Pixie dust would help

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made it well known that one of his top priorities for California is a healthcare program for all Californians, and he looks for photo-ops and venues wherein he can present his ideas and garner support so that this goal can be achieved.

With that thought in mind, it occurred to me that the governor should consider making an appearance at Burning Man, a celebration of life experienced in a free-flowing way. Burning Man is set for Aug. 27 through Sept. 3 in the Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada.

Many Californians attend this spiritual renewal event, and it would seem to be a natural setting for the governor to display his natural charms and physical presence while selling the idea of responsible personal good health practices and lifestyles that will help to reduce healthcare insurance costs. Also, he could go through his award-winning set of physical display routines that helped to get him where he is today. For fun, he could do a little arm-twisting and arm-wrestling to make his point. To win more converts and support for his healthcare insurance plan, he could sprinkle pixie dust over the crowd, something they would really enjoy and understand.

Maybe he is waiting for an invitation, so e-mail the governor with your thoughts.

— Richard E. Williams, Ventura

New stoplight a disaster

I'd like to know what engineering genius designed the new stoplight at the Olsen Road offramp on the northbound Highway 23. It is an engineering blunder.

Is it that important to have two lanes of eastbound traffic on Olsen Road between Erbes Road and the freeway so that at rush hour the stoplight dangerously causes traffic on the offramp to back up onto Highway 23 all the way back past Sunset Hills? Mark my words, it won't be long before someone gets rear-ended in this area and is seriously hurt or killed.

This project is supposed to alleviate traffic, not cause more of it. Even when the third lane is finished, this will still cause a daily traffic jam on the freeway. This stoplight needs to be removed and traffic on Olsen Road in this area put back to one lane.

— Paul Thompson, Simi Valley

Price-gouging is obvious

Re: your April 17 article, "Gasoline prices are heading back up":

This story contained a lot of information about equipment failures of an unidentified company being the cause of this increase. But I read a story just a month ago that said the oil companies decided to raise their profit margin to $39 from $17 per barrel of oil — an increase of about 130 percent.

I am amazed that the government has to appoint congressmen to special commissions to see if the oil companies are price-gouging at the pumps. If they could find one who was honest, they could just ask a lobbyist for the answer.

It saddens me to think that the people running this country can't figure out if we are getting taken at the gas pumps.

Recently, I was on the phone to a company in Michigan, and I was told the price of gas had just reached $2.85 a gallon, 50 cents cheaper than on the West Coast. Aren't we lucky?

— John Scholfield, Ojai