Letters to the Editor 8-8-24
Follow the sweeper
Dear ER
It’s not rocket science (“Redondo suspends courtesy re-parking during street sweeping,” ER August 1, 2024). You simply have the Redondo Beach parking enforcement officers follow the street sweeper, working hand-in-hand, so people can park back on the street as soon as the street sweep passes. With all due respects to the police chief, municipal code CVC 40202(b) doesn’t allow for mailing tickets. You have to post them to the car. Performing enforcement any other way in a high-density beach town is a terrible disservice at best, and entrapment at worst. Sweeping enforcement has been done this way for nearly 40 years in Oceanside. You can do better Redondo.
Bryan Forward
ER News Comment
Blown off
Dear ER:
| Manhattan Beach, like most beach cities, has a law against leaf blowers. This law is seldom, if ever, enforced in Manhattan Beach. I have been contacting the City Code Enforcement Officers for at least five years. Yes, five years, and a company doing business in several beach cities with no license has never stopped its employees from using outlawed leaf blowers. The police department sent an officer several years ago and the officer told me he had spoken with the gardeners using the leaf blowers and they would never use them in the city again. Next week they were using them again and have been using them every week since. So, let’s move on and get rid of this law because it is never enforced. Many letters to the City of Manhattan Beach have been answered with promises which are never kept. The quality of life in Manhattan Beach be damned. |
Charles Taylor Didinger
Manhattan Beach
Seismic shift
Dear ER:
The Beach Cities Health District seems to have gone seismic consultant shopping to find one who would “tell them” to demolish the former South Bay Hospital building. No luck though. The first consultant, Youssef Associates, provided the Community Working Group with a presentation stating that “best practice” would allow up to 25 years more use prior to retrofit or demolition. They also noted that there were no requirements to upgrade the building to current code and that any work BCHD did, including demolition, was “voluntary.” So BCHD went shopping for another consultant and somehow found ImageCat Inc. They provided BCHD with a maybe some owners would deem operation past 10 more years as unacceptable. Their exact language was “risk … from 10 to 50 years becomes significantly higher, with probabilities of collapse that would likely be deemed unacceptable.” Likely? Why the weasel word? Likely by whom? ImageCat apparently didn’t have any hard data because there’s no requirement to demolish the building, nor to red tag it as unsafe. When an engineer says that a problem is likely, but not imminent, it’s just a cover your ass. So no matter which BCHD consultant you choose to believe, BCHD’s demolition of the South Bay Hospital building is voluntary, not covered by any ordinance or code, and can wait for up to 25 years, according seismic “best practice.” Taxpayers should not be paying $15M for guesses by BCHD executives with no seismic expertise or training.
Mark Nelson
Redondo Beach
Be prepared
Dear ER:
Thank you for pointing out that my mom, Elka Worner, was a former Girl Scout leader (“Two seats, nine potential HB Council candidates,” ER August 1, 2024). While my mom was a great Girl Scout leader, she is also an award-winning journalist who covered the war in Afghanistan, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (while pregnant with me), the 2015 Paris terrorist bombings, and hundreds of breaking news stories. She’s also written countless stories for Easy Reader. Yet you minimize her. Reducing her to a Girl Scout leader and former Girl Scout is sexist, point blank, period. This isn’t the 1950s. Women can be more than just Girl Scouts. Shame on you for minimizing my mom’s accomplishments and contributions. Not cool.
Micah Worner
Hermosa Beach
Spread the cost
Dear ER:
I have no doubt if residents were asked to give $30 annually in property taxes on a $1 million home in exchange for the services Beach Cities Health District provides, the majority of residents would gladly do so (“BCHD board bets on Lucky 7 on November 5 ballot,” ER August 1, 2024). How often do we have the opportunity to spread the costs of a much-needed infrastructure improvement across three cities? Loneliness is an epidemic, anxiety is at record levels with our youth, people are living longer and need more assistance. BCHD provides so much and asks for so little. I strongly encourage residents to vote yes on this bond; the cost is de minimis and the payoff is significant. This is a smart investment for all beach cities.
Marie Puterbaugh
Redondo Beach
Hometown Joe
Dear ER:
In the Manhattan Beach November 5 Council election, I am supporting “Hometown” Joe Marcy as my number one choice. Marcy is an exceptional candidate. In fact, Marcy is the best new candidate I have seen in last 20 years. Marcy has deep roots in our community, having been born and raised here. Marcy attended our Manhattan Beach schools, and he has been a long-time member of Americans Martyrs Parish. Marcy has served on several City Commissions and served as Chair for our Hometown Fair for several years. Marcy knows the character or our community, what makes us special. Marcy supports exploring the adoption of a City Charter, hiring a City Prosecutor, hiring more police, including patrol officers for Downtown, local control of zoning, enhanced e-bike enforcement and a strong partnership with our Manhattan schools. Marcy will be non-partisan, his only interest will be our interests. As native son Steve Napolitano steps off our Council, we need native son “Hometown” Joe Marcy to step up on our Council. It’s for another native son to lead us.
Mark Burton
Manhattan Beach
Secret migratory stopover
Dear ER:
Thank you for this exceptional story (“AES, from wetlands to wetlands,” ER August 1, 2024). Outside of dedicated, local nature fans, our Redondo and South Bay public may not have known that AES has been host to so many birds, and wetland plants that nurture them. Special thanks to bird watcher Dave Moody, for Mayor Bill Brand, and Mayor Jim Light, for bringing these studies to us.
Barbara Epstein
Redondo Beach