Trash talk
Dear ER:
Congratulations to the City Council of Redondo Beach for making their city greener. The awarding of their new trash/recycling contract includes residential and commercial foodwaste recycling. They achieved a low rate and new services. I hope Manhattan Beach next month and Hermosa Beach this summer do the same.
If both those cities get foodwaste composting from their trash hauler, the beach cities will have the highest waste diversion rates in the state. This type of service improvements not only improves our environment, but helps property values and brings our communities together in a positive way.
On Tuesday, March 1 the Manhattan Beach City Council will award the single largest service contract in a decade. This is an exclusive contract for trash, composting and recycling services.
There are three qualified companies vying for this large contract. The incumbent hauler, Waste Management has put in a bid that is 13 percent and 15 percent higher in cost than the two other experienced haulers. This higher cost could exceed $4,000,000. Waste Management’s bid does not include foodwaste recycling, which could amount to 15 to 20 percent of total waste volume. So essentially, that bid would force us to “pay more and do less” for the environment.
As a longtime business owner in Manhattan Beach, I want the opportunity to help our environment. Redondo Beach did just that for their residents and businesses and saved money. I am excited about the opportunity to keep trash out of landfills.
We should only approve a contract that has recycling, trash removal and foodwaste composting. Waste Management only has two. We need all three to make a difference. I agree with the staff recommendation contained in the January 24 report from the city finance committee. It gave good reasons for its recommendation to award the contract to Crown Disposal. They have offered all the drivers that currently pick up trash in Manhattan Beach the ability to keep their jobs. Waste Management and Crown drivers come from the same union. Crown will give the city and schools all the free compost they need for public grounds and landscaping. This will be an excellent teaching tool in our local schools. No other bid offers this service.
What worries me is that the recommendation has been removed for the City Council report on this item. I hope that council will read the finance report and approve the staff recommendation. Come to the meeting and tell the council to save money and help the environment.
Michael Keegan
Manhattan Bread & Bagel, Manhattan Beach
Arda backer
Dear ER:
As a Redondo Beach landlord, I tell my prospective tenants that the schools in town are the best in the South Bay.
As a retired teacher of 36 years at the elementary school level, I respect and value the current tasks at hand for the RBUSD School Board. After the mail-in ballot election, two new board members will be seated.
I want to be able to tell my tenants that the school board, which sets policy and supports each student in every class, is comprised of folks who have excellent communication skills, excellent budgetary knowledge, and great life skill sets.
I believe Arda Clark has all the qualities to be a great school board member. Arda has my support and I hope she has your support as well.
Katherine Moore, Hermosa Beach
Lesser is more
Dear ER:
I served with David Lesser on the Manhattan Beach Planning Commission from 2005 through 2008. David and I were also rivals in the 2007 Manhattan Beach City Council election. That rivalry, however, never diminished the great respect I have for David as a dedicated public servant.
David has lead the effort to amend our building code to make it easier to remodel homes as an alternative to simply tearing them down and building up to the lot line. He has worked to maintain the “small town feel” that makes Manhattan Beach such a livable and desirable city, while giving due deference to the property rights of homeowners.
David is the most thoughtful of planning commissioners. He is thoroughly prepared and has provided valuable input to the planning commission in resolving the issues before it. He has always been fair and open minded in reaching a decision.
David has more experience in city government than any of the other candidates. He has served as chairman and will have served as a member of the planning commission for almost six years. He served as a Manhattan Beach Parking and Public Improvements Commissioner for a year and a half. This seven and a half years of service on the two top city commissions gives David valuable insight in how our city works and how to get things done for our community.
Do yourself and our community a favor by voting for David Lesser on March 8.
Bob Bohner, Manhattan Beach
Pair for Paralusz
Dear ER:
Count us as two more Manhattan Beach residents who will be voting for Kathleen Paralusz on March 8.
We’ve followed Ms. Paralusz’s work as a city commissioner over the years and believe she always has the best interests of the city and residents in mind when rendering decisions. She is thoughtful, independent, fair and forthright: exactly what we expect of our city leaders.
We were pleasantly surprised when she knocked on our door several weeks ago, introduced herself and her family, and asked what our concerns were. It proved to us that not only is she a good public servant, but a highly engaged one. She is dedicated, hard-working and down-to-earth (and an East Manhattan Beach resident to match — always a plus in our book!).
We are lucky to have three well-qualified candidates to choose from in this election. However, one candidate stands out from the rest. We are voting for Kathleen because of her depth of city government experience, expertise, dedication and proven ability to bring people from different perspectives together to achieve common goals when resolving issues.
Kathleen walks the talk — she cares about all the different groups that make up our fine community, and has capably represented them over the years, always with fairness and conviction about what is right for our city with an eye on the future but respect for our past.
Join us on March 8 and vote for a remarkable leader. Let’s elect Kathleen Paralusz as our next city councilwoman!
Jack & Betty Anderson, Manhattan Beach
High standards
Dear ER:
The next RBUSD school board will deal with decreasing dollars for students. They will deal with the challenge of finding new revenue streams to offset the horrendous cuts coming from the state level. They will do this all the while maintaining the current high academic standards that we, as Redondo Beach residents, have come to expect from our school district.
As a teacher in RB for over 20 years, I am going to vote for Arda Clark for RBUSD School Board member because I truly believe she will serve all the students in RB respectfully and more importantly – responsibly.
Amy Santa Cruz, Madison Elementary Teacher
Candidates backed
Dear ER:
With two [Manhattan Beach City Council] seats open and only four candidates, this one’s easy, folks – let’s elect David Lesser and Amy Howorth on March 8.
Every candidate promises to improve public participation. However, once elected, most get sucked into the vortex of authority and promptly forget how important it really is to actually include the public when conducting the public’s business.
Our best chance to stay on a positive path of continuous improvement toward more open government is to draw from David Lesser’s clearly stated focus on improved transparency and Amy Howorth’s refreshingly open and receptive nature.
Lesser and Howorth have each shown they do more than just participate, they actually lead – and they each do so independently, with intelligence, compassion and respect. They actually listen.
On the other hand, Kathleen Paralusz’ brusque attempts to quickly dismiss the very real, widespread concerns of her being the sister-in-law of Mayor Richard Montgomery only display that her political aspirations can severely blur her vision of right and wrong.
Paralusz states she ‘will not discuss upcoming votes with any councilmember’, failing to realize the job is all about consensus building. The forming of strategic alliances (within the allowances of the Brown Act, of course) is a routine job requirement. How does she think council subcommittees work?
If there is to ever be a right time for Kathleen Paralusz, it certainly isn’t now – especially given the well proven strengths of both Lesser and Howorth.
Move us forward with your vote for David Lesser and Amy Howorth.
Gerry O’Connor, Manhattan Beach
Ngo way
Dear ER:
An amazing amount of agita (replete with Latin quotes no less!) has been stirred up regarding the upcoming Manhattan Beach City Council election and welcoming so called gadflies into the fray.
What a fantastic opportunity to “walk in another man’s shoes” for those whose effort heretofore has been only to write letters or speak for a few minutes at the council podium. Let them witness the sacrifice, commitment and just plain hard work those who run for City Council face and the ongoing challenges they encounter if they are actually elected.
One candidate, Viet Ngo, is of particular interest. Almost every City Council meeting I have attended these past years has been polluted by Mr. Ngo’s rants.
City residents and children packed in the council chambers to celebrate real accomplishments and acts of selflessness have had to sit through his countless distorted and hallucinogenic charges of political corruption. Those same City Council members who willingly donate their time and energy to the running and betterment of our city and our professional city staff have to sit there and silently face these calumnies.
I can’t imagine Mr. Ngo’s motivation. It is clear he has a right to come to the podium and spew his noxious charges. That is our cherished right of freedom of speech which Mr. Ngo seeks to continuously exploit. But he apparently lacks the wisdom to realize that with the privilege of this right comes responsibility of accountability for his words and doing no harm. Acta virum probant.
Joe Franklin
Manhattan Beach
Candidate coffee
Dear ER:
I invite Manhattan Beach residents to join me for complimentary coffee at Manhattan Bread and Bagel, 1812 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach, this coming Sunday, Feb. 27 from 10 a.m. to noon. As a candidate for Manhattan Beach City Council, I want to meet as many residents as possible and discuss issues of importance to you. Being accessible to residents is one of the most important qualities for a city councilmember.
If I have the honor of being elected I will meet regularly with residents in similar, more casual settings outside of City Hall to discuss issues and hear concerns. I hope to see you for coffee this coming Sunday. And, of course, please remember to vote on Tuesday, March 8.
David Lesser, Manhattan Beach
Avrick backer
Dear ER:
I am writing to encourage the citizens of Redondo Beach to elect Anita Avrick as our next Redondo Beach Unified School District Board Member. Over the last several years, I have had the pleasure to work with Anita through various education-focused organizations in our community. She is a tireless volunteer who is dedicated to the well being of our children and our schools.
Anita has been a resident of Redondo Beach for over 25 years, with a long history of giving back to our community through her countless hours of volunteering. She is dedicated to bettering our schools and the lives of our children. This is evident through her volunteer work over the years.
She has been President of numerous organizations including the Redondo Beach Council PTA, Redondo Union High School PTSA, Adams Middle School PTSA, and Beryl Heights Elementary School PTA. Anita was also 2nd Vice President of the Thirty-Third District PTA Board. She has been involved with Partners in Education, RBUSD’s Violence Protection Action Committee, and on the Board of Directors for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).
Being involved with an organization is one thing, but when you go above and beyond like Anita, those organizations recognize you for your outstanding work. In 2010, Anita was presented with the Redondo Beach Unified School District’s Education Advocate Award. She has also received the PTA Golden Oak Award, and the Franklin Shaffner Lifetime Achievement Award by the Directors Guild of America.
Because of her extensive volunteerism, Anita is well connected. She has built relationships not only with other parents and community leaders, but with teachers and school district administrators as well. Anita has established herself as a dedicated and reliable leader that listens to what people have to say.
As a mother of two young children at Madison Elementary School in Redondo Beach, I know Anita, who has proven leadership skills, will make a wonderful Redondo Beach Unified School District Board Member. Please join me in voting for Anita Avrick for Redondo Beach Unified School District Board.
Jill Brunkhardt
VP, Programs, Madison Elementary School PTA
Member, Measure C Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee
Past Chair, Recreation and Parks Commission
Too much meat
Dear ER:
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines released this week by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services are continuing a 30-year trend of recommending replacement of animal products and other fatty foods in our diet with vegetables, fruits, and whole grains (http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/). The recommendations reflect widespread concern with the epidemic of obesity and other precursors of killer diseases, particularly among our children.
In a National Public Radio interview, distinguished Harvard University Professor of Public Health Walter Willett complained about the Guidelines’ lack of transparency in failing to call for an outright reduction in meat consumption. He should know.
In 1977, drawing on two years of hearings by the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs chaired by Sen. George McGovern, Willett authored the original “Dietary Goals for the United States.”
When the meat industry learned that the report’s key recommendation was to reduce meat consumption, it forced McGovern to destroy all copies of the report and to replace “meat” with “saturated fat.” It then abolished the Committee, voted McGovern out of office, and taught government bureaucrats never to challenge meat consumption again.
To this day, “saturated fats” remains a code word for meat, dairy, and eggs.
Jack Matler, Hermosa Beach
Healthcare concerns
Dear ER:
I couldn’t agree more with Roger Repohl’s well-written article “Healthcare for the Tucson victims?” [South Bronx to South Bay, ER Jan. 27, 2010]. Healthcare is a universal need, no less than our public education, welfare and social security systems.
My husband and I are both in our 50s, and are without medical insurance for the first time in our privileged lives (and just how that happened to us is another outrageous story, but I won’t get into that here).
We have always enjoyed good health and low group rates for PPO or HMO coverage, and were able to take advantage of preventative services and good medical care on those rare occasions when we needed it. But those days are gone, for us. We currently have no protection from financial disaster, should one of those “levelers” like an accident or a life-threatening illness strike one or, God forbid, both of us before we are able to secure replacement plans on the open market.
But if you’ve never gone through it, you probably have no idea just how hard it is to get health insurance on the open market. We sure didn’t. My husband’s been declined by two companies, so far, because of his height/weight ratio in something called the body-mass index. As for me, my application has been in limbo for a month now.
Having had a PPO or HMO plan for so long, we haven’t seen an actual medical bill in decades. So, we have no idea how high the cost of healthcare has gotten to be. Recently, I asked my brother’s father-in-law about the cost of his bypass surgery last year, just to get a sense of a worst-case scenario.
He said that the hospital bill was over $120,000, and that didn’t include his surgeon, anesthesiologist, labs, post-care or medications. Fortunately for him, he’s covered by Medicare and a supplemental plan, so his financial losses are limited. Right now, ours are not. And now for the violins:
We have worked hard all our lives, and have turned bittersweet layoffs in 2009 and 2010 into the sustainable self-employed status we enjoy today, and we’ll hopefully be able to enjoy for the balance of our lives. What scares us most though, is knowing that everything we’ve saved, built and invested in, over our 30-plus years together, could evaporate in an instant, throwing us into financial ruin and shattering our plans for the future.
Of course the loss of one’s health, or God forbid, one’s life, would be emotionally devastating to a spouse, and certainly would shatter their plans for the future, adding financial woes to that scenario would truly be a personal catastrophe.
So, from my new perspective, while the Court decision about mandated healthcare being unconstitutional may be well reasoned under the law, it doesn’t change the fact that a public solution to the healthcare crisis in this country has never been more desperately needed than now.
Name withheld, Redondo Beach
Vegan view
Dear ER:
The popular revolutions we are witnessing in the Middle East, while inspired by a desire for personal freedom and self-determination, are certainly sustained by a pervasive hunger pandemic, particularly among the world’s less privileged populations.
Since last December, skyrocketing demand for food and dwindling supplies have driven the global Food Price Index to new records. Supplies have suffered from catastrophic floods and droughts linked to global warming and from gradual depletion of groundwater aquifers. Demand has been fueled by unchecked population growth and by diversion of massive amounts of grains into biofuel and meat production.
Hunger afflicts nearly one billion people worldwide, mostly women and children. It feeds massive popular migrations and unrest that, sooner or later, will affect us all.
Some of the causes of global hunger are beyond our personal control. But, as the world’s highest meat consumers, we have a special obligation to free up some grains for the hungry by limiting our own consumption. With the broad availability of delicious and nutritious meat and dairy alternatives in every supermarket, there is no reason to delay. Entering “live vegan” in a search engine returns lots of good guidance.
Joel Barslitski, Hermosa Beach
Imagine
Dear ER:
“Carpe Diem” – Seize The Day. We, the residents of Manhattan Beach, should not view recent revelations as vulnerabilities, but as opportunities to enhance the greatness of our city, to reinforce what we mean to each other, and to recognize that without community there is no life.
We must treasure our strengths — caring, compassion, generosity, and resiliency — to “seize the day” by forging a vision of what we want to become — to advance values, such as civility, respect, and tolerance in which we can take pride and want transmitted to our children.
We must call on our leaders — civic, spiritual, social, volunteer, nonprofit, business, labor, educational, and media — to provide the guidance in establishing concrete goals and action plans — not to decide what is best for us, but to establish the process by which we decide what is best for us.
Imagine community forums to examine issues critical to our vitality. Imagine — with the wisdom of mentors — dialoguing with each other on promoting our freedoms; protecting our rights and civil liberties; establishing ethical standards; and, enhancing our quality of life. Imagine dialogues on championing citizen participation and guaranteeing our voices being heard and in making decisions affecting our families and neighbors. Imagine furthering our commitment towards preserving our environment — Sun, Sand, Sea.
Imagine forums where — with the counsel of experts in community building — we strengthen our competencies in self-governance, including the knowledge and skills for identifying shared values within our differences and forging consensus. Imagine seizing the day!
Edward C. Caprielian, Ph.D., Manhattan Beach
Winds of change
Dear ER:
Many of the 14 state senators (interestingly each and every one a Democrat) who turned their backs on the business of the people of Wisconsin last week to cripple governmental quorum and flee the state, will pay the ultimate price at the ballot box in 2012.
Like the unions to which they are beholden, they are out of step with both American business and the will of the electorate. Show me a corner of corporate America that would tolerate for one New York second executives running away from the boardroom to shirk their responsibilities, and I’ll show a pipe dream.
Though the cost to these state senators will only come in 2012, come it will. The winds of real change in place of empty talk began to howl in 2010 and the landscape is vastly changed. There will come a time when even New York and The Peoples Republic of California will see the light and witness the inevitable.
Jeffrey Melnick, Foothill Ranch
