Letters to the Editor 5-4-17
True blue Lieu
Dear ER:
I attended the Ted Lieu Town Hall and it was quite an eye-opening experience (“Lieu holds court,” ER April 27, 2017). While it is easy to understand why Rep. Lieu was disappointed with his party’s performance at the polls, his resistance posture reminds me of a child holding his breath and turning blue. How will he accomplish anything constructive for our Congressional District when he is hell bent on stonewalling everything? Those of us who look beyond the so-called mainstream media to get real news and learn about the issues understand that our unconventional POTUS has some fresh, excellent ideas that are good not just for our district but for our country.
Debra-Lynne Terrill
Playa del Rey
Agent provocateurs
Dear ER:
I wish you had done a better job of describing what actually occurred at Representative Ted Lieu’s town hall (“Lieu holds court,” ER April 27, 2017). The small group of hecklers are a group that has lost their charter with the county GOP due to their fringe ideology. They were extremely rude and disruptive and made it difficult to hear what the Congressman was saying. They were agitating for trouble before the event started, running around the front of the auditorium pointing their phone cameras in people’s faces and trying to start arguments. That was not democracy. That was the behavior of fascists trying to cause a riot. Thank goodness for the calm response of the Congressman and the Redondo Beach Police department.
Karen Roseman
Facebook comment
Drinking it all in
Dear ER:
That was an excellent article about desal (“Savior or Albatross,” ER April 20, 2017). What I enjoyed most was the perspective,, discussing not only the technologies involved, including reclamation, direct potable reuse, recycling, conservation and desal, but going beyond the narrow parochial context of the Beach Cities NIMBYs to better understand what is happening elsewhere in Carlsbad, Santa Barbara, Texas, Huntington Beach, Israel (even the Old Testament) and the MWD’s proposal. I took particular note of Russ Lesser’s comments. Lesser and I have been good friends for many years. However, he and I are far apart on the political spectrum. But I agreed with him. We do live in a desert and the drought ain’t over until it’s over, and it isn’t and won’t be be anytime soon. There is no one silver bullet.Water’s complexity demands that all approaches be on the table, and that has to include desal. Thank you for helping to move those discussions in a more constructive direction.
Lance Widman
Executive Director
South Bay Center Dispute Resolution
Desal disagreements
Dear ER:
I wanted to commend Easy Reader on the balanced reporting on desalination ((“Savior or Albatross,” ER April 20, 2017). The article did a great job of summarizing the issues and concerns around this project. As the Science and Policy Director of Heal the Bay, however, I want to clarify our organization’s stance on this issue. We respect and understand that thoughtful people can have differing perspectives on the prospect of desalination plants in the South Bay — even amongst our donors or supporters. But just to be clear: while we love our supporters, the viewpoints of one of our members quoted in the article in no way reflect Heal the Bay’s formal position on the proposed plant. Before water agencies commit to building expensive, harmful and energy-intensive desal plants, they simply must do a better job of encouraging conservation and reusing the water we already have. That means investing in innovative wastewater recycling and stormwater capture. That is why, we, along with the other environmental groups quoted in the article, have engaged in outreach to cities, the public, and West Basin, itself, to advocate for other, more sustainable water management solutions.
Dr. Rita Kampalath
Science and Policy Director
Heal the Bay
Intolerant Com-PLANers
Dear ER:
The Hermosa Beach City Council, specifically councilmen Hany Fangary and Justin Massey, need a lesson in civics and humility. I have nothing but admiration for Councilwoman Carolyn Petty and her immense courage and integrity in standing up to these two, smug bullies. Where is the tolerance for differing ideas? I don’t think I have ever seen a more pathetic and despicable display by a councilmember in my many years in the city as that by Fangary during the April 20 public study session meeting for the Hermosa General PLAN. I encourage others to find it on the city website and remember it if Fangary dares try to run for council again. You will find Fangary browbeating and haranguing Carolyn Petty for not falling in line with the rest of the council. He complains that he is being confronted on the street on his positions because of her. News flash It’s not Petty to blame – it’s Hangary’s policies.
Joe Montana
Hermosa Beach
Mean streak to the finish
Dear ER:
The run-off battle for the Redondo Beach District 1 council seat is bringing out the local hounds looking for blood. When the seat was vacated last year there were 16 qualified people to fill the position, including run-off candidates Martha Barbee and Nils Nehrenheim. Barbee was unanimously selected by the council, including current mayor Bill Brand. Barbee had and still has the best experience and qualifications for this job. Though having been the District 1 councilwoman for just eight months, her tireless efforts can be seen all over the district. But as the election nears, Barbee is receiving hate mail calling her a prostitute, enduring racist references to her Latin/Cuban background and having her children exposed vicious, verbal abuses and sexist comments on our streets. District 1 deserves someone who will ask the tough questions about city lawsuits and get the parks fixed. It deserves a candidate who has the integrity, experience and work ethic needed to make Redondo Beach a place we can all be proud to call our home. For these reasons I stand with Martha and I hope you will also.Mia Mahony
Redondo Beach
Follow the money
Dear ER:
Everyone always talks about how they hate the influence of lobbyists and political committees.
I’m surprised how little money District 1 Council candidate Martha Barbee has raised from individuals in comparison to PAC’s, such as the Redondo Beach Chamber and Grow Elect. Over $40k from special interests. Barbee seems like a nice person but surely she must realize the donors are business people and going to want something for their investment. I checked Barbee’s voting record, and now it makes sense. Most for Barbee’s votes show a pattern of support for her monied interests. I would prefer a candidate who is looking out for the financial health of the city. In looking at here opponent Nils Nehrenheim’s contributors I see lots of small checks from residents.
Mike Leyshock
Redondo Beach
Counting votes
Dear ER:
Redondo voters just approved Measure C, a zoning plan designed by voters to prevent overdevelopment in King Harbor. Pro-development Mayor Steve Aspel lost to slow growth, 2 term Councilman Bill Brand in the March election. Mayor Bill Brand points out that the California Coastal Commission has the final say on any development in our Harbor. Our battles to protect our coastal area can’t compare to what the Coastal Commission has faced daily since 1972 as they defend 1,000 miles of coastline from human predators. A record high turnout, and winning margin, for Nils Nehrenheim in his Mail-in Runoff will support those Commissioners who support coastal environmental protection and public access. This is especially important because our Council, including Nils’ opponent, has not yet sent Measure C to the Commission.
A win for Nehrenheim will give Mayor Brand a Council majority, split 3 to 2, in favor of CenterCal and development. Our Mayor is allowed to veto 3 to 2 votes. Our Mayor can’t veto 4 to 1 votes, so if Nehrenheim loses because of low turnout, we all lose.
Hank Folson
Redondo Beach