Letters to the Editor 4-11-18

Stain on the soul of skateboarding

Dear ER:

My wife and I lost our son to cancer almost two years ago. We decided a fitting memorial would be to donate a bench on The Strand at the spot overlooking where he surfed much of his life.

We worked on the design with two splendid artists for 18 months, spent a small fortune and coordinated everything with the city over a year and a half. The bench was finally installed just over a month ago and drew praise from friends and strangers alike as a beautiful addition to the Strand.

Unfortunately, it has already been seriously defaced by skateboarders, with the special paint used scraped completely off one entire edge. The painting process took months, so repairing the damage is no sure thing.

And what would be the point? Virtually every bench on The Strand bears the scars of these delinquents, and the one we donated suffered the same fate in a matter of weeks.

One wonders if these people have any understanding of the harm they are perpetrating. But “intelligence”, “perception” and “awareness” are not attributes often used in the same sentence as “skateboarders.”

A more relevant question is why, given the manifest damage skateboarders wreak on public property, they are allowed to ply their destruction on The Strand with impunity. Years ago there was an effort to soften skateboarding’s image with the slogan “skateboarding is not a crime.” But defacing and destroying public property is exactly that — a crime. It needs to stop.

Tom Gilroy

Manhattan Beach

Havana good time

Dear ER:

I worked with Luis and his sweet wife Alice at Mattel for several years before they left to open this fabulous restaurant [“Havana home cooking,” ER April 4, 2019]. They are terrific people, the food is superb and it has been so exciting to watch their business grow and flourish for over their 20 years.

Eric Ostendorff

Web comment

Hap’s legacy

Dear ER:

Hap Jacobs is part of Hermosa’s surfing history (and the world’s). We were lucky to have him shaping boards all these years [“Hap Jacobs, last of Hermosa Beach’s Golden Age of Surfing shapers, shapes final surfboard,” ER online April 7, 2019].

Cindy Whitehead

Web comment

End of an era

Dear ER:

End of an era for the legendary icon Hap Jacobs [“Hap Jacobs, last of Hermosa Beach’s Golden Age of Surfing shapers, shapes final surfboard,” ER online April 7, 2019]. I will never forget my first board, a 9-foot-1 Jacobs that I bought at Bing’s shop in 1964. All the best. I hope to see you around town, Hap.

Dennis Duke Noor

Web comment

A legacy continues

Dear ER:

Very wise selection of Jose Barahona to continue the Jacobs legacy [“Hap Jacobs, last of Hermosa Beach’s Golden Age of Surfing shapers, shapes final surfboard,” ER online April 7, 2019]. Between his own Barahona line, Jacobs Surfboards, Corky Carroll’s Blue Mango Surfboards, and the Hot Lips Designs lines, he’s going to be plenty busy.

Joel Saltzman

Web comment

RIP St. Bob

Dear ER:

Not too many teachers stand out in my memory. Bob Brigham, however, I’ll never forget [“‘Saint Bob’ was MCHS teacher, counselor, coach,” ER April 4, 2019]. And, yes, he did share his world views with his students, which I found refreshing. RIP St. Bob.

Eric Rose

Web comment

Parking fix

Dear ER:

Parking is always a subject that comes up in Riviera Village. Why doesn’t the city make the parking diagonal on the east side of Catalina Avenue,  between Avenue I and G, and on botrh sides between Catalina and the Esplanade. We do not need four lanes and it would be cheap to make the change. Hopefully it will slow cars down. It may add at least 36 parking spots. As a bonus, put a crosswalk across Catalina at H while you’re painting.

Mary Lou Grant

Redondo Beach

Beware the ire of Airbnb

Dear ER:

At the April 2 Manhattan Beach City Council meeting, City Attorney Quinn Barrow said he had received a letter from Airbnb stating there had been a procedural error when the Council voted 5-0 to maintain the ban on short term rentals. Barrow advised that it would be impossible to disprove this assertion. He advised the new Council to take another vote to extend the ban on short term rentals rather than face a lawsuit.

The new Council also voted 5-0 to continue the ban. At the April 16, 2019 Council meeting there will be a second vote by the Council before the continuation of the ban is finally approved.

Manhattan Beach just had an election in which all seven candidates said they were in favor of continuing the short term rental ban in recognition of overwhelming residential support. For residents, the preservation of our community and enforcement of the ban were their two most important values. A total ban is clear cut and would be the easiest and least costly solution for the city to enforce.

Airbnb has a well deserved reputation for deep pockets and lawyers who are quick to file lawsuits. In the past, large numbers of non-local Airbnb supporters have attended Council meetings. We must be prepared for Airbnb to do everything in their power to change the minds for our elected officials.

Please urge our Council to remain steadfast against this last-minute power grab by Airbnb to take over our city.

Kathy Clark

Manhattan Beach

Injection interjection

Dear ER:

The answer is an unequivocal “No!” to the “Celibre Laser and Injection Treatments” question: “Am I being vain?” with a picture and subtitle reading, “Getting rid of your frown lines is no different than getting your nails done. Treat yourself!” This advertisement could be attributed to the old saying that men are attracted to what they see, and women to what they hear. However, my dear daughter said “Yes” to the question by interjecting with, “That’s why women wear makeup and men lie.”

Oh, well. Perhaps the words of Oscar Wilde are apropos: “Women are made to be loved, not understood.”

Tom Kaminski

Manhattan Beach

Save water, and cement

Dear ER:

I would like someone at City Hall to tell me why the City of Manhattan Beach is adding all the extra concrete to our intersections. At a time when this state (and the world) is desperate for water to percolate into the ground, the City is spending untold amounts of money to add more concrete to each corner of each intersection in the Liberty Village area, taking away gardening and groundwater collection opportunities.

Not only did the city take away permeable ground from the median, which I suppose is its right, but gardening space was taken away from the residents’ portion of each corner lot, without, as far as I know, the homeowners’ consent or foreknowledge. (I live in one of those corner lots and as I recall, the original letter we received said nothing about this change, only that we had the choice of paying the city to repair our sidewalks or undertaking the job ourselves).

On top of that, there is now a roughly five foot swath of concrete carving its way through the east side of Polliwog Park, presumably to provide a safer route for children as they walk to Manhattan Beach Middle School. I’m all for making it safer for the children, and visitors to the park, but I’m hoping that the original sidewalk along Redondo Avenue will be taken out and made into green space to at least offset the now larger amount of non-permeable use of park space.

I don’t see how adding concrete to the intersections addresses safety or the needs of mobility bound individuals as the “curb cut” ramp area is the same width.

Frankly, I’m ashamed that this city is not doing more to address environmental issues. Manhattan Beach should be leading the way in efforts to address water savings and setting a good example for its residents, but instead has chronically leaking sprinklers in its parks, allows its maintenance workers to drive on park ground when it’s sopping wet, waters its street medians with horrific overspray, and generally ignores prudent methods of water conservation.

I’m rather tired of leaving repeated messages on the maintenance line. Take a look at some of the initiatives that the City of Santa Monica has employed to encourage water conservation, and address those who flagrantly waste water.

Erica LeBlanc

Manhattan Beach

A Village Fourth

Dear ER:

   Thank you Redondo Beach Mayor and City Council for supporting a 4th of July fireworks show south of the breakwater, which will allow this year’s 4th of July fireworks to be larger and more spectacular than ever(“Fireworks coming back to Fourth of July,” ER April 4, 2019). In addition, this will allow the harbor to be open so boaters are free to cruise around on this special day. On top of all this the Riviera Village gets to have an all day 4th of July festival, which will begin with the 5k run followed by a 4th of July festival in the village. Avenue I and The Esplanade will be an incredible viewing locations for the evening’s fireworks show

Jeff Ginsberg

Redondo Beach

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