Half-baked editorial on the loop I have never written to your paper before, but the May 1 editorial supporting the college loop as a good idea tipped me over the edge ("College loop is best part of the rail line").

People have written saying a trolley would be good for the area. Well, it might be, but the Sprinter is not a trolley, it is a full-on diesel train. If the North County Times is going to show a semblance of responsible journalism it owes it to its readership to know what it is talking about before putting pen to paper.

If the NCT would dig into the numbers, it would find approximately 8,600 students and teachers go to Cal State University San Marcos today. Right now fewer than 45 students a day take the bus to the college, with about the same number taking it home. When polled, students said they would not switch to a train if it did not conveniently drop them at or around the school.

NCTD states 2,500 students will ride the train when CSU's numbers swell to 44,000 ­­ impossible! North County is an affluent society. Affluent societies do not use mass transit ­­ they appreciate the flexibility of driving.
NCT needs to speak from the facts; your pen wields power and influence. I would appreciate the paper being more responsible before it comes up with more half-baked editorials like this one.
DAVID DRINKWATER
San Marcos
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Community Colleges Taking Unfair Cut

Once again, the governor and the state Legislature are trying to balance the budget by reducing funding to the most efficient, and probably the most successful, leg of our state educational system, the community college system.
The community colleges offer quality transfer programs that allow thousands of students to begin their academic careers at a reasonable cost. The community colleges also are a major source of advanced vocational training in California. They train the people who keep your car running, who build your house, who keep your water clean and who protect you from fire and crime.
Of all of our state educational partners, community colleges receive the smallest funding per student. The state provides the University of California system nearly five times as much money to educate one student as it does the California community college system.
And now the governor and the state Legislature have proposed cutting the community college budget by a higher percentage than any other of our state educational systems.
Don't let this happen. Contact your local state representatives and the governor and tell them to put our state education money where it will do the most good for California. Tell them to support the California community colleges.
MARK WAYNE VERNOY
Vista