Mailbag - Feb. 10, 2000

Thank you so very much for your attention to the El Toro airport issue.

Those of us that have been active in this struggle find the apathy of the

residents of Newport Beach to be most disheartening. The residents that

are not directly affected by the future expansion of John Wayne Airport

can and should have enough community spirit to support the those of us

that are affected.

Newport Beach has long been a scapegoat for the Goliath city to the

south, and those activists continually speak as though their fight is

with Newport Beach alone. We need someone powerful on our side to deflect

and dispute the lies and exaggerations that seem to be rampant. The

residents of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa are strangely unconcerned with

this threat. We need a cheerleader, and it seems that you have the job.

Thank you. Keep up the good work.

FLORENCE STASCH

Newport Beach

Soaking up boating articles

It is very nice to read about the Boy Scout Sea Base that has been here

longer than most can remember (“Scouting the waters,” Jan. 24). You

should report an in-depth article on the base and what the base is to not

only Newport Beach but also Southern California.

Also, I have worked on a committee with a member in the harbor who is

known as the expert for the bay. Mike Whitehead sits on the base’s

committee, plus he is the chairman of a number of other committees and

active with the Newport Chamber of Commerce to help Newport Bay. You

should explore how he helps the harbor as an unsung hero for boaters.

Keep up the articles for boating.

DAN WATTS

Newport Beach

Two-thirds vote a needed safeguard

I enjoy Joe Bell’s style, rarely enjoy his philosophy, and always respect

his right to speak his mind (“Plain and simple, majority’s will depends

on Prop. 26,” Jan. 27). But au contraire, mon frere, the two-thirds

majority requirement for passage of local general obligation bonds,

including school bonds, was “hung around [his] neck” by the state

constitution in 1879. Were it not for that perennial whipping boy,

Proposition 13 and its 2% cap on property tax increases, his own Santa

Ana Heights property taxes could be two to 2 1/2 times higher than they

are.

The use-of-school-bonds issue is simply a tactic by which our

tax-and-spend bureaucrats propose, by means of Prop. 26, to eliminate a

constitutional safeguard that has protected taxpayers for 121 years.

Removing the two-thirds majority requirement will do more than benefit

school bond issues. It will remove the inherently conservative cap on all

local bond issues. Your “predictable, torpedoing minority,” this writer

included would be receptive to self-imposing indebtedness if school

district bureaucrats would adhere to a rational checklist for grading

school bond initiatives. Such a checklist has been proposed by the Orange

County Taxpayers Assn. Give it a look, and let’s hear from you again.

And keep smiling -- all two-thirds majorities are not God-awful. But I

agree, the Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative is that.

TOM HYANS

Newport Beach