Grateful patient
Dear ER
I recently had a sudden, unexpected close encounter with America’s health care system and I survived to tell my tale. It was a major event, one that could have been my last, and yet, from its onset to its ending, I felt I’d been placed in the hands of angels and watched over with true human kindness. It’s a tough world these days and the simple act of helping each other survive doesn’t get the attention it deserves. That’s why I’d like to publicly applaud the Providence Little Company of Mary Hospital of Torrance, not just for saving my life, but for enriching it as well each difficult and sometimes frightening step of the way, from each expert nurse and assistant to the superior medical professionals whose every move was calculated for my benefit. My deepest gratitude also goes to the Sisters of Providence and the Mary Potter Program for enlightening me to what real human concern and health care means. I heartily recommend their foundation to potential donors, and hail Little Company of Mary.
Gregory Harris
Redondo Beach
Transparency Needed
Dear ER:
The City of Hermosa Beach goes to great lengths to publicize its decision making process whenever outside vendors are hired or public money is spent.
We did this for Pier Avenue street repairs and before building beach restrooms. We did it before hiring a website designer and we’re doing it now as we hire a waste hauler. We do it every time.
During last week’s City Council meeting I proposed implementing the same process as we begin hiring a new bank. Of all the things we should evaluate publicly, this seems like the most obvious since our banks will hold millions of dollars of the City’s money.
Only Councilman Kit Bobko thought this was a wise idea. Alarmingly, none of my other colleagues on the City Council were interested in public review or debate on this issue.
No doubt, we should have instituted this level of oversight a long time ago. But nonetheless, now that my proposal failed it means our next bank will be evaluated and hired by one person — our new City Treasurer, behind closed doors, without public input, without City Council oversight. The City’s funds will move from bank to bank without any oversight or public review at all. This is not how we do business in Hermosa Beach.
No matter who the person, it is neither prudent nor responsible for a single individual to make financially driven decisions like this.
I was recently inspired by a Hermosa resident and LA Times reporter who won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking the Bell, California salary scandal. Let’s show the same kind of leadership by setting a new standard for transparency in Hermosa Beach.
Michael diVirgilio
Hermosa Beach
In shock
Dear ER:
[According to recent news reports]AES and West Basin Municipal Water District may be conspiring to bring more industrialization to the Redondo Beach coast. As an active supporter of NoPowerPlant.com, I am shocked that our local city governments could possibly allow this to happen.For over a year, the Redondo Beach City council has refused to take a stand against rebuilding the AES power plant in the most dense beach communities in all of California. Now it appears that AES is silently negotiating to provide space for a 20 million gallon per day desalination plant. Is that what this community needs or wants, more polluting industry on our beautiful coastline? If this plant is built in Redondo it could alone require three to four times the electric generation that AES has been providing to all of southern California for the past few years.
What will more industrial use mean for the property values of the 85,000-plus residents of Redondo and Hermosa? What will the additional dangerous particulate pollution do to our health and welfare? If this concerns you, please let your voice be heard by joining us at NoPowerPlant.com and writing your local city and state officials.
Dan Buck
Redondo Beach
Reality check
Dear ER:
I would like to clarify that AES has not had any discussions with West Basin about a desalination facility on our power plant site in Redondo Beach for over a year and a half. We are moving forward with creating an option that would give us the ability to construct a modern new power plant if the electricity is ultimately needed in the future. The new plant would be smaller, quieter and more efficient.
It would also free up about 38 acres of the existing site for other beneficial uses. As we have repeatedly said, we want to work together with the city and community to develop a financially viable plan for the excess property that will enable the existing structures to be demolished and completely reinvent our site.
Eric Pendergraft
President, AES Southland
By web comment
Designer stroll
Dear ER:
I was disappointed to read in the “Architectural Stroll” article [ER 5/12, p. 75] on the Starr house that it was built by architect Jon Starr. He is in fact not an architect; at most, he is a designer. This careless type of nomenclature usage is similar to calling a lawyer a lawyer, when he has not taken the bar exam, or a Dr.. when the person has not taken the medical state boards. Please print a retraction of such/said error in your next issue.
Robert Swellet
Hermosa Beach
Editor’s note: The letter writer is correct. We apologize for the editing error.
Stick to the facts
Dear ER:
I’m a retired resident of Hermosa Beach, and I previously worked at Southern Calif. Edison for 12 years. I’ve been following the public discourse regarding whether the Redondo power plant should be retired or rebuilt. I was disheartened to recently hear an SCE representative tell the Redondo Beach City Council that Edison may need to continue using the switchyard on the power plant grounds even if the plant itself is retired.
This is factually incorrect and seems to have had economic motivation rather than a basis in engineering. The only reason there is a switchyard at the Redondo Beach facility is because power is being generated there. Without the power plant, SCE would never transmit power from the central grid out to a remote location such as Redondo Beach, just to run it through a switchyard and then transmit it back toward the grid. Energy is lost when electricity is transmitted over a distance, and because of this electricity is always delivered via the most direct route.
SCE’s motivation for suggesting they may need to maintain the Redondo Beach switchyard is unfortunately singular and clear. Though the switchyard would cease to be used, preserving it would save SCE the expense of having to remove both the switching equipment, and, perhaps more costly, also removing the high-voltage transmission wires between the plant and the nearest junction with the grid several miles inland.
Gerald Hornsby
Hermosa Beach
Rehab the power plant
Dear ER:
As a lifelong Redondo resident, I want to say that the power plant has been in operation for over 50 years without any mishaps. I cannot recall a single incident where public safety has been jeopardized. I am all for the renovation of the plant. I believe the city has the responsibility to do its part in fulfilling the current and future need for electricity. With electric transportation as a viable alternative, this city is in a perfect position to be part of the solution to help cut our dependency on foreign oil. Consumers need to pay for that electricity, which I assume would go into the city coffers. A few dozen residents hate the Edison [now AES] until it’s time to turn on the TV or plug in all the i-gadgets! That essential power has to come from somewhere. I’m okay if it comes from a reliable and local source.
Veronica Davidson
Redondo Beach
MB’s bigger booze issue
Dear ER:
The brouhaha about alcohol on the beach was important, but an even bigger alcohol issue is being ignored by the local press.
On May 15 our Police Chief and Community Development Director were to report to Council about the larger issue of use permits for liquor licenses in Manhattan Beach. Director Thompson told me he will recommend no change to our current policy which, in effect, grants an alcohol permit to any business that requests one. Thompson remembered only two requests that were turned down in the last 10 years (the North End Cafe and Bacchus Wine Shop, who both ultimately got licenses). Once granted, an alcohol permit is an entitlement that can remain with the property forever.
A 2011 study by the LA Health Department placed Manhattan near the county’s worst communities in on-premises alcohol sales outlet density — 110th of 117. West Hollywood is 117th; Hermosa “beats” us at 114th, but Manhattan is high on the list, and the rush to turn us into a bar town continues. Do we want to foster more drunk drivers and out of town rowdies?
Real leadership demands formulating a considered policy, not just letting staff approve every request for alcohol licensing. Don’t let the lure of tax money or the slogan of a “vibrant downtown” keep you from doing your duty to responsibly plan for MB’s future.
Michelle Murphy
Manhattan Beach
RB council naive
Dear ER:
I find it necessary to comment on the fiasco that occurred at the Redondo Beach City Council meeting on May 1, where the resolution to oppose the AES power plant was allegedly to be publicly discussed. Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the standing-room-only public attending this meeting were there to support it, to their dismay the council was apparently leaning against passing the resolution to prohibit the building of a new power plant on the site. Mayor Gin chose to leave the public participation portion on this issue to the end of the meeting, which did not begin until 11 pm. This was the first sign of his bias towards doing nothing. Mayor Gin consistently demonstrated his bias towards allowing the AES power plant to do whatever it desired, repeatedly rhetorically asking, “How would any resident of Redondo feel being told what they can do with their house?”
Ever heard of a building permit? How do you equate what I do with my own home that doesn’t affect my neighbors with an out-of state-power company creating a giant fuel-burning plant that spews tons of pollutants into the air, depresses property values, and is a blight on the valuable city waterfront?
This is what governments are supposed to do: protect the health and safety of their residents with zoning and other laws. Sources of electricity no longer need to be next to oceans and never needed to be in densely populated areas. Outside of the courageous Bill Brand, no one on the council appeared to have any concern regarding the residents and the city itself on this most critical matter. The half-baked excuses regarding not wanting to upset this giant corporation for fear of litigation appeared to me to be rationalizations created by small and fearful minds.
Believing that if we are all nice to AES they will somehow do the right thing and retire the plant is naïve. These are the same people who were in the middle of the illegal manipulation of the electric markets in the 2000s that led to brown outs and the higher electric bills we all are still paying for. Although I had my misgivings regarding a voter initiative on zoning, the cowardly behavior of our elected representatives gives us no choice but to pursue every legal option to ensure that this danger to public health is not built so close to our homes.
Roger Light
Web comment
Bike path danger zones
Dear ER:
Regarding the Blue Zone Vitality agreement, I would dare to make a comment: that the bike-friendly portion of the agreement considers two particular stretches of the bike path where safety would be improved to the great benefit of all. First, the paths ingress, egress to the north side of the Redondo Beach Pier parking structure where the combination of poor visibility to head-on traffic due to a sudden jog/misalignment of the path coupled with changing light conditions of shade to sunlight make this the most dangerous part of the path outside of dealing with automobile traffic. It is difficult for the human eye to see the path and oncoming traffic simultaneously. A final factor of a natural tendency to cut a corner to its most efficient line, which in this case leads to crossing into the lane of the head-on traffic, leads me to believe that an accident is sure to happen.
The other area of concern is the stretch of path on Hermosa Ave. in north Hermosa Beach between its leaving of the beach at between approximately 24th St. and then moving north until the point of the path’s subtle divergence from Hermosa Ave. The choice of southbound bicycle traffic to either be a legal path rider or become a street rider leads to the potential for head on collision as the north bound bike path traffic is between these two legal choices of southbound riders.
When large bicycle clubs ride south here the leader may see the lines well and cross to the Hermosa Ave choice leading a steady flow of riders that are behind to create a wall of head on traffic, which not only endangers the northbound rider but is a source of sparks for anger along the lines of “Why couldn’t you read my mind” vs. ” What, was I supposed to read your mind?” We try to anticipate others choices on the path, however in this case better coaching with signs or lines might save some grief, embarrassment, or injuries.
With the talent available in this area, a plan could be devised for even greater harmony on the path.
Edward Greene
Web comment
Fight the bullies
Dear ER:
It sounds like AES management likes to bully the Redondo City Council, threatening them with law suits as well. Any initiative by the city residents is not likely to provide any basis to sue the city. The proposed citizen’s initiative would give AES eight years to get a return on the land and they might make more money on the sale of the land versus investing $500 million in a new power plant.
Clean air is the most important thing to protect in the South Bay. A new Redondo power plant would generate 700 percent more emissions, along with possible Hermosa oil-drilling spill dangers. The two might make our clean-beach air look something like the Inland Empire on a smoggy day. Waiting is just plain lazy and stupid. Let’s be proactive, do the right thing, and take a position against these two companies — AES and E & B Oil — and improve the quality of life in the Beach communities!
Jeff Cohn
Redondo Beach
People as collateral damage
Dear ER:
AES seems to imply that cars pollute, so why shouldn’t AES? Well, here’s a huge difference. PCH cars are equal opportunity polluters. They spew pollution all along PCH. AES Redondo’s pollution would be from a single point source. It’s like hooking up the individual tailpipes of 78,500 cars to a smokestack (aka “tailpipe in the sky”) and then saying, “Gentlemen, start your engines!”
Pollution goes where the wind blows. People living downwind from the AES plant (and there’s plenty of them) not only get exposure from PCH pollution, but on top of that, are exposed to a significant amount more from this single-point source. Being driven by the wind, it’s a roll of the dice that determines who loses.
The 2012 American Lung Association Report on air quality gave the Los Angeles/Long Beach/Riverside area the 3rd worst ranking for annual particulate pollution in the state. The danger is that it resides in the respiratory tract/lungs. This cumulative buildup can cause serious health issues. Reviving the AES Redondo Power Plant is a bad idea whose time has passed. People don’t deserve to be considered collateral damage in the pursuit of corporate profits.
Riechard Lontka
Redondo Beach
Stop desalination plant
Dear ER:
We have all recently learned that the AES Redondo Power Plant has been quietly competing to locate a massive, loud, full-scale (20 million-gallons-a-day) desalination plant on its property. West Basin Municipal Water District has stated that the project may begin building as soon as this year. Now we know why AES Redondo has asked City Councilmembers in Redondo and Hermosa Beach to wait to formally oppose plans for a new plant. They want their now unnecessary plant to become necessary. Desalination uses a tremendous amount of energy, and will need to be located next to a power plant. That open space AES has been talking about making available next to their new power plant will contain a dangerous desalination plant instead.
The West Basin’s current desal experiment has killed a tremendous amount of sea life, proving that a large-scale project will be extremely detrimental to the Santa Monica Bay. It is widely known that WBMWD’s Desal test has failed, so it is shocking that they would consider moving forward with this type of plan. Heal the Bay and the Surfrider Foundation as well as numerous other organizations oppose desalination plants because of the damage they do to our ocean. Federal and state governments should not be subsidizing these projects with taxpayer dollars.
If we manage our freshwater wisely, we don’t need desalination technology. What can you do? Urge your local, state and federal policymakers to stop discussing desalination and focus their efforts on cost-effective solutions such as water conservation programs instead.
Christine Wike
Hermosa Beach
