DATE: Tuesday, March 4, 1997                TAG: 9703040009

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  125 lines

LETTERS [TO THE EDITOR -- THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT]

Imagine my surprise when I received my city license, which had been increased from $165 to $701. This was without notice or explaining why.

Small businesses downtown have enough difficulties; for instance, no parking for any downtown school students. Why another school opened downtown beats me.

Too, we will see what effect no parking will have on MacArthur Center mall, as people have plenty of free parking at many other malls.

I fully believe that lack of free parking is the reason for downtown Norfolk not progressing.

Margaret Hicks

Hicks Academy of Beauty

Norfolk, Feb. 20, 1997 MEDIATION Victim and offender can work it out

Thank you for the enlightening article on mediation (Your Business, Feb. 17).

I do wish to point out several types of mediation that were not discussed: family/divorce mediation, victim/offender mediation and employer/employee disputes.

Family mediation may concern custody, visitation and property division for couples seeking divorce or separation. Beyond that, a growing number of families are turning to mediation for resolution of parent/teen conflicts and adult sibling conflicts - for instance, concerning the care of an aging parent.

Victim/offender mediation provides the victim with a safe forum to express hurt and pain. The offender is presented with an opportunity to understand the victim's sense of violation, hurt and anger and to make restitution.

In cases where an employee feels they cannot get a fair and unbiased hearing, though, mediation with a neutral third party may offer the opportunity of impartiality for all concerned.

Most important, mediation offers the opportunity for parties to peacefully and effectively resolve disputes and to maintain healthy ongoing relationships.

Sharon M. McDonald

President

Mediation Center

of Hampton Roads

Norfolk, Feb. 21, 1997 BUDGET Beach abandons gifted students

Thank you for your informative editorial coverage of the education issues facing Virginia Beach residents. However, your headline ``Beach school budget: Nothing new'' (Feb. 22) was misleading. This budget abandons Virginia Beach's traditional commitment to gifted education. That is new.

We moved to Virginia Beach because we believed in the promises of a city committed to excellent education. We instead discover that promises of full, thriving magnet schools were just that . . . promises. Not allowing full enrollment at Kemps Landing Magnet School ensures the downfall of a program which, as you say, is ``the district's crown jewel.'' The Virginia Beach City Council and the School Board of Virginia Beach should not let that happen.

Anne M. Donnal

Virginia Beach, Feb. 24, 1997 N.C. LOTTERY It's time to up the ante, neighbors

Delivered tongue-in-cheek, your proposal to send anti-lottery lobbyists to Raleigh has a flip side deserving consideration (Perspectives, Feb. 19):

It's likely a North Carolina lottery proposal will start with a $1 million jackpot - sufficient to keep its players at home, given the convenience. Native pride can be overcome by appealing to the sense of a good deal inherent in a $2 million jackpot. If the odds are similar to Virginia's lottery, twice the chance for the same dollar is too good to turn down.

Some, particularly gambling opponents, will think this a contest without winners. But, face it, this is a business seeking to hold its customers and gain new ones. Florida currently has a $6 million jackpot. It didn't start at this figure. True, Florida enjoys a tourist trade that chips in a few dollars to keep the lottery going.

Sad to say that a $1 million jackpot is now seen as a cheap prize. It is time for the state to up the ante.

Ernest Brede

Chesapeake, Feb. 19, 1997 MILITARY Military base should be safe

A Feb. 24 article (``U.S. creates a safe oasis for Air Force in Saudi) discussed protecting our Armed Forces overseas. Here we go, closing the gate after the horse has already left the barn. It's about time the military woke up to the fact that convenience and security don't mix.

When was the last time anyone looked right down the street? Open gates at our local bases are an invitation to both domestic and international terrorists, not to mention the ``normal'' criminal activity in today's society. The inconvenience of showing identification, obtaining a vehicle pass and submitting to random vehicle inspections were all layers of security protection for the installations and their people.

When I joined the Navy in 1975, I felt safe walking from my ship to the base club or exchange at any time of the day or night. When I married and had to deploy for extended periods, I felt my family was just as safe. With the reduction of physical security measures at the bases, I don't know how any base commander can sleep at night.

I would trade a little inconvenience for a ``body count'' any day, wouldn't you?

Bob Pihlcrantz

Virginia Beach, Feb. 24, 1997 EDUCATION Lagging students need tough love

In his ``Slam dunk a kid for being below-average?'' Dave Addis takes issue with the new Virginia Beach school regulation that will require a 2.0 grade point average to compete in interscholastic sports. His main point seems to be that this rule unfairly penalizes a youngster for just being of below-average capability. He implies that the School Board is acting like a bully by kicking the poor kids who are just barely hanging onto the bottom rung of the ladder. Addis has made a fallacious argument.

A 2.0 grade point average is not an ``average'' performance at all. it does not mean that half the kids are better and half are worse. Rather, a 2.0 average implies a minimal level of acceptable academic accomplishment. Isn't it better for students to learn the lesson now, rather than later, that they will need to work harder for what they want out of life?

Virginia Beach is doing the right thing by trying to instill some tough love and discipline. Set the higher standard and the majority will stretch to achieve it. To believe they cannot is hopelessly condescending.

Craig Campbell

Virginia Beach, Feb. 23, 1997

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