Mailbag - April 1, 2001

Lido Island board hardly speaks for its residents

Your editorial [“Public is never private,” March 22] makes it seem

like all of the Lido Island residents, or most of them, are in favor of

the proposal to seal off the front of the island. That’s not quite true.

Hundreds of residents oppose this attempt by our board of directors to

create a new entrance for the island and make it appear more private and

spend several hundred thousand dollars to do so. The board acted, in many

cases, without most of the residents really knowing what was going on

until the proposals were publicized and put before the commission. They

only recently, in the last issue of our Island newspaper, put anything in

there about that.

So, I want to make it clear that many residents of Lido Island were

opposed to this, have been opposed to the board’s policies on this issue

for several years, and that the board was acting on their own without

necessarily getting input from the community, which, if they had done so,

would have probably voted it down a long time ago before it even got to

face the commission or the City Council. I’m kind of embarrassed that our

Lido Island Board would do this and try to make an end run around its own

residents.

LENARD DAVIS

Lido Island

Spirit Run sponsors more than entitled to credit

I am the race chair for the Spirit Run, and I’m responding to Margaret

Johnson’s letter in the Community Forum section [“Spirit Run should drop

donor names,” March 22]. I understand where she’s coming from, but the

Spirit Run’s always had the title sponsor’s name in it. For two years, in

1998 and 1999, it was the 24-Hour Fitness Spirit Run. In 1996, it was the Sutro and Co., Inc. Spirit Run. The sponsors have always been part of

Spirit Run’s titles, and the title sponsor gets that option. So, it’s

something standard; it’s not something that the Steinbergs have done or

have asked for.

NADINE TURNER

Newport Beach

Glad to see story of nice 5-year-olds twins

I just want to say the article called “Twin Daffodils” [March 20] was

such a refreshing piece of news to read. It certainly made my day. I just

love to have news like that, and I compliment you on putting it on the

front page with a good write-up and lovely pictures. Thank you very much.

JACK FACTOR

Newport Beach

Why don’t the mayors attend their prayer breakfast?

I take an active interest in my community, which recently included a

four-year term on the Mesa Consolidated Water District Board, and

membership in the Leadership Tomorrow Program that is sponsored by the

cities of Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, and Irvine. For a number of years, I

have attended the annual Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast, which includes the

mayors of Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, and Irvine, and is sponsored by the

Orange Coast Christian Coalition.

The 37th annual Prayer Breakfast, which was patterned after the

original National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C., was held this year

at the Westin South Coast Plaza, and similar to previous years was well

attended, with approximately 1,000 members of our local community.

In past years, the mayors from the three cities have attended and

given short welcome speeches to the audience.

This year, I was dismayed that not one of the mayors from Costa Mesa,

Newport Beach, or Irvine showed up.

A councilman from Irvine and Councilman Gary Monahan from Costa Mesa

represented those two cities and no one from Newport Beach attended. This

is one annual event that I know of where citizens from Irvine, Costa

Mesa, and Newport Beach, come together for the common good of these three

cities.

I hope the reason that none of the current mayors attended the

Breakfast wasn’t because the event is sponsored by a Christian

organization. Prayer for the welfare of our community is

nondenominational and there is no good excuse as to why all three mayors

did not make the effort to attend this important annual event.

I am disappointed in our local leadership and we should let our mayors

know that prayer is an important part of our lives.

DANA HAYNES

Costa Mesa