Meatless New Year
Dear ER:
With New Year’s resolutions just around the corner, consider the popular trend toward a healthy, eco-friendly, compassionate meat-free diet.
According to Harris Interactive, 47 percent of American consumers are reducing their consumption of animal products. USDA projects this year’s per capita chicken and beef consumption to drop by 8 percent and percent, respectively, from their 2006 peaks. Similar dramatic drops are projected for pigs and turkeys. Milk consumption has fallen by a whopping 40 percent since 1970.
A number of celebrities are going vegan. They include Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Jay Z and Beyonce. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, PayPal founder Peter Thiel, and Twitter founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams are funding plant-based replacements for meat and eggs.
Fast-food chains like Subway and Chipotle are responding to the growing demand by rolling out vegan options. Taco Bell has found that 43 percent of conversations about meat were negative. The Baltimore, Los Angeles, and San Diego school districts, serving more than a million meals a day, have adopted Meatless Mondays.
How about dropping animals from the menu for this New Year’s resolution? Entering “Meatout Mondays” in a search engine brings tons of useful recipes and transition tips.
Jack Matler
Hermosa Beach
Strike up for the band
Dear ER:
Community Partnerships are vital to Mira Costa High School’s Band ensembles. Without private funding, the award winning programs that our students so enjoy and benefit from would be lost. The Mira Costa Band Boosters would like to acknowledge and thank some very generous Community Partners who sponsored our second Music in the Mall event on December 14 at the Manhattan Village Mall, held in support of our Instrument Fund. The Manhattan Village Mall itself, and two Mall restaurants, The California Pizza Kitchen and the Corner Bakery, opened their doors to our students and allowed them to share their musical talents with their patrons. Each of these establishments offered monetary donations as well; funding that will support the purchase of large, expensive instruments vital to maintain our well balanced, high quality Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Marching Band and Jazz Bands.
We would also like to thank the Easy Reader, who supported us through the donation of advertising space. Additionally, we would like to thank several Mall establishments; Tris, Origins, The Hallmark Store, The Sunglass Hut, Harry and David, Lorna Jane, and The Tin Roof Bistro, who offered donations for raffle.
Our outstanding student musicians had a fantastic time and clearly wowed the crowd as they shared festive music with holiday shoppers. The public commentary was overwhelmingly supportive; we feel so fortunate to live in a community where our students are granted the opportunity to shine through the generosity of our Community Partners.
We welcome additional public comment and support. Please visit our website http://www.miracostabands.com/ or our Facebook page, Mira Costa High School Marching Band, where you can view photos of our performances, share your commentary regarding our students’ talents, and support us through donation to our Instrument Fund.
Linda Beck
Mira Costa High School Band Boosters
Manhattan Beach
Bar scofflaws
Dear ER:
At the December meeting of the Hermosa Beach Planning Commission, two Commissioners in response to criticism that the Commission was not enforcing the 50/50 regulation (“50/50 rule”) for restaurants that serve full alcohol said that the city’s policy is “not punishment, but compliance.” Since that meeting no member of the city government (e.g. City Manager, Police Chief, City Council) has stated whether this is truly the policy of our city.
In order for the city to enforce the 50/50 rule, the city must audit these alcohol serving establishments. Unfortunately, three establishments have refused to comply and the Planning Commission and the City Council refuse to take action to ensure their compliance (e.g. take away their CUP’s or fine them). Hence the Commissioners’ comments about compliance and not punishment.
The problem with a policy of “compliance, not punishment” is that the city is countenancing the flaunting of our city’s laws. Can you imagine the IRS just letting taxpayers refuse to submit to audits or a police officer refusing to start a legally authorized search because the owner won’t allow the officer into the owner’s home?
Currently a person who parks in a “No Parking” zone is more likely to pay a fine than a restaurant is to face a penalty for refusing to submit to an audit by the city. If the city is serious about “compliance and not punishment” then let’s start warning folks who park illegally or commit traffic violations instead of issuing them citations. Why punish them when the city won’t punish restaurants that won’t comply with the law?
The City Council will soon be holding a “Strategic Planning” meeting. Perhaps the Council ought to consider whether the city truly wants to enforce its laws or just sit by the wayside and let scofflaws violate the law.
Fred Huebscher
Hermosa Beach
Oil questions
Dear ER:
Is a 100 feet a good buffer distance from homes? The Hermosa Beach City Council in 1998 ruled and passed a motion that said that oil drilling at the city yard was too dangerous to allow. The City Council needs to have a hearing to address that city council action. Shall future councils just toss away actions that your current body passes without a hearing or discussion? Does your closed session settlement agreement somehow preclude such a discussion or hearing from happening? Will the public get to voice their safety concerns as it applies to the City Council cancellation of all oil drilling activities in 1998? The City Council needs to review that meeting and the motion brought forth and approved — and address it as it applies to the settlement agreement.
Has the city asked the EIR consultant to address the city council concerns of 1998? Has the city staff and City Council asked if all the items it deemed too dangerous to allow oil drilling in 1998 at the city yard now been mitigated with this new revised drilling proposal? Will the staff and City Council present those 1998 council concerns to the EIR consultant and ask the EIR consultant to report back to them? If they won’t, will the city hire its own expert to see if those concerns that made the city council cancel all drilling plans in 1998 are properly addressed in this current proposal? Do you think the council acted irrationally or without contemplation in 1998? The community wants to know.
Michael Keegan
Hermosa Beach
