Skin’s what you eat

Dear ER:

Sad, but true. There is not a single mention in “Blister in the Sun” (ER May 8, 2014) about how skin cancer can be hugely influenced by what we eat. It is natural that nutrition is never mentioned as a preventive by the average MD today for most illnesses. The average MD has had only three hours of nutritional training. Michael Greger, MD is the leading nutritional doctor on preventing and treating diseases by what we put in our bodies. His scientific studies have found that skin cancer can be cut by 50 percent or more by eating certain foods. His short video will amaze you with its simplicity. It can be viewed at NutritionFacts.org/video/plant-based-prevention.

Don Guild, Pharmacist

Hermosa Beach (86 years)

 

Do it your self repayment plan

Dear ER:

Numerous ways exist for Hermosa to pay E&B if the voters say “no” to oil. Bonds could be issued, a term payment arrangement could be reached with E&B, or the state could lend us money, but all of these should include market interest rates.

Here’s a plan. We need $11.5mil. Hermosa has a population of 19,677 and 10,160 housing units (ref: 2013-2014 city budget). If each resident donated $585, we could write a check to E&B and be done with this. On a housing unit basis, the amount would be $1,132. The fairest way would probably be a one time assessment of $2.35 per $1,000 of assessed valuation on all the property in the city (current assessed value = $4.9bil; per city budget). And finally, all those who are so hysterical over the possibility of oil drilling could donate some money to help pay off this debt and lower the burden on everyone else.

Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi bill AB 2711 is nothing more than pork barrel politics designed to win him votes and financial support. If the state has $17.5mil (or $11.5mil, if you subtract what the city already has banked) of interest free General Fund money to throw around, there are better ways to spend it than bailing out an affluent beach city from its self-inflicted contractual mistakes. Schools, allegedly the first priority for General Fund expenditures, should be the prime candidate. Hermosa will probably soon be looking for school construction funding. The state also has no shortage of much needed infrastructure projects that could use this money (just don’t put Jerry’s bullet train on the list).

Lee Hennis

Hermosa Beach

 

Refining the facts

Dear ER,

In his letter to the editor about E&B’s proposed oil and gas drilling, and pipeline project, John Szot has it all wrong (“Blocking oil companies could cripple Hermosa,” ER May 8, 2014).

According to Szot, residents will be “… inconvenienced for a year or two.” But according to E&B’s Planning Application – Project Description (page 24), the Overall Project Schedule is 65 months followed by 32 years of continuous operation of 34 wells, during which time E&B would be permitted to install and operate a workover rig more than 100-feet high for three months per year for the life of the project.

According to Szot, playing what Hermosa Beach Mayor DiVirgilio calls the “fear card,” the $17.5 million that the city will be required to pay when the drilling project is rejected by the voters “will empty the city’s coffers and financially cripple the city.” In fact, according to Mayor DiVirgilio’s comments at the end of the Adjourned Regular City Council meeting of May 5, 2014, repaying the loan from the State of California amounts to “3 percent of the city’s annual budget.” Speaking to the camera in support of AB 2711 (Muratsuchi), the recently introduced bill that would allow the State to offer an interest-free loan to the city, the Mayor urged supporters and opponents of the oil drilling project to stop playing the “fear card.” “We can afford this,” he said.

There is no “massive debt.” There is no “mortgage crisis.”

We all have a right to our opinions. But as Szot has pointed out to me in the past, the right to an opinion doesn’t mean an opinion is right. Next time let’s try to get the facts right.

George Schmeltzer

Hermosa Beach

Heritage protects our diversity

Dear ER:

Our American culture of God and prayer in the public square, rooted in our Judeo-Christian heritage, is not a fight between those of faith and non-faith, or religion and non-religion, or Democrats and Republicans No, it’s a fight against those who don’t know what makes this country tick, who would deny its constitutional foundation. Those who forget the heritage of a Force (we call it a “Creator” and a “God”) that directs our ethical conduct, and the Jesus message of love of neighbor, and how that results in a culture of helpfulness and integrity. It’s our Judeo-Christian heritage embodied in our Constitution that protects and welcomes all diverse cultures and religions. A heritage, un-matched in the world, is why we of different religions and cultures came here in the first place. A heritage that needs be celebrated by prayers before public meetings, crosses on tops of hills, nativity scenes in public parks, all as legalized by Town of Greece and its predecessor Marsh vs. Chambers. As a former city councilman of Redondo Beach, and city attorney of Hermosa Beach, I urge local elected officials to stand up and be counted. From a societal standpoint, this may well be the most important fight of your political career.

Bud Mirassou

Redondo Beach

How stupid is stupid?

Dear ER:

State Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, at his May 25 Hermosa Beach press conference to announce AB 2711, was joined at the microphone by State Senator Ted Lieu, a33rd Congressional District candidate and Hermosa Beach Councilmember Nanette Barragan (ER May 1, 2014). The press conference was to announce Muratsuchi’s misguided legislation to put the State of California in the municipal bailout business. Candidate Lieu spoke in support of AB 2711, vowing to “floor manage” it through the State Senate.

During his brief time at the mic, Lieu demonstrated his intellectual depth and his political savvy by saying this, “I can’t think of anything more stupid than to do oil drilling in Hermosa Beach.”

I shake my head in wonder at a man who can reduce an important, complex, sensitive issue to a single, all-encompassing word: “stupid.” Lieu’s choice leaves me saddened by the depth and breadth of his ignorance of what’s at stake for Hermosa Beach.

The Oil Recovery Project presents residents of Hermosa with a once in a lifetime opportunity to 1. Secure the city’s financial future for decades to come. 2. Fund long-overdue infrastructure projects 3. Support Hermosa schools.

As a Hermosa Beach resident, registered voter and supporter of the Hermosa Beach Oil Recovery Project, I could take offense at his use of the word “stupid,” thinking he was implying, if not outright saying, that supporters of the project are also “stupid.” But, as my father told me many years ago: “don’t take seriously anything said or done by a person for whom you have no respect. Their words and deeds are meaningless”.

Jim Sullivan

Hermosa Beach

Comments:

comments so far. Comments posted to EasyReaderNews.com may be reprinted in the Easy Reader print edition, which is published each Thursday.