Youthful tattoos
Dear ER:
While I respect the U.S. Constitution and the right it provides to freedom of expression, I was shocked to read the Jan. 13, 2011, front page article in the Easy Reader [“Tattooing the Beach”].
The reference to “rich people” and “pretty people” together with Angelina Jolie and LeBron James is the wrong example.
I would have hoped that the courts along with their ruling would have changed the age when a person could “ink” themselves from 18 to 21. I am a parent who knows firsthand, as my child no longer wants a tattoo she wanted at age 18.
So while we can say it’s no longer for “gangsters and criminals,” let’s still be vigilant parents and do whatever it takes to delay or forego the tattooing altogether, if only for the reason that it is so “mainstream,” because who wants to be like everyone else anyway?
Karen
Manhattan Beach
Overexposure
Dear ER:
Exposed tattoos are nothing but “walking graffiti.”
John Bush
Manhattan Beach
A step back
Dear ER:
Last week’s columns on the Arizona shooting tragedy , “What we have wrought,” and Roger Repohl, “Tombstone,” warrant a response.
For Bob, I disagree that “we did this to ourselves.” Among Jared Loughner’s writings, postings or videos, there is no evidence whatsoever that he was responding to anything political or otherwise.
“This was a mentally unstable individual whose thoughts were unrelated to anything in our world,” said one of his Pima Community College teachers. And a high school friend interviewed by ABC News stated Loughner didn’t watch TV, didn’t watch the news, didn’t listen to political radio and wasn’t on the left or right.
So let’s be careful not to jump on the media bandwagon with Paul Krugman, Keith Olbermann, The New York Times, and the Pima County sheriff who make a futile attempt to try to tie the tragedy to right wing political vitriol, nor should we do the same against anyone on the left.
As for Roger, polls show Arizona’s strong stance on illegal immigration is supported by up to 70 percent of its citizens and almost equally nationwide. Gov. Jan Brewer, who introduced the new immigration policy and signed the gun legislation, was re-elected by a huge margin. As for Sheriff Dupnik, when pressed he had to admit he had no evidence of his reckless allegations.
I’ll end with some questions myself: Was the sheriff upholding the cardinal rule for law enforcement officers to strictly follow the evidence? Is he potentially having an impact on the trial with his baseless accusations?
In the words of Jack Webb from Dragnet, “Just the facts, ma’am.”
Tim Charles
Redondo Beach
Bad landlords
Dear ER:
It’s amazing to hear that RBUSD somehow depends on a measly $200,000 more than what they currently get from the city, to stay afloat [“Mar Ventures awarded RBUSD’s Knob Hill lease,” ER Jan. 13, 2011”].
This district operates with a $60 million budget! The current Board has approved the contract that currently makes our superintendent one of the highest paid in California. On top of his generous salary, he has a benefit package that includes a car allowance, a home allowance, as well as extra vacation and bonuses for test score improvement.
His chief business officer is also well into the six figures. We essentially have two highly paid figureheads in RBUSD, and we make it sound like we need to lease off every school property to make ends meet.
What happens when they close the next elementary school in our neighborhood? Will they be able to re-zone and put in a Wal-Mart or perhaps a low-income housing project next to your house, just because they need the money? How about selling the land for R1 lots and banking the money and drawing the interest?
Our Board is not competent enough to run the district and be landlords as well. Do we really want five School Board members making major real estate decisions in our city?
Dan Scott
Redondo Beach
