Mailbag - July 15, 2000

I am not, shall we say, defending the activities that go on at the

Panther Palace (“Neighbors applaud Panther Palace crackdown,” July 12).

However, I get real tired of hearing that whatever the issue with

anything is ... it always comes down to “it’s not good for children.”

If the children in that neighborhood know what is going on in the

Panther Palace, it’s because they have heard adults talking about it.

Seven-year-old children do not know what orgies are and, unless the

participants of the orgies are participating on the front lawn, no child

would know what was going on in the house -- unless they’ve heard the

adults around them speaking of it.

If the children in that neighborhood know what it means when the

Christmas lights are on, it’s because the adults haven’t been wise enough

to make sure there are no children around when they talk about it.

As for the Panther Palace being the reason that they park on their

lawns, it’s just a good excuse for the residents. Every single one of the

homes in the neighborhood have garages and driveways that they can use

for parking.

I get very tired of government trying to regulate morality in this

country. If the participants of the activities in the Panther Palace want

to engage in orgies, so what? It’s their own business and their own

consciences. It’s not my cup of tea, but to each his own.

RAMONA WILSON

Costa Mesa

Rodman should be responsible

Someone comes onto my lawn, trespassing, not invited, and falls and

hurts himself -- I am responsible. However, if Dennis Rodman, in his

home, invites people to a party and they get drunk, park their cars in

front of neighbors’ garages, he is not liable (“Prosecutors let Rodman

off the hook,” July 6). Will some legal mind please explain this to me?

Thank goodness I don’t live in Newport Beach.

LYNN MERLES

Costa Mesa

Rosalind Williams’ memorial service was special

It was one of those special times when we came together: memorial

services for Roz Williams, former director of the Newport Beach

Conference and Visitors Bureau. Seven hundred family, friends and other

admirers celebrated her productive, talented and brave life. The church,

city leaders and so many harbor area citizens honored together, our local

treasure.

JERRY RICHARDS

Newport Beach

Save the open space for our children’s children

Our city should be doing everything it can to protect open spaces. I

will forever regret voting against protecting the Castaways.

At the time I was a single parent, struggling financially. Now when I

look north over the Back Bay, all I can think of is the ‘60s or ‘70s song

“Ticky Tacky Houses All in a Row.”

How I wish I could pay that extra tax to preserve the open space for

my children’s children. Never again will our kids run their cross country

meets there. Nor will we set out lawn chairs to watch the Back Bay Fourth

of July fireworks.

As a city we were very shortsighted to allow the Castaways to be

developed. We should learn from our mistake and preserve any and all

precious open space we have left.

MARILYN JOHNSON

Newport Beach

Funds for Farm Sports Complex could have repaired roads

Now here goes the city of Costa Mesa spending the taxpayers’ money on

the Farm Sports Complex!

We have roads in Costa Mesa that are in urgent need of repairing and

yet the City Council says the Farm Sports Complex would help the

youngsters get strong bodies so they could grow up healthy. I say, just

stop drinking sodas and eating fast food and that will keep the

youngsters strong and healthy.

SIDNEY TRIGHER

Costa Mesa

Religion is not a science

St. Augustine, writing more than 1,500 years ago, has a cautionary

word for Wendy Leece and others who would attempt to deny what human

observations have overwhelmingly confirmed.

In his work “The Literal Meaning of Genesis,” he said “Even a

non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens and the other

elements of this word ... about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones and

so forth, and this knowledge he holds to as being certain from reason and

experience. Now it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to

hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture,

talking nonsense on these topics, and we should take all means to prevent

such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in

a Christian and laugh it to scorn.”

Long before Darwin, Augustine realized that the Bible is not a

scientific description of the world, and that those who regard it as such

“bring untold trouble and sorrow on their wiser brethren when they are

caught in one of their mischievous false opinions.”

PAUL EKLOF

Costa Mesa