Letters to the Editor 6-28-18
Polly’s pleasures
Dear ER:
My wife has had a breakfast club at Polly’s on the Pier for 19 years (“Polly’s is still Polly’s on the Pier,” ER June 21, 2018). We always take visiting guests there, as well. Do we miss the pier? Yes,very much, but we are hoping for the restaurant’s return to the little pier in the future. The avocado and cheddar cheese omelet is my wife’s favorite but I can’t resist the Huevos Rancheros.
Robert Schilling
Redondo Beach
Still Polly’s, literally
Dear ER:
I’m so happy that Polly’s is on solid land now (“Polly’s is still Polly’s on the Pier,” ER June 21, 2018). When it was on the old pier and the pier moved, even just a little bit, my seasickness kicked in. So, now, I can have some of that unique stuff you can’t find on other menus.
Vanessa Poster
Redondo Beach
Budget hush
Dear ER:
Your recent article on the Manhattan Beach adoption of the annual budget highlighted the fact that not a single member of the public spoke (“Manhattan Beach adopts 2018-19 budget,” ER June 19, 2018). Although the budget is functionally completed prior to the final adoption meeting, its not like our City robustly encourages resident participation at any stage. This year, the community outreach was pretty much limited to a Budget Social — whatever that is. This meeting provided only super-high-level budget factoids, or additionally useless minutiae like the number of pets with tags. Staff noted many asked for spending reductions, but apparently discarded the concerns since the questions asked did not focus the audience’s reduction preferences or provide trade-off choices.
The City’s General Plan is supposed to provide the vision to drive our budgets and operations, but per the City’s website, the last General Plan Annual Progress Report is dated January 2014. Staff and council seem to intentionally make the budget inaccessible to practically all laypeople, and to orient the discussion on how great City Hall is doing. Although no doubt legal, it seems incongruent that the last-minute Strand Resurfacing project is being funded by Gas Tax Funds which budget documents say are to be used for “maintenance and repair of City streets that serve as State and County thoroughfares.” The Liberty Village resurfacing, while no doubt welcome, is being funded from Measure R, a ballot measure which had as its primary language “Traffic Relief. Rail Extensions. Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil.” It is a bit much to ask for community participation in any discussion where clear choices, terms and standards are held outside their reach.
Gary Osterhout
Manhattan Beach
Bare land solution
Dear ER:
Since Redondo Beach benefits from the stormwater project, I think the AES power plant property should receive more consideration (“Stormwater project receives added scrutiny,” ER June 19, 2018). Can’t Redondo Beach exercise eminent domain to acquire the AES site? Bare land on the AES site seems to be a more realist solution than the Hermosa Beach Greenbelt or South Park, which are by established neighborhoods, all of which will have the same objections the current location is experiencing.
Cheryl Townsend
Redondo Beach
Storm over stormwater
Dear ER:
The stormwater recovery project has a minimum construction period of two years with heavy machinery, noise and of course a lot of dirt in the air (“Stormwater project receives added scrutiny,” ER June 19, 2018). I live across the street with parents in their 90s. What about our quality of life? To place a project this large at the door steps of so many residents is beyond irresponsible. What happened to the agreement that nothing was ever to be built on the greenbelt?
Kaye Thomas
Hermosa Beach