Letters to the Editor 4-16-2020
Ally oops
Dear ER
The narrow Ocean Ave cannot safely handle bikers, runners, walkers, strollers, dog walkers, construction trucks, cars, scooters, and cars parked in front of the home owners’ homes (Manhattan Beach police issue 129 social distancing citations; fines are $1,000 ,” ER April 9, 2020). Please try to use other streets, preferably those with sidewalks. You are driving, please slow down and don’t turn illegally onto one way streets. Thank you.
Lynn Harris
EasyReaderNew comment
Protect us from ourselves
Dear ER:
We don’t really want martial law, but I’m wondering if we need it. People using Beach Drive to jog, walk dogs, push strollers,, hold coffee cliques don’t seem to understand the severity of COVID-19. Beach Dr. is the bakery’s alley and our neighbors on the Strand’s back door. Why the beach, shut The Strand, and the bike path, then move everyone onto our alley.
Better to guard the treasury
Dear ER:
Why is Hermosa paying for private security guards posted along The Strand? The closure has been widely publicized and there are barricades at every entrance. In a city strapped for money, it seems wasteful to pay for private security 12 hours a day to keep a few people from straying on to The Strand. The picture in our city is bleak enough.
Andrew Breithaupt
Hermosa Beach
Look back with pride
Dear ER:
When we finally have the pandemic behind us, we’ll all be deeply indebted to those who put themselves at risk to fight on the front lines. But, we’ll also be indebted to the millions who shut-down their lives, stayed at home and swallowed the hardships. Which raises the question of social responsibility. This isn’t the flu. And, we’re far from having it under control. Until we do, we should all be asking ourselves whether we’re doing everything we can to beat it. If we’re not, let’s step it up. Hold off on that trip to the store for a few more days. Cure that cabin fever with a walk around the block instead of a drive up the coast. Order safe pick up or delivery from a local business that desperately needs it. If you’re an elected official, make the hard decisions rather than the safe ones. Most of your constituents will thank you. And, if you’re continuing to operate an “essential” business simply because the Governor says you can, ask yourself if you’re genuinely serving a critical function under current circumstances. If you’re not, consider hitting the pause button. Let’s save lives now and figure out how to save jobs when this whole thing is over. Putting the greater good ahead of self-interest isn’t easy. But, when we have the chance to look back on how we handled this crisis, let’s hope that we can say that COVID-19 was defeated because we all did everything we could.
Ben Burkhalter
Manhattan Beach
A cheer from the city manager
Dear ER:
Our community is coming together – while staying apart – to thank health care workers and all who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some Hermosa residents step outside their homes to cheer these workers for one minute every night, and the City turned the Pier Plaza and Pier Avenue lights blue last week as part of the global #LightItBlue campaign to thank front-line workers. We thank you for doing your part by staying home and practicing social distancing in public during your Easter and Passover celebrations. Please continue to limit your face-to-face activities to those who live with you. Use phone, text or videoconferences to reach out to extended family and friends. Beginning Wednesday, Los Angeles County required all of us to wear cloth face masks when grocery shopping or performing other essential tasks that bring us in close contact to others. All these requirements are challenging, but we know this is a community that can overcome challenges. At City Hall, our team is overcoming the challenges of serving the public from a distance. We’re continuing to enact changes to services and policies – delay of parking permits, suspension of street sweeping enforcement and a moratorium on residential and commercial evictions – to support residents and businesses within our community. Please continue to keep up with City news on our website and through our COVID-19 updates. In the meantime, please know how much your support means to all of us at the City.
Suja Lowenthal
City Manager, Hermosa Beach
Unintended parkland
Dear ER:
AES power plant Developer Leo Pustilnikov has mentioned setting aside 25 acres of open space, based on the power plant operating beyond 2020 (“Sale closes on power plant’s 51-acre site”, ER Apr. 2, 2020). However, he has never mentioned restoring the wetlands. The problem I foresee is that the California Coastal Act is not being satisfied. The California Coastal Commission stated during the 2015 RBEP public hearing that AES must restore and perpetually maintain the wetlands (Redondo Salt Lake and the two water pools) with a 100-foot buffer zone in order to build a new power plant on the 51-acre site to comply with the Coastal Act. The wetlands are a unique element of the open space. Therefore, the open space cannot be determined by how long the power plant is operating beyond 2020. The open space will be determined by the restoration size and location of the wetlands. The salt lake was reported in 1854 to be between 130 by 500 yards to 200 by 600 yards. If the restoration is near the center of the property, the property’s eastern perimeter to the buffer zone may be inaccessible due to the SCE property to the north and the proximity of the water pools in the south. Therefore, the open space could be larger than the 25 acres mentioned by Pustilnikov. Furthermore, I would think that an access road must be provided to support the maintenance of the restoration. It appears to me that Redondo Beach will have a “unique open space” forever, courtesy of developer Pustilnikov
George Ikeda
Redondo Beach
COVID-19 Crier
Dear ER:
Thank you Easy Reader so much for your recent Coronavirus edition. I have lived in Redondo Beach for 23 years and I especially appreciated all the updates and articles you wrote on how the Coronavirus is affecting our area. Congratulations on your hard work in uniting and supporting our beach cities during this difficult time. I was self isolating home alone on the couch on Easter Sunday reading Easy Reader and several of your heartfelt articles brought me to tears.
With much gratitude,
Rita Connor, Redondo Beach
Into the future
Dear ER:
One thing that this will make clear is that it’s time to stop putting money into brick-and-mortar schools and move to a digital standard from at least high school through undergraduate (“On Local Government,” Easy Reader April 9, 2020). Even the state colleges and universities are wasting money building dorms and buildings. When the dorms don’t fill up, they mandate all freshmen, and in many cases, now all sophomores live on campus. It’s crazy to build 100 year buildings when we should be on a digital standard for education before 2030.
Mark Nelson
Redondo Beach
Self funding police
Dear ER:
Glad to hear the scofflaws are getting cited, but closing streets and parks punishes the majority of people who respect the rules (“Manhattan Beach police issue 129 social distancing citations; fines are $1,000 ,” ER April 9, 2020). A $1,000 fine should pay for as many law enforcement people as needed to cite violators while allowing the law-abiding public to use public open space.
Mike McDermott
Lighten up
Dear ER:
They had to enforce the same laws for all neighborhoods, probably because they don’t want all those big weekend groups (“Manhattan Beach police issue 129 social distancing citations; fines are $1,000 ,” ER April 9, 2020). But now that all the parking lots at the beach have closed and we’re not getting all the crowds from the Valley and downtown Los Angeles, I hope the government does indeed realize and accept that the beach is where we have the most space in between those few random joggers and surfers. To allow all these people in a supermarket where all will pick their vegetables so close to one another, and forbid the beach where real distancing is possible, makes no sense at all.
Daniella del Amo
EasyReaderNews.com