Mailbag - April 5, 2001

New fire chief genuinely cares for community

Costa Mesa is incredibly fortunate to have Jim Ellis as its new fire

chief (“Costa Mesa names new fire chief,” March 28). Jim and his family

are exceptional people who genuinely care about the community and people

around them. Congratulations on a wonderful choice to lead the fire

department.

MARY URASHIMA

Huntington Beach

Making Santa Ana bulk mail hub not too smart

This is in response to (“Bulk mail heads to Santa Ana post office,”

March 29). Twenty years ago, when I started a home-based business in

Costa Mesa, I cut my bulk-mail teeth at the Adams Avenue post office. If

it wasn’t for the assistance (and a huge amount of patience) of Roosevelt

“Smitty” Smith, I think I would have given up and gone back to work for

someone else.

As the current president of Mesa Verde Community Inc. and newsletter

editor for the past three years, I can honestly say that, again, Smitty’s

knowledge, patience and expertise are invaluable. I have not had time to

gather our board of directors to discuss how much of an impact this will

have on the future of our newsletter, but it doesn’t seem to make a lot

of sense to mail a newsletter that has a Santa Ana postmark to 3,000 Mesa

Verde residents. We may have to rethink how we achieve our mission

statement, which is to “Inform, Educate and Beautify Mesa Verde.” Why are

you trying to fix something that isn’t broke?

CINDY BRENNEMAN

Costa Mesa

Share Our Selves enriches countless lives

Shame on you Councilman Chris Steel. How can you be so myopic? Using

your reasoning, I could state that all the problems of our society are

the fault of elected officials like you.

Share Our Selves has been an excellent neighbor in Costa Mesa and

should continue to be praised for its efforts to assist those in need.

Did you know that the group was honored as recently as last month as a

Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame award recipient?

The question is, does the vast majority of this community have the

continuing courage to stand up for Share Our Selves? I for one say “yes.”

I will be counted as a Costa Mesa resident (of 38 years) who both sees

and knows the great value that Share Our Selves has contributed to this

community over the past 31 years.

My challenge to you is to have you see for yourself. Do you have the

courage to personally visit the group and speak to the staff, volunteers

and the people of Costa Mesa who are enriched by the wonderful mission

and actions of this organization?

DENNIS K. CLARK

Costa Mesa

School zone doesn’t stop at the school

Thank you so much for Carl E. Ossipoff’s letter (“Folks should slow

down near schools,” April 1) about people slowing down near schools. It

is a letter that I have often wanted to write. I live on the Balboa

Peninsula and I cannot believe the speeds at which people blaze through

our school zone. Drivers get very agitated when they are behind me

because I drive the speed limit. Often, they will pass around me

accelerating right through the school zone and crosswalk.

Many people do not realize that a school zone is more than just a

crosswalk and they will speed up as soon as they have gone through it,

oblivious to the fact that parents and children are loading and unloading

in and around the school in the school zone. If everyone can just drive

the speed limit, our children, their parents and the school faculty will

be so much safer. It is my hope and prayer that it doesn’t take a tragedy

to get people to slow down.

JENNIFER FISHER

Balboa Peninsula