Smoke cleared
Dear ER:
I would like to thank the Redondo Beach Fire Department. The other night, at 1:30 a.m., I woke up upstairs and smelled smoke. As I proceeded downstairs, the lower level was thick with smoke. I frantically ran around looking to see where the was coming from, to no avail. I went back upstairs and got my wife Joni and our dog Pookie out of the house and called 911. Within five minutes, three fire trucks arrived with 15 guys all suited up. They proceeded to search the house and use heat sensors to determine where the fire was. After about 30 minutes they determined there was no active fire but could not determine the source. The captain said they would not leave until they figured it out. After another 15 minutes, they pulled out the refrigerator and found an electrical outlet, cord and part of the wall burnt up. The outlet shorted out after a water line apparently dripped into the outlet. However the circuit breaker didn’t trip and the line was still hot. Needless to say, I changed the electrical panel with new breakers and bought new smoke detectors. We were very lucky and I commend all the firefighters from Redondo Fire Department for saving the day.
Greg Ronkainen
Redondo Beach
Clear the smoke
Dear ER:
At their January 5 meeting, the Manhattan Beach City Council acted on the mistaken belief that to retain local control of all future medical marijuana regulations, it was necessary to strengthen the City’s already existing bans on all marijuana activities. An amendment that would have allowed patients to grow a limited number of indoor plants for personal use was rejected while a ban on all deliveries of medical marijuana to qualified legal patients was imposed.
Deliveries by caregivers or licensed dispensary employees provide patients with mobility-constricting conditions such as MS and epilepsy, a discreet and consistent way to obtain medical marijuana. Such deliveries have been occurring unnoticed and without incident for years in Manhattan Beach. Therefore, this ban is not only unnecessary, but violates Proposition 215 because it limits legitimate patient access.
Beth Kelleher
Manhattan Beach
Smell the fish
Dear ER:
As a chaplain at a local hospital, I am increasingly aware of how people who have suffered disease or loss seek the solace and healing of the ocean. Most of our young people do not look to churches or organized religion to find God. They find their spirituality in nature. The majority of us live in crowded conditions where “the good, the true, and the beautiful” is found at the ocean shore. It should be easily accessible when one is feeling weak or desolate. The proposed Center Cal “lifestyle destination” makes a mockery of our innate desire to return to nature for refreshment and renewal of our spirit. From the point of a spiritual assessment, our elected officials are out of touch with what is meaningful to folks who have chosen to live here the South Bay.
Mary Ewell
Redondo Beach
Divided we fail
Dear ER:
Having attended the last of the public hearings for the Redondo Waterfront Draft Environmental Impact Report on Saturday, I came to discover the best way to mitigate impacts of the proposed Waterfront project is to fully engage with it not against it. We are in desperate need of revitalization and creation of a vibrant, enhanced and thriving Pier and Harbor. Because it is a complicated endeavor, there is all the more reason to stay engaged and unified. Support for the project does not mean agreeing with all things CenterCal proposes. We should collectively advocate for the areas in need of modifications. We must not risk fighting with one another or dividing. That strategy only leads to further complications and costlier problems. Now is the time to use our collective synergy to breathe life back into this neglected area. Let’s get on board, perhaps for the first in history and prove our abilities to work cohesively to develop a Waterfront deserving of generations to come. It is far too easy to criticize, condemn, threaten, or undermine instead of taking this rare opportunity to work toward a favorable outcomes. Submit your comments to the City by January 19 and allow for continued dialogue and progress towards something we can be proud to call “ours.”
Lisa Rodriguez
Redondo Beach
Everything we need to know…
Dear ER:
If your kid can’t take care of a hamster, do you let him have a dog? If a landlord has failed to maintain a simple three-unit complex, do you let him build a five- unit complex with a drawbridge? So why allow the CenterCal project? Yes, the area needs maintenance and repair, but so will the new complex. If Redondo couldn’t budget for the harborfront maintenance in the past, will we be able to do so in the future? The CenterCal expansion is a one time project and a one time fix. I’d rather see repairs and maintenance occur more responsibly for a few years, and growth happen more incrementally. We should not hand over our greatest asset to a developer just to get a one time fix. With the low occupancy rate at many area shopping complexes, we should grow responsibly rather than risk locking ourselves into an unaffordable maintenance budget.
Roger Carlson
Redondo Beach
Walk on the waterside
Dear ER:
I know I may take some heat for writing this, but at the Community Development meeting on January 9 in Redondo Beach, I detected a subtle yet disturbing amount of xenophobia among the audience (I won’t dare use the “r” word). Quite a few public comments were along the lines of, “The pier is dangerous and disgusting,” “I wouldn’t take my friends there” and “I almost got hit by a chunk of falling concrete.” Yes, the harbor is dingy and dilapidated, but it’s not dangerous. I ride my bike through there almost every day. This kind of inflammatory rhetoric only serves to polarize those who have different opinions.
On New Year’s Eve I took a stroll from Topaz jetty all the way around the pier and back to Old Tony’s for a drink. I didn’t get pelted with concrete, and I didn’t run into any gangbangers or witness any violent crime. What I did see was families from lots of different backgrounds and income levels enjoying each other’s company and spending their hard-earned money at the pier. So what’s the problem? I think people should seriously reflect upon why they don’t like the pier before they try to “improve” it.
Brian Hittelman
Redondo Beach
Water everywhere, to drink
Dear ER:
The proposed fresh water desalinization plant in El Segundo, scheduled to begin construction by 2020, is being targeted by local elected officials and groups such as the Surf Rider Foundation for destruction before it ever sees the light of day. The argument they are making is that we do not need additional sources of fresh water. They say it’s just a matter of reducing consumption, recycle current water supplies and treating sewage water so that it’s ready for human consumption. In addition, they are claiming that the proposed plant would do harm to our environment and that the new water supply is too expensive.
These arguments are flawed. Los Angeles does in fact need a new source of fresh drinking water. It’s hard to imagine having too much fresh water. The proposed plant will produce 20 million to 60 million gallons of fresh water per day, a full 10 percent of the West Basin Water District’s output. Fresh water is good. Treated sewage water slated for human consumption is not so good.
Technology, ingenuity, creativity and the might of American industry is the golden goose that lays golden eggs. Investment is our health through new industrialization to everyday problems such as fresh water capacity should be welcomed.
Trent Larson
Hermosa Beach
Editor’s note: Larson is a candidate for the Hermosa Beach City council election.
Park it
Dear ER:
I don’t know where M. Sikonia lives but, if you ask any area resident of Polliwog Park if Begg pool is part of the park,the answer will be yes (“Begg to skate,” ER Letters Jan. 7, 2015). The same can be said for the middle school, the little league field, etc. Please, just stop.
Schweter
Manhattan Beach
