Doing your parents proud
Dear ER:
I opened my mail this evening to find an envelope from Eich Middle School in Roseville California. A dear friend of ours whose daughter teaches special needs middle school kids chose me to thank on Veterans Day. As I read each letter it made me so proud to have served our country. I reflected back on my tour of duty, how young I was, how my attitude changed regarding the war, how I was greeted when I stepped back on to American soil. I was drafted and one of the soldiers like many who were spit on and verbally abused as we got off the plane at Fort Lewis Washington by the protesters. I got home and literally destroyed everything that connected me to that time. I never protested on the street but rebelled by no haircuts for years and avoiding the “establishment.” Fast forward to today. I’m a little more conservative, married happily for 42 years with a son who would make any father proud. My father instilled in me early on to have respect and the proper etiquette for our flag, which I have passed on proudly to our son. Reading these heartfelt letters put a lump in my throat, but also saddened me. To turn on the nightly news and watch kids running in streets and burning Old Glory is painful. Maybe if they had experienced what I and my “brothers in arms” had they would not take this country for granted. I want to thank those kids for the letters and every man and woman who served our country past and present. One final word to those who believe what they’re doing is honorable, constructive and healing. Would your parents be proud of you?
James McLeod
5th/22nd Artillery battery 175mm SP howitzer
1969 Vietnam
Redondo Beach
Ponder, then pour
Dear ER:
“All politics is personal.” And so I thought I’d take a moment to ponder two local post-elections. Fourth District Supervisorial candidate Steve Napolitano did remarkably well against entrenched heavyweight Janice Hahn (just ask Marcy Winograd, now in hiding, about that. Winograd challenged Hahn for Congress in 2011). I crossed swords with Napolitano a number of times and he was always an honorable opponent, willing to talk, a nice guy, and I suspect he’s only starting his true career. Ya lose a few as you do that.
66th District Assemblyman David Hadley was very interesting with an attractive platform, apparently a true conservative, but took the Republican low road against Muratsachi and paid for it.
Then there’s Easy Reader editor Mark McDermott. Uh, Mark, “dawning of a new era” in…Hillary Clinton (“Measures C, EE passed overwhelmingly by Manhattan Beach voters,” ER November 10, 2016)? Really? Good grief. England saw that kind of rhetoric re: Maggie Thatcher, Clinton’s soul sister, and paid dearly for it and is still paying for it. True feminists declaimed Clinton, as did most Dems, anyone with brain matter, even most of, God help us, “Left” Pacifica/KPFK. What we ended up with was the stupidest of two lunatic corporatists. Had the Democratic National Committee not shot itself and the country in the head, we’d now have President Sanders. The upshot is that both parties are finally abundantly proven for the pathetic, backstabbing, self-serving stumblebums they are. There’s merit in that, I suppose.
So what to do? Well, blame me first of all. After participating in every election since age 18, taking activist causes, submitting ballot proposals, and so on, I no longer vote and haven’t since the Bush Jr. election theft. Sometimes, some of us wake up. Then blame yourselves: you do vote, and here’s what we have. I guess that’s where the real congratulations belong. Drink up in celebration, then, y’all, as you’ll be doing a lot of it in coming years. So will I.
Mark S. Tucker Manhattan Beach, Nightmarica
Dinner in the Shade
Dear ER:
We are sorry Charlie Szymanski was disappointed by Rescue Our Waterfront (ROW) holding a fundraiser at the Redondo Shade Hotel. (“Look who’s coming,” ER Letters November 10, 2016) Yes it’s large, but the CenterCal Mall/Parking Structure/Theater will be the size of 10 Shade Hotels. ROW isn’t protesting everything and not interested in fighting everyone. Our battle is with the bloated overdevelopment proposed by CenterCal, not with Shade. While there are parallels, Shade doesn’t create much traffic, Shade doesn’t endanger boaters and children, and Shade doesn’t violate zoning or state law. A place was needed to host an event and there were limited options. This was largely due to businesses turning against ROW after pressure from the Chamber of Commerce. So Shade offered to help us out and we held an event there. Big deal. We enjoyed delicious food and drinks, great company and amazing art at the auction.
Lisa Youngworth
Redondo Beach
Ramp it up, elsewhere
Dear ER:
Putting a boat ramp in a harbor should be a no brainer. You pick the safest place and one that is the most convenient to boaters. To get that location you speak to boaters, harbor masters, and certified coast guard captains. In that alternate reality that is the Redondo Beach City Council and Harbor Commission that’s not how it works. Here you listen to lobbyists, elected officials who receive donations from the developer (CenterCal) via the Redondo Chamber of Commerce PAC, and the develope. To add variety, you talk to the leaseholder of the harbor who is “conveniently negotiating an extension.” Once they get it perhaps they could sell it off. Not sure if in this hypothetical scenario that’s a really good way to be a good steward to the people of Redondo. So the ramp location in alternate reality Redondo ends up in the most dangerous place, putting boaters, SUP users and the general public at risk. Why you ask? Because this is not a harbor anymore it’s a mall. You can’t put a ramp in a place where it would interfere with a high density mall. We need space for a theater, massive parking structures, restaurants, and a boutique hotel for making babies. (That’s a real quote by the way.)
Wayne Craig
Redondo Beach
Bring in the attorneys
Dear ER:
You did it. The community rallied together to contribute $15,000 in 10 days towards bills needed to start a lawsuit against the Redondo Beach Waterfront CenterCal project. Our attorney is busy preparing the legal arguments that lay the groundwork for our case. That lawsuit will be filed by November 18. Rescue Our Waterfront, Building a Better Redondo, and South Bay Parkland Conservancy partnered to pursue a lawsuit against the City of Redondo Beach for violations of CEQA, the California Coastal Act, and city zoning when City Council approved the CenterCal Waterfront Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR). The City approved the project knowing the proposed Seaside Lagoon puts children at risk and that Harbor Patrol believes the Mole B boat ramp is inherently dangerous. CenterCal, not the City, will bear the cost of the lawsuit.
We understand the lawsuit will require a long and expensive effort that pits community groups against the city and a large corporation. ROW is confident the impartial judicial system will recognize the many illegal flaws and balance this bloated and dangerous project. ROW supports revitalization but does not believe we need to double development, double traffic, block views, and put children and boaters at risk to accomplish the badly needed renovations. If you’d like to learn more about our concerns, please join us for a walking tour of the project on November 19 at 11 a.m., starting in the parking lot near Seaside Lagoon.
Martin Holmes
Redondo Beach
Bring in the Marines
Dear ER:
Redondo Beach’s harbor and pier are under assault by a developer, with almost full cooperation of our City Council and Staff. The sometimes ethically-challenged California Coastal Commission may soon weigh in on the project that could leave us with an enormous mall on our harbor/pier, even though the Environmental Impact Report left many questions unanswered. The City Council rubber-stamped the project on October 18 with only two anemic requests — that the proposed open-to-the-ocean Seaside Lagoon water quality be checked weekly, and the 19 enormous new structures be cut or scaled back to 17, if that was okay with the developer.
This is just one example of an overdevelopment trend taking place in our city. It’s a negative boom that increases traffic, impedes open spaces and views and in many cases hands over public land to benefit private entities. The majority of our City Council and City Staff are pushing for massive projects, fixated on income for the city, with little or no regard to consequences. I don’t think these are bad people, but they’ve lost sight of why we love to live where we live and these few are making major decisions with long-lasting implications. It’s essential that we change the leadership of our community. A crucial local election is coming up in March. As the ROW (Rescue Our Waterfront) volunteers who diligently got signatures for the CARE Initiative can attest, many people don’t even know about the monstrous plan for our harbor/pier. We need an informed electorate who realize sometimes you have to really dig for the truth.
We need Bill Brand for mayor. As a councilman he fights to reign in overdevelopment, find smart approaches to public safety and homelessness and tries to end Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce subsidies. Brand for Mayor means having someone who will sensibly weigh the issues with Redondo Beach citizens in mind, not special interests.
Lara Duke
Redondo Beach
