MAILBAG - Aug. 10, 2000

I am puzzled by the decision to not honor the Burlington Coat

Factory’s lease, which is supposed to be honored until 2025 [“Burlington

gathers signatures to stay at mall,” July 13].

The Huntington Center was a ghost town for years, but despite that,

Burlington was a destination. People in Huntington Beach shopped there

because the store offered good value, quality merchandise at an

attractive price. New parents appreciated having the baby store upstairs.

We kept hearing that the city needs revenue from retail when they

wanted to bring Wal-Mart in.Then why try to run out a perfectly good

mid-priced store? I just don’t see courting one retailer while snubbing

another. They all bring in the revenues, don’t they?

I think it’s great to bring upscale shopping here to Huntington Beach

at The Crossings but not at the expense of retailers who have loyally

rented formerly dead retail space and served the community.

Burlington could bring in people to the new mall that would then shop

at the new stores. A deal is a deal, right? Not just until something

better comes along.

CATHERINE CALDERA

Huntington Beach

COASTWATCH WILL BE WATCHED CLOSELY

Forgive my skepticism, but when Steve Bone, the same man who wants to

place condominiums on the Little Shell wetlands as part of the Hilton’s

expansion, starts an “environmental group” called Coastwatch, I have to

wonder about his motivations [“Watchdog group forming to monitor coastal

waters,” June 29].There is already an organization called CoastKeeper

fighting ocean pollution off our coast.

Perhaps Bone is reluctant to join forces with CoastKeeper because

CoastKeeper is one of the organizations suing the [California] Coastal

Commission to prevent the Hilton from building the condos on the Little

Shell wetlands.

The formation of Coastwatch reminds me of the formation of the Bolsa

Chica Alliance by the Koll company to confuse the public after the Bolsa

Chica Land Trust was formed in the early 1990s. The land trust, of

course, opposes any development of the Bolsa Chica, while the alliance

completely supported the development of the wetlands and the Bolsa Chica

mesa.

I truly hope I am wrong in comparing Coastwatch to the Bolsa Chica

Alliance. I hope that the formation of Coastwatch is a sincere effort to

help solve the problem of ocean pollution.

The proof will not be in Bone’s words, but in the actions of this new

organization.

I eagerly await my misgivings to be proved wrong.DICK LeGRUE

Huntington Beach