Money won't bring back heroes 

As a fiscally responsible Democrat, I am opposed to Assembly Bill 1373 authored by Assembly Speaker John Perez. This would double the statute of limitations for death benefits for public safety officers and firefighters who die from a service-related injury or illness. Our public safety officers and firefighters are paid very well for the work they do, as they should be, considering the danger they could face in their line of work. And the current law does compensate their families if they die in the line of duty, but no amount of money will ever bring their loved ones back.

And no amount of money awarded to the families of the six educators who died protecting their students on Dec. 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary will bring them back either. These six incredible women didn’t go into a dangerous line of work, but when faced with danger they went down fighting. We will never know how many children may have died that day if it wasn’t for these teachers.

Mr. Perez, can California really afford this bill when we are making so many cuts to education and raising fees at our public universities?

-- Andrea Devitt - San Luis Obispo

-- Andrea Devitt - Cuesta College Counselor

-- Andrea Devitt - SLO