Our Readers Write: Muirlands Middle School, homelessness, Village, opioids, more

Letters to the editor:

Muirlands Middle School is coming back strong

La Jolla is known for its highly rated public schools. We are lucky to live in a place that has a fantastic middle school like Muirlands. But no one could have predicted nearly three years ago how a pandemic like COVID-19 would change the lives of everyone forever.

Among the tragedies befalling so many because of the pandemic, our lovely children were unable to physically attend school. This meant they were deprived of seeing friends, socializing or playing sports. Due to COVID, schools had to scramble and provide alternative teaching methods. Through it all, Principal [Jeff] Luna remained committed and dedicated to this school and our children.

With great thanks to Principal Luna, I am excited to say that Muirlands Middle School has come back strong! Students at Muirlands, once again, can enjoy after-school sports, clubs, events, field trips and much more.

For those who may not be aware, Principal Luna served as vice principal of the school for 12 years. As principal, he continues to be very committed and involved. With his leadership, teachers, staff and the foundation have worked hard to make sure all the students have the highest-quality education and are provided with resources to support their success. We hope that everything we do at this school prepares our children for the next chapter of their lives -- high school.

In 2020, Principal Luna said: “We do a great job of preparing our kids for high school and beyond. We develop that and support their becoming independent learners as they exit middle school and move on” (La Jolla Light, June 26).

That is exactly what Principal Luna is doing. He is keenly focused on maintaining a school environment that is safe, healthy and enriching. The school now has clubs such as debate, math, chess and many more. Science Olympiad has come back as students are engaged in myriad science activities and competing with other schools. After-school homework assistance is back, where our dedicated teachers provide free tutoring.

With the help of Principal Luna and staff, Muirlands students have been making great middle school memories. Muirlands has incredible classes and helps support students with different needs and learning styles.

It’s not just the teachers and staff who make Muirlands Middle School a success. As a parent of a Muirlands student, I am proud of the continued support my fellow parents provide this wonderful school. Parents are dedicated in which they volunteer. This helps bring all these great events that Principal Luna and staff want to provide for our children.

Let us continue our commitment to this amazing school and partner with Principal Luna, teachers and staff to provide our children the best educational experience possible and the opportunity to realize their excellence.

Hedieh Yamini

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Military bases could provide help for homeless people

Our country needs to start taking the homeless situation seriously (“Affordable housing, services and new perceptions are all keys to solving homelessness,” Guest Commentary, Nov. 3, La Jolla Light).

There is no good reason why our military bases couldn’t take on at least some of our homeless. To me, this could be one solution to helping our homeless get off the streets and into an environment that is safe, that will provide them with food, medical attention and security, as well as provide them a means to regain the loss of self-esteem of so many of the homeless.

Our military bases could provide all the above, of course, with the permission of the Department of Defense and base commanders.

I see so many efforts at trying to utilize hotels, apartment buildings and the like that are costing our cities, states and federal government so much money that really is just a waste of time. We need to show our homeless that our government and all of us really care about them.

We need to offer them the opportunity to settle in on a military base. They have the human resources and financial resources to really do something, and in a short period of time. These homeless could even be offered some tasks to do on the bases.

I think every heart cries when we see this tragic situation on our streets. It leaves us feeling helpless and hopeless for them. Please support this effort. Thank you for your efforts, too.

Mike Stalsby

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Village is being drained of charm and value

Regarding “Planned Herschel Avenue building is nothing special” by Alicia Quackenbush (Our Readers Write, Nov. 3, La Jolla Light):

Draining our Village of charm is exactly it. And draining our village value.

Herschel will look like a dense development mall in Sorrento Valley or anywhere.

How do we create motivation for village design/Santa Barbara architectural design?

Nancy Linke Patton

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Do everything we can to stop opioid overdoses

I would like to commend Mark Powell, past president of La Jolla Sunrise Rotary, for his letter regarding making Narcan, the opioid overdose reversal drug, more available to both public health officials as well as EMTs (“Everyone should know how to use opioid reversal drug,” Our Readers Write, Nov. 3, La Jolla Light).

Other, more conservative communities elsewhere have said we shouldn’t make Narcan available because it “sends the wrong message.”

No, that in itself is the wrong message. We don’t let people die simply because they have become addicted.

The war on drugs is a lost cause. We can’t arrest our way out of this problem. Let’s focus on the medical help we can get people to save lives, including Narcan.

Michael Bear

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Happy about Light changes

As much as I liked the size of the previous paper (it was easier for me to hold and read), I am happy that you changed to the larger size. To me, the content now stands out more. I enjoy seeing more community events and larger photos.

Jeanette Amen

...

I just wanted to say thank you for finding a way to continue publishing your local newspaper. I really enjoy and appreciate the articles.

Diana Asher

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What’s on YOUR mind?

Letters published in the La Jolla Light express views from readers about community matters. Submissions of related photos also are welcome. Letters reflect the writers’ opinions and not necessarily those of the newspaper staff or publisher. Letters are subject to editing. To share your thoughts in this public forum, email them with your first and last names and city or neighborhood of residence to robert.vardon@lajollalight.com. You also can submit a letter online at lajollalight.com/submit-a-letter-to-the-editor. The deadline is 10 a.m. Monday for publication in that week’s paper. Letters without the writer’s name cannot be published. Letters from the same person are limited to one in a 30-day period. ◆