Bag ban full of gas
Dear ER:
Everyone cares about the huge islands of plastic waste circulating in the Pacific and we want to do something about it (“Hermosa Beach poised to adopt citywide plastic bag ban,” ER Sept 3, 2015). But banning plastic bags in Hermosa Beach, which serve a dual purpose for picking up dog poop, ending their life making natural gas in a landfill, is rooted in industrial ignorance. While the plastic bag is made from petroleum (natural gas) feedstock, the paper bag required, by  an order of magnitude, more energy and more water, meaning the initiative to ban plastic is essentially enforcing a higher carbon footprint.
It’s no wonder that the Hermosa Council and its backers cloistered in the small little village, wouldn’t know the consequences of its action. A paper mill is a dirty, messy place that lacks anything a pretty person would want to visit- – let alone work in. The big paper bag is made of a slurry of wood pulp, which is mixed which chemicals at a high temperature to break the sulfur bonds necessary to make the sheen of paper, which is dried and rolled, using high pressure steam.
The higher carbon footprint of this and other initiatives, like the banning of once-through cooling, are more about feel good symbolism than anything environmental.
Robert Benz
Hermosa Beach
Olive branch where due
Dear ER:
Hermosa Beach city manager Tom Bakaly and the Hermosa police department have been under fire recently and I just wanted to take an opportunity to point out some of the positive things that these guys are up to (Letters, ER Sept. 3, 2015). A contractor working on an office building had his vehicle towed and retrieving it from the impound yard was proving difficult. What was beginning to look like a long struggle with paperwork was solved almost instantly with a phone call to Bakaly. He was quick to involve  police captain McKinnon, who was even more rapid in finding a resolution to the issue. Thanks guys,
Mike Collins
Hermosa Beach
Not so quick
Dear ER:
The recently published apology issued by Hermosa Beach City Manager Tom Bakaly and Police Chief Sharon Papa regarding the March 3 incident is so cynical and lawyerly that they insult us by offering it (ER Letters, Sept. 3, 2015).  Here’s the awkward, key phrase: ”We could not confirm with certainty based upon the audio reviewed in the investigation to support that a group of community members were shouting obscenities at the police.”  In other words, we couldn’t prove you were guilty, so we apologize. Thanks a heap. And this is only one part of the story that demands an apology. Anyone who thinks this is the first step in moving on is sadly mistaken.  The truth must come out and responsibility must be acknowledged.
Allan Mason
Hermosa Beach
Point made
Dear ER:
So nice to see our South Bay continue to think outside of the box at The Point. (“El Segundo surge,” ER Beach Sept. 10, 2015). What a great addition for our community.
Kris Mackerer D’Errico
Manhattan Beach
Point of order
Dear ER:
The parking lot at the Point is a nightmare and I would never shop at their expensive stores  (“El Segundo surge,” ER Beach Sept. 10, 2015). I predict it will go belly-up. The land should have been left alone and not developed. It creates more people and traffic to the already congested Sepulveda Boulevard. With the exception of Rock ‘n Brew (an ugly eyesore), at least Main Street still has a nice small town ambiance.
Suzanne McCune
Facebook comment
Begg for skate park
Dear ER:
Polliwog Park evolved through the collaboration of our City and the Manhattan Beach Unified School District to meet diverse needs (“Marine Avenue favored for a skatepark,” ER Sept. 10, 2015). Youngsters needed a place to play football, baseball and soccer, other than on our streets. Safe places were built, even for dogs.
We have all seen youngsters skateboarding on streets. There are accidents and near misses for boarders, pedestrians and drivers. Young skateboarders need a safe place for MBUSD to teach board basics like safety, etiquette, skills. May I suggest part of the Begg parking lot as a small skateboard site. Â It offers easy access for MBMS students; does not back up to residential areas and may improve real estate value; itis already paved and will not take up any green space
A skatepark has been in the city plans in excess of 20 years,with no action being taken, despite generations of kids’s letters and petitions asking for a safe place to board.
Email mbskatepark@citymb.info or mmatthews@mbusd.org to share your good ideas. This time, let’s all drop in, board together and grind out a safe skatepark to educate our awesome kids.
Mary Sikonia
Manhattan Beach
Skate back in time
Dear ER:
In 1997, I chaired the Hermosa Beach Parks and Recreation Commission Skate Park Sub Committee. We were able to build the first publicly funded skateboard park in Los Angeles County. There were many issues raised to block a skateboard park. Most were either non-issues (insurance) or easily addressed (injuries). The most difficult issue was NIMBY. One resident  even offer to donate several thousand dollars so long as the park was not near his property. We thought we had the problem solved with a proposal that appeared to have the support of Redondo Beach to put the Hermosa Beach Skateboard Park on Hernando/190th Street, across the street from a then existing skateboard retailer. It would not be in the backyard of anyone who lived in Hermosa Beach. However, Hermosa Beach City Council members strongly objected. “The Hermosa Beach Skateboard Park has to be in Hermosa Beach,” they argued. But they had not fully understood the NIMBY forces. Although the current site on Pier Avenue for the skateboard park was rejected by City Officials early in the process because it was in the backyard of the city’s community and civic centers, it had to be revived. That’s where the popular park is today.
Robert Aronoff
Hermosa Beach
Park that idea
Dear ER:
I am the appellant before the Coastal Commission regarding the addition of numerous hours for valet parking in downtown Manhattan Beach. My appeal is based on the valet parking being duplicative, reducing  access to beach goers, increasing parking costs and causing many more problems than it solves. A letter published last week (“Unintended consequences,” ER Sept. 10, 2015) erroneously suggested that I filed my appeal too early, without allowing the plan time to prove itself. In fact, my appeal was filed just hours before the time to appeal would have expired. I can only assume that the number of cars parked, which went from over 500 to “close to 500” and over 400 is equally unreliable.
Bill Victor
Manhattan Beach
Rough language on the waterfront
Dear ER:
I understand that Redondo Beach residents will have differing views on the proposed waterfront revitalization project. What I will not put up with is when residents spew lies about this project, or any project for that matter. Residents deserve to know the facts so that they can make up their minds independently.
Last week, Jim Light threw around a list of misinformation (“Small steps, big thinking,” ER Letters Sept. 10, 2015). The project only adds 290,000 square feet of development onto what’s already there, and less than half is for restaurant and retail. The rest is for great amenities like a public market and an expanded Seaside Lagoon. And even with all of that, the project is only 73 percent of the net new square footage allowed under the resident-approved Measure G.
The current layout of the Pier and Harbor area allows access to only about 84 percent of the coastline. The Waterfront’s design makes the coast 100 percent accessible. View corridors are one of the high priorities in the design of the project. The bike path will no longer go through a crumbling structure. Bikers will actually have two paths to choose from to go through The Waterfront. Further, business and restaurant owners at the waterfront support this project, and they wouldn’t support any project they fear would hurt their businesses. If you have questions about the project, get the facts from the developers themselves. They are always happy to speak with residents. You shouldn’t believe some of the things you read and hear.
Dale Petrulis
Redondo Beach
