Pigeon plague
Dear ER:
Regarding the “Birdman of Manhattan” [ER Jan. 20, 2011], I am sure he is a well intentioned individual, just as the neighbor of ours who started feeding pigeons daily in her driveway some 20 years ago.
We were soon inundated with pigeons in our neighborhood who aggressively sought to establish nests in the gutters, roof tiles and eves of houses.
I did some research and learned that a pair of mating pigeons can produce 40 to 60 pigeons a year and that their presence may pose significant health issues.
They are virtually impossible to get rid of and it was several years after the old neighbor died before we got any relief. In the meantime we had to deal with the huge mess left by the nesting pigeons.
Many locales have rightfully banned feeding pigeons such as Trafalgar Square in England. Feeding of pigeons was banned there due to the concern over public health issues.
However devoted Mr. Hallahan may be, he is doing a disservice to the residents and visitors who frequent the pier.
Tim Walker
Manhattan Beach
Poor choice
Dear ER:
What a poor choice for your cover today [“Fading Away,” ER Jan. 20, 2011]. I understand it is a heroic story, but you sure made an awful impression with your choice of picture.
Walking outside with my kid, I see a swastika on the front of every house.
Shame !
Orit & Oren Levy
Offensive symbol
Dear ER:
Last week’s [Beach] magazine cover, emblazoned with a swastika, was not only startling and offensive, but frankly, a confusing “stretch.” Of all the images that could have been used to illustrate this story about a book documenting the war experiences of surviving WWII veterans, why this one?
The featured photographer even said that he often took over 100 shots of each of the 400 veterans he photographed, and it was reported that the veteran on the cover, Louis Zamperini, stole the flag in 1936, before the war had even started.
Furthermore, Zamperini is the subject of a best selling book about his time as a POW in Japan. A picture of him holding something actually connected to his unique wartime story of resilience as a POW would have been much more appropriate, albeit less sensational, than this swastika flag.
I know that many soldiers kept Nazi/Axis paraphernalia as souvenirs of their efforts during the war, and I support their right to display such items in the privacy of their own homes. However, for me and most people I know, the swastika provokes a strong visceral reaction as the symbol of Nazi Germany and the unimaginable atrocities committed against Jews, gays, the mentally and physically handicapped and the many other “undesirable” groups murdered by the Nazis.
Displaying this Nazi swastika in public is actually illegal in many European countries, and nearly universally understood to be highly offensive to a large percentage of American adults.
Although I want to believe this wasn’t done to intentionally offend, I am equally troubled that our community newspaper was so nonchalant about prominently featuring this universally provocative and offensive symbol.
Beth Kelleher
Not the villain
Dear ER:
I left Tuesday night’s council meeting regarding the lagoon feeling I was watching a Western [“Seaside Lagoon’s future grows murkier,” ER Jan. 20, 2011].
Four men tried to make the water board a villain. A certain councilman toyed with killing off the lagoon for no reason other than water quality has come up so many times, he was going to spare a council member of the future from working through the issues.
The City Council needs to direct staff to spend $50,000 for a work study plan for the next permit. Posturing about the consequences of opening without a permit, almost daring the water board to close the lagoon, was the spirit of the night.
There was no analytical thinking going on. The admission fee for the last five years has been $5/$4 adult/child for 80,000 to 100,000 people. When asked about raising it $1, staff declined, stating the bathrooms were not appropriate for that fee. Silly — there are flushing toilets and running water. It would pay for the study!
Staff presented every cost associated with running the lagoon for the last five years. None were compelling reasons for closure. Most were maintenance, test fees, consultants, and some fines dating back to 2002.
Missing was information regarding the water test data from the last three or four swim seasons. How does one make the decision to close the lagoon because there will be eight new categories of metals added to the coming permit. There is almost no history of metal discharge and the last few years have been very clean.
Missing also was the financial impact on the Harbor community — parking, restaurants, sales tax revenue. Only one year of the lagoon’s revenue was presented in a vague way. Why not five years? Not enough data was presented for a decision of this magnitude.
What is the rush to close the lagoon? The state owns the land. The state provides revenue for the lagoon in the form of Harbor/Tideland funds. It is a regional amenity meant to serve the people of the state.
Remember when staff recommended it be closed in 2006, it was to do a land swap/hotel under the pretense of water quality. The coastal commission stated it is a recreation site that must have water children can submerse themselves in. Nothing presented as an alternative Tuesday night met those requirements.
We did not elect anyone to play John Wayne and defy the water board. Do the study plan! Keep the patrons and the revenue flowing into Redondo.
Please come to the council meeting Feb 1. or write cityclerk@redondo.org. or call Mayor Gin at (310) 372-1171 x. 2260.
Mary Delehanty
Redondo Beach
Lagoon lament
Dear ER:
As a resident of Redondo Beach I wish to apologize for the recent unprofessional behavior of some city council members toward the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) and their staff [“Seaside Lagoon’s future grows murkier,” ER Jan. 20, 2011].
Those of us that are familiar with the Seaside Lagoon and its operation truly appreciate the efforts the RWQCB has made to reach an effective long-term solution. Many feel that city management has long been trying to close this unique facility and then blame the water board for doing so for the reasons that follow.
The Seaside Lagoon has always met LA County Health Department clean water standards. The lagoon has been running cleaner than ever in recent years. The only real remaining issue is probably silt that shows up in Total Suspended Solids (TSS) measurements required by the RWQCB.
The city is not behaving in good faith to resolve this issue. After spending 10s of thousand of dollars on water testing they have failed to even determine what the components of the TSS are that can sometimes exceed the limit.
Since identifying the problem is always step one, the city has failed here. Of course they want to fail, then provoke the RWQCB into a spirit of non-cooperation and blame them for “having” to close the facility. This explains the unprofessional commentary made at the last council meeting on this topic.
Residents were recently promised in a glossy brochure that a vote for Measure G would “save” the Seaside Lagoon. The ink is not even dry on Measure G and promises are already being broken.
City management needs to do this right and complete step one in identifying the content of the TSS and work to implement mitigating measures with the help of the RWQCB. Scare tactics over historic fine levels or other tests on items not in significant exceedance are just that, scare tactics. Seaside Lagoon is state property funded with state funds. This regional park is just managed by the city.
We need a professional problem solving approach, not local back room politics. This will never happen unless California residents encourage the city to do so. Judge them on what they do, not what they say.
Anyone who feels a professional working relationship is in order to preserve this unique ocean water swimming facility should express those thoughts to the Redondo Beach Mayor and City Council via CityClerk@redondo.org.
Gary Ohst
Redondo Beach
Violent spread
Dear ER:
The shootings in Tucson are a dramatic reminder that we are one of the world’s most violent societies [Mira Costa grad is a Tucson shooting victim,” ER Jan. 20, 2011]. Violence governs our foreign relations, our sports and video games, and our daily diet.
Yes, our diet. Desensitization to violence begins in the home, when parents assure their naturally inquisitive, animal-loving children that chickens “give” eggs, cows “give” milk, and that pigs “give” their flesh for us to eat. The horrific daily violence and barbaric slaughter visited on these innocent animals and subsidized by us at the checkout counter gets buried in our subconscious mind.
Once our kids have learned to live with the violence of their diet, how much of a stretch is it to while away their idle hours on video games like “Mortal Kombat,” “Manhunt,” or “Grand Theft Auto?” How likely is this experience then to govern how they resolve a social confrontation in their neighborhood or a military one in an Afghan village?
Most of us abhor violence, but we don’t know how to prevent it.
Giving our kids an honest answer when they ask “Mommy, where do hamburgers come from?” is certainly a great start.
Joel Barslitski
Hermosa Beach
Gun retort
Dear ER:
Regarding Tim Charles’ letter [“A step back,” ER Jan. 20, 2011], since apparently Loughner lived in a vacuum and “didn’t watch TV, didn’t watch the news, didn’t listen to political radio”, what informed/motivated him to go to all the trouble (running away from his dad with the gun bag the day before, getting a motel room, barely sleeping, buying ammo, continuing on even after being stopped by the Fish and Game guy the morning of the shooting) to shoot Gabrielle Giffords?
Did he pull her name out of a hat? If he just wanted to kill someone, why didn’t he choose a neighbor, or someone walking down the street? These are the facts, with some logic applied. As Mr. Spock (of the Starship Enterprise) said: “Logic is the beginning of wisdom…”
Bob
Hermosa Beach
Low blow
Dear ER:
Last week, the Easy Reader published a letter from “Girb” mocking our city councilman’s name, effectively attacking his family background and ethnicity [“Name Game,” ER Jan. 13].
“Just having the name ‘Kit Bobko’ is enough to remove this guy from office…”
A similar type of letter was published recently in this paper criticizing another council member’s physical traits. Does mocking someone’s name or height help to address the issues facing our community? Do these comments warrant publication in our local paper?
Letters with comments like these have nothing to do with our elected officials’ ideas or actions regarding local laws, policy or governance. Publishing these letters does nothing to further a democratic public discussion and debate on issues which are central to our community.
Presumably the mission of a local newspaper like Easy Reader should be to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas relevant to this public conversation. By publishing letters that attack personal characteristics of our elected officials and fellow community members, are the editors acting irresponsibly in their duties to this community?
The person isn’t the problem, the problem is the problem; the sooner we can discuss the problem without attacking the person, the quicker we can come together as a community to a meaningful debate of solutions. As the president of the United States recently said, “We can make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations.” Let’s try, please.
Bruce Greenspon
Hermosa Beach
Pedaling praise
Dear ER:
The South Bay Bicycle Coalition (SBBC) should be commended for its Master Plan workshop in Manhattan Beach last Wednesday as part of its effort to develop inter-connecting bike routes throughout the Beach Cities.
As a longtime cyclist and Manhattan Beach planning commissioner, I support the creation of interconnected routes for both recreational riders and commuters to supplement our beach bike path.
The SBBC has made great strides in realizing that vision in a short period. It obtained a Los Angeles County Public Health Department grant to develop a South Bay Bicycle Master Plan, conducted bike counts to identify where people are riding, and has hosted public workshops throughout the region.
The hard part comes next as SBBC works with local governments to identify and procure feasible and safe routes in these challenging financial times. Its effort, however, is off to a great start.
David Lesser
Manhattan Beach
Flophouses
Dear ER:
Billed as flophouses for the rich and famous and peddled worldwide on the web, vacation rentals are classified as hotels in Hermosa and illegal in residential areas, but that doesn’t stop their money-hungry concierges from offering these frat houses for the flip-flopped and flipped out to the highest bidder.
Hotbeds for bedbugs, theses crash pads for hodads with the DTs operate around the clock with the sophistication of a crime ring and have sprung up all over the place like stinkweeds metastasizing into black market enterprises and wreaking havoc in our cul-de-sacs as their “guests” drink themselves stupid, howl at the moon, then wretch into our verandas.
Our sun-baked potentates at City Hall say there is little they can do besides write a cease and desist letter and cross their fingers; besides, who can expect the orderly administration of civic duties when they only work three or four days a week depending on whether there’s a holiday.
Maybe, what’s needed is a grassroots movement to stomp these stinkweeds out.
Dominic Mance
Hermosa Beach
Great man
Dear ER:
What a great story, what a great man [“Tony’s Secret War: The Redondo pier’s godfather and his unheralded heroics in WWII,” ER Jan. 20, 2011].
I cry when I remember Tony, he was an honest, humble, fair, straight boss, and carried himself with pride, treated people the way he would want to be treated. He’d stand up for you if you needed some backup, didn’t forget where he came from. (They don’t make men and women like that anymore, but it’s worth striving for.)
He was worth knowing. He made us love coming to work, made us proud to be part of Tony’s. It’s an honor to say I worked for and with Tony for 30 years. Now that’s he’s gone, it’s not the same. He was loved and will be missed.
Teri Figaro-Nicolette
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With gratitude
Dear ER:
Incredible Story! Something out of a movie. Thank you Mr. Trutanich for all you did for us. We will never truly understand or grasp what you went through.
Ania Biniecki
Web comment
Lift a glass
Dear ER:
I fought to read this though a stream of tears! It has inspired me to go over to Tony’s tomorrow evening and have a drink in honor of his exemplary service – but I’ll have to call ahead and make certain Billy has enough bar naps just in case another flood comes!
God Bless Tony,
Patrick Tierney
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