Letters to the Editor

Editor:

Please spare us the stories about cute kittens, etc.

Having just found out about the City Field Foundation plans for synthetic turf fields in Golden Gate Park, I am mad as hell. Have tried to reach opposition's Web site but cannot. Maybe there is an error in the web address as printed in your issue.

The summer-long events in the park that cause traffic jams, among other things, and now this.

Fulton Street is becoming like 19th Avenue in terms of traffic and speeding cars. We don't want more of same.

Bernice Garcia

Editor:

Thank you for Jonathan Farrell's excellent and balanced article on the soccer complex that has been proposed for the western end of Golden Gate Park. We appreciate your newspaper's efforts to inform the community about the details of this project, a project that will impact parkland in an area of Golden Gate Park that is larger than Candlestick Park's stadium.

The requests for a full Environmental Impact Report and outreach to all San Franciscans have now been echoed by San Francisco Beautiful, San Francisco Architectural Heritage, Animal Welfare and Control Commission, PAR, SPEAK, Coalition to Save Ocean Beach, Friends of Sutro Heights Park, Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods, San Francisco Tomorrow, West of Twin Peaks Central Council, Audubon Society and the Sierra Club. In addition, more than 1,300 San Franciscans have signed a petition expressing concern about this project.

To volunteer or for more information on this project, residents can reach us at the Web site at www.sfoceanedge.org.

Katherine Howard Member, Steering Committee Golden Gate Park Preservation Alliance

Editor:

George Washington High School looks forward to its athletic fields being refurbished during the summer of 2010, immediately following 2010 commencement exercises, which are traditionally held on the football field. The culmination of many years of trying negotiations, the renovations include new turf on the football field (also known as the north field) and the south field, and a new track surface.

These facilities have seen service for seven decades of physical education classes, soccer matches, track and field, football workouts and other sports, and currently serve more than 2,000 Washington students each day. The south field and track is used for high school and middle school track meets that service 12 high schools and 23 middle schools.

Thousands of Washington athletes have excelled on these fields, including Johnny Mathis, an all-city track star who would have represented the United States in the 1956 Olympics had a record company singing audition not conflicted with the US track team tryouts, and Ollie Matson, 1952 Olympic silver and bronze medalist in track as well as an NFL all-star and Hall of Fame halfback.

The field and track renovations are partially funded by a bond measure, but because the funding is still short of paying for the entire project the school is taking the initiative to raise funds to cover the shortfall. Under the call of "a first class facility for a first class school," they are appealing to all alumni, sports boosters, staff, family and friends of Washington High to support a fundraising dinner on Friday, Feb. 26, at Patio Espanol, 2850 Alemany Blvd.

"We ask the Washington High community to help support our P.E. program and the long standing tradition of athletic excellence at Washington," said Ericka Lovrin, George Washington High School principal.

"Helping us raise funds to be able to complete this project will allow young athletes hundreds of hours of increased use on these newly renovated fields."

The organizers are also accepting donations from those who may not be able to attend the dinner. A reservation and donation form is available at http://sfportal.sfusd.edu/sites/washington_hs/alumnisharepoint.

Lori McLoughlin