacks.
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A charter school in Conejo Unified is an excellent idea
      I just wanted to sit down and take a minute to address how strongly I feel about the opening of Meadows Art and Technology Elementary School (MATES). Last year my husband and I found ourselves in a quandary. Although we've truly enjoyed our child's first-year experience in Oak Park school district, we've made a decision to move him to MATES.
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Angry because the council rejected Home Depot
      Now that the Thousand Oaks City Council and Do-it Center have shut down the Home Depot project because it wouldn't look as good as an abandoned Kmart, and create traffic, etc., I have a suggestion: Put in a larger Home Depot where Courtesy Chevrolet used to be. Oh, wait, that's across the street from Do-it Center.
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Saying no to Home Depot was a smart decision
      Maybe there's hope for intelligent decision-making in local government. The rejection of a second Home Depot in Thousand Oaks gives me great encouragement that local leaders both think and listen before they decide.
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Congress is once again out of step with Americans
      There are two underreported financial stories. The first has witnessed no outrage. IBM Corporation announced on March 25, 2009, that it will lay off 5,000 U.S. employees. Many of the jobs are being transferred to India.
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