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Letters
Tradition trashed
Dear ER:
Well another prestigious tournament is gone. The Pacific Shores Basketball Tournament
of almost 50 years is no more. (Editor’s note: Previous co-hosts Redondo Union
High School and Mira Costa High School each hosted their own “Pacific Shores
Tournament” last week). This was a tournament that teams hoped for an invitation
to and local sports enthusiasts could watch the great talents of high school
basketball.
The reasons the Redondo High and Mira Costa High coaches gave for the change sounded like children fighting over whose basketball is rounder. Maybe the real reasons behind this sad decision were money (my gym is better) or I need to win (I’ll pick the teams).
The only amiable agreement to be reached is to bring back the original Pacific Shores Tournament. Send these coaches to their rooms until they realize the mistake they have made. Remember this is only high school basketball preparing the youths to be adults, not the NBA.
Peter Tucker
Hermosa Beach
It’s the alcohol, stupid
Dear ER:
I’ve seen some good suggestions printed in Easy Reader; I’ve seen some
really bad ones (especially from Hermosa Beach councilman Sam Edgerton, who
doesn’t have a clue). But I have yet to see the one that really addresses the
issue. There’s been a lot of skirting around the edges, but the fact is, things
like riots are caused by one thing and only one -- alcohol. Remove that, no
riot, no problems in the community, and all can enjoy July 4.
To quell this problem before it begins, here’s all that is needed. No selling of alcohol in any form on July 4. That means the bars can’t. Nor can the liquor stores. The city council can use its emergency powers clause if necessary, or it can be on a merchant volunteer basis. That’s how you do it. Simple. And, that also means outlawing the Ironman competition.
What? Why, that would be un-American, some of you say. Oh yeah? Listen, people puke on alcohol because their body has become toxic. They’re close to death. You call that “American?” Only Ironman booster Burgie does, and he’s badly in need of help. So, yep, close the bars on July 4. Make the merchants put up posters the week before, stating they won’t be open that day. Get the word out Hermosa is not the place to be July 4. Then, no riot. The only thing that will happen is a few merchants will lose profits for the day. One day. Sorry, cost of doing business in Hermosa, we say to them.
It’s time the people took this city back anyway, and this is how we can do it without needless BS from the Pier Avenue poison merchants or city hall closet drunks. With the bars and liquor closed, now what? They’ll just buy the stuff elsewhere, you say. No they won’t, not if there’s a heavy penalty for being caught drunk, drinking in public, or wandering around with a booze cup. How about a $1,000 fine and automatically overnight in jail. Too tough, you say? Not as tough as a riot. Not as tough as death by intoxication or a head-on.
Once the word gets out that Hermosa is not the place to party-hardy on July 4, the city can breathe easier and so can everyone else. Getting drunk, getting killed, making an ass of oneself, fights, sickness, urinating on lawns, is not fun except to a drunk or druggie. Take this away from them, you return the city to its rightful owners, those who wish to enjoy a safe and sane July 4. And you eliminate the need for excess police, paramedics, cost to the city. Let the drunks go somewhere else from now on. Huntington ran them out, so did Santa Monica. Now it’s our turn.
Robert Delany
Hermosa Beach
Local Ovation
Dear ER:
Civic Light Opera of South Bay’s Steve Ullman’s and James Blackman’s Ovation
award is well deserved, as is the success they’ve won over the years. As a former
LATC and Odyssey Theater subscriber, a lover of plays and musicals, and a person
who grew very disenchanted with the screaming lack of quality and substance
in damned near all the venues I frequented, I was close to calling it quits
when the CLOSB opened and began to present their marvelous fare. Only once,
in all this time, have I witnessed a production that slipped from excellent
to only very good. To my mind, and for my dollar, CLOSB’s presentations perfectly
compete with L.A.’s finest, at much better prices, and are always exhilarating,
worth every penny.
The genial Blackman is obviously an aesthete, as I imagine his much less visible partner to also be. And he’s done the South Bay a service by finally bringing culture our way (The Comedy and Magic Club was previously the only reliable place). Against all odds, they created something from nothing and, through sheer determination and the dreaming of adventurous dreams, established a South Bay jewel no one 15 years earlier would ever have suspected could’ve been survivable. Quite a Herculean feat, if you really think about it.
Marc Tucker
Manhattan Beach
A healthy thank you
Dear ER:
Thank you to the volunteers, professionals and city employees who worked together
to make our 26th Annual Health Fair for Older Adults and Adult Disabled
such a wonderful success. The Friday, November 3 fair was an enormous task that
would not have been possible without the support and hard work of our community.
When all the registration figures were totaled, we determined that 1,568 people registered for the fair, though we believe another 400 were in attendance. During the day, a total of 3,457 health screenings and services were given.
All services were provided free of charge, including glaucoma and cataract screening through volunteer ophthalmologists, optometrists, and the Redondo Beach Lions Mobile Eye Screening Unit. In addition, free consultations were available with dermatologists, a dietitian, podiatrists, mental health professionals, an allergist, chiropractors, general practitioners and dentists. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services provided flu serum and 984 people received flu shots with the help of Torrance Health Care and the American Red Cross. Special thanks also go out to the Beach Cities Health District for their participation at the fair and for partially funding this valuable event.
We are all very proud of the health fair’s success and appreciated the enthusiasm of the agencies in attendance, and the hard-working 254 volunteers who helped make the day an overwhelming success.
Sandra Ceman and Peggy Rothschild
Fair Program Coordinators
Senior and Family Services
City of Redondo Beach
Ungodly work
Dear ER:
It is the year 2000 AD and Noah lives in Redondo Beach. The Lord speaks to Noah
and says, "In one year, I am going to make it rain and cover this whole
iniquitous city with water until all is destroyed. But I want you to save the
righteous people and two of every kind of living creature here in town: ‘possums,
skunks, raccoons, kitty cats—you know the drill. The Mayor and City Council
have already approved the project and, therefore, I am commanding you to build
an Ark."
In a flash of lightning, God delivered the specifications to Noah. Fearful and trembling, Noah took the plans and agreed to build the Ark. "Remember," said the Lord, "you must complete the Ark in one year and bring everything aboard to the boat hoist over in Basin Three."
Exactly one year later, a fierce storm cloud covered the beach cities and all the water in Santa Monica Bay began to boil. The Lord saw Noah sitting in his front yard on Catalina Avenue weeping. "Noah!" He bellowed, "where’s—my—Ark!!!???"
"Lord, please forgive me!" blubbered Noah. "I did my best, but there were problems. First, I had to get a City Building Permit for construction and your plans did not exactly comply with code. I had to hire me an outside architect and redraw the whole thing.
Then I got into a fight with the Harbor Patrol over whether or not the Ark needed a fire suppression system and floatation devices. Then my nosy neighbor objected, claiming I was violating local zoning ordinances by building the Ark in my front yard, so I had to apply for a temporary CUP from the Redondo Beach City Planning Department. It’s still pending.
I had problems getting enough materials for the Ark, because there’s a ban on cutting trees in Palos Verdes to protect the Globe Trotting Western Jackalope. I finally convinced the U.S. Forest Service that I needed the wood to actually save the Jackalopes. However, State Fish and Wildlife said “no,” so no rabbits, er deer, er horned hares, er whatever.
When I started rounding up all the other animals, I got sued by the local chapter of PETA who went to Southwest Superior Court in Torrance and got an injunction. And just when I got the complaint dismissed out-of-hand, the Coastal Commission office out of Long Beach notified me that I could not complete the Ark without first filing an Environmental Impact Report and Local Coastal Plan on your proposed flood. They were most indignant to the idea that they had no jurisdiction over the conduct of the Creator of the Universe. The judge agreed with them and then reversed the PETA ruling. Then the Planning Department and Harbor Department both demanded a map of the proposed new Flood Plan. I provided them with a City of Redondo Beach Councilmanic District map and a chart. Then the City Prosecutor at the behest of the City Attorney ratted me out to the Franchise Tax Board who seized my land, my tools, and my bank account claiming that I'm building the Ark in preparation to flee the state. And I just got a notice from the City Treasurer that I owe them some kind of “city user tax” for having failed to register the Ark as a "recreational water craft" with the Harbor Patrol.
Finally, the ACLU got the courts to issue an injunction against further construction of the Ark, stating that since God is flooding the South Bay, it’s a religious event and, therefore, as unconstitutional as the invocation before Council meetings. If truth be told, I don't think I can finish the Ark for at least another four or five years!" Noah wailed inconsolably.
The sky began to clear, the sun began to shine brightly, and the ocean began to calm down. And then an exquisite rainbow arched across the sky from the Hollywood Riviera to King Harbor. Noah looked up wistfully.
“You mean you are not going to destroy Redondo Beach, Lord?
“No," said the Lord sadly. "I don't have to—government already has.”
William N. Gaillard
Redondo Beach