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our national government doesn't have an effective energy policy. So why should California's coastline be sacrificed for their incompetence? Here's Caroline Wean. Interior Secretary Donald Hodel wants us to believe that our national security is at stake unless oil can be drilled off the coast of northern California.

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Sorry, Mr Secretary, we just don't believe you Secretary Hotel is not listening to the people of California. I think what he has done frankly, is to encourage to invite guerilla warfare to begin with. There just isn't enough oil out. Their government figures say the yield off

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California's coast could supply the nation for 83 days, hardly a major source. And if we were really concerned about our dependence on foreign oil, why is the Reagan administration acted to the contrary? Why has the stockpiling of oil in the Strategic Oil Reserve been slowed down?

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Why have two naval petroleum reserves been sold off? Why have strict fuel efficiency standards for cars been relaxed? Why, of conservation and alternative energy tax credits been allowed to expire? And finally, why did President Reagan pocket veto a measure that would have set efficiency standards for

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electrical appliances that measure alone could have saved billions of gallons of oil. This doesn't sound like an energy policy that's concerned with an oil shortage. We think the hotel plan is designed to please the oil industry, and he's using scare tactics to get approval. Fortunately, a

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moratorium prevents leasing off the California coast until February 1989 but after that, hotel would have 41 months to drill until June of 1992. We don't want oil rigs off our coast. We don't want the air pollution and major industrialization that would come with the rigs. We've

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already done our share. Existing leases will soon make California the nation's second largest producer of offshore oil hotels. Five year plan is a Bad plan It smacks of an administration that doesn't really have an energy policy. If it did, they pay more attention to conservation and

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alternative energy systems. Write your congressman and do it today. Unfortunately, this battle won't be won or lost in California. But in Washington, D. C. I'm Caroline Lane. If you'd like to express an opposing point of view, write to us at Channel five. Our young people deserve

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all the help they can get. Thank you, Mayor McHenry Here's Caroline Win. It's not easy being a teenager today. Life is fast and the temptations are often dangerous. Young people need a lot of skill to deal with today's world. That's why we think this youth conference

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in San Jose is such a good idea. I'm really pleased to see you here, and I welcome you to the first annual youth conference, the first of many. It's very important that you're here today. Never has the city needed you more. San Jose's mayor, Tom McHenry,

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and various corporations in Silicon Valley called this conference of high school students. They came from both public and private schools. There were about 1300 of them, and before the day was up they had learned a lot about the choices they will have in life. We have

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to decide how it will end up because not everybody's going to make decisions for us. It's all up to us, so we have to decide. The afternoon workshops covered some of the most important issues. They face drug abuse, education and sex. The workshop on education dealt

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with questions like Why prepare for college and what are other educational alternatives? The one on sex asked them to get realistic about sexual behavior and to think about setting personal goals. The workshop when substance abuse talked about choices and self esteem, and when they weren't in

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the workshops, they could wander through this resource fair. There they could learn about all the agencies and organizations in their community that are there to help them. Many of the things they learned can be put into action at their various schools, and afterwards some of them

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will become members of San Jose's Youth Commission. I always thought I was just one person. I can't make a difference, but I guess I can. We think this is a great idea for kids sake and for our sake, we hope other Bay Area cities will follow

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San Jose's example. I'm Caroline Wing. If you'd like to express an opposing point of view, write to us at Channel five. Court challenges could delay home porting of the U. S s Missouri Let's solve our problems before they become permanent obstacles. Here's Caroline Wean. After weeks

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of debate and lobbying, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has said yes to the U. S s Missouri. We agree with this decision and although their issues still to be confronted. We don't think any of them are problems that can't be solved. The memorandum of understanding

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is not a legally binding contract. It's only a commitment to move forward, and this is exactly what we should do. Nothing can happen unless Congress votes $22 million for the project. This isn't likely to happen unless the environmental issues are resolved to begin with. Toxic contamination

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exists at the Hunter's Point Naval Yard. Now they're hazardous levels of asbestos, nickel, lead and copper. But we agree with Mayor Feinstein. The Navy has the technology to clean it up, and in fact, unless the Missouri comes to Hunter's point, it likely will never be cleaned

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up. The other environmental issue is the question of North Pier versus South Pier. The E P A. Says dredging more than 38 ft is not acceptable. The Missouri needs a minimum of 42 ft, and so we asked the Navy to reconsider its plan for a temporary

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site. Why not wait until its permanent home at the North pier is ready? There are other concerns, of course. They are the same issues. Any major project must face jobs, dislocation, housing, traffic and the civil rights of minorities. But these are not unsolvable. The democratic process

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allows us to deal with these issues. We think they can be solved if public policy makers go ahead in good faith. Court challenges could delay the home porting of the Missouri by months, even years. We urge the Board of Supervisors and the Navy to meet these

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challenges before they become permanent obstacles. I'm Caroline wins. If you'd like to express an opposing point of view, write to us at Channel five. Bill Honig is not a demagogue. We think he's telling the truth. Here's Caroline Wean. Governor Deukmejian is playing politics with the education

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budget. Just when California schools are showing signs of reform, he wants to cut the budget by $600 million. The governor says school chief Bill Honig is a demagogue, and he accuses him of whining about school finance. But facts are facts, and we support Bill Honig in

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his battle to upgrade public education in California. Fact class size in California is the highest in the nation. Fact. Per capita pupil spending is below the national average fact and dollars adjusted for inflation, the governor's budget proposes less spending per student. Those are the facts. What

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they mean is less concrete. But Bill Honig thinks they mean trouble, and we believe him. According to Harmonic, a $600 million cut in the education budget will mean a reversal in the reform movement. It will mean increasing class size, low teacher salaries and layoffs. Equally important,

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the cuts will mean closing specific programs, cutting teacher training and delaying the purchase of educational materials. We know that increasing numbers of middle class families are taking their Children out of public schools and sending them to private ones. They're doing this because they've lost confidence in

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the public schools. This is a serious trend. California has a lot to lose if we stop supporting public education. We live in a global economy, and our economic future is linked to the quality of education kids get in the public schools. By 1990 the majority of

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Children in the public system will be non Anglo and giving them a second rate. Education is simply not American. All kids deserve the opportunity to learn as much as they can. Our professions need them. Are industries need them and ultimately our country is strengthened by their

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skills and participation. Public education in California must not become a class issue. If it does, we all lose. I'm Caroline mean, if you'd like to express an opposing point of view, write to us at Channel five. Car insurance is becoming a political issue. Here's Caroline we.

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It's a law in California that if you want to drive a car, you have to have liability insurance. Nonetheless, 2.5 million people are driving around without car insurance. They can do this because the law is suspended while the California Supreme Court decides whether mandatory car insurance

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is constitutional. But before you get mad at the uninsured motorist, we want you to think about the bigger picture. Insurance companies are in business to make profits. Rates, therefore, are determined by projected losses in designated geographical areas. You might happen to have a perfect driving record,

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but if you live in a zip code area with a high percentage of losses, you'll pay a lot for car insurance. This method of determining rates is called territorial rating, and if you look closely, it doesn't make much sense. It's not where you drive your car

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that matters, but where you park at night, let's say you live in Palo Alto, but you drive 33 miles every day into San Francisco, where you work during the day. You drive around downtown and then back to Palo Alto at night. That's a lot of driving,

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but your car insurance will be much lower than that of any San Francisco resident just because you park your car at night outside the inner city. The result of territorial rating is that low and middle income people end up paying higher rates for car insurance just

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because of their address. And some insurance companies won't even sell insurance policies to people who live in certain zip codes. This practice is called redlining. Although many insurance companies deny that it happens, the result is 15% of California's licensed motorists choose to drive without liability insurance.

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And this isn't good for any of us. Obviously, the current system of car insurance is breaking down. We went decisive and immediate action from our legislature. Assemblyman Richard Polanco and Assemblywoman Maxine Waters both have made significant proposals for reform. They want the state of California to

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provide liability insurance at an affordable price. We think their bills deserve attention. If you agree, write to us at Channel five and we'll send your letters to Sacramento. I'm Caroline Lane. If you'd like to express an opposing point of view, write to us at Channel barred.