Mailbag - April 10, 2001

Story nicely captured the spirit of Valinda Martin

Young Chang’s Sunday story titled “Painting a survivor’s picture,”

(March 18) about Valinda Martin was beautifully written, and very

touching and captured Valinda’s effervescent personality.

I imagine your readers gleaned some of this as they read it. However,

you to have to be with Valinda to appreciate how strong, wise, courageous

and gorgeous she is, and how well she maneuvers from one place to

another, in and out of a car, the market, how she runs her fascinating

art store on Balboa Island and how she makes her long distance trips to

make purchases for it. Wherever she is, she radiates charm and warmth.

The fact she cannot walk doesn’t enter your mind. You instantly become

captivated with her exuberance, her beautiful smile and the joy she

creates.

I am her neighbor and friend, but she makes everyone feel as though

you are her friend. She is a treasure in today’s world and an inspiration

to everyone who is fortunate to know her. Thanks for the story. WINNIE

ROSS

Corona del Mar

Nearby cities need affordable housing, too

The Westside of Costa Mesa is an area of very high-density living.

High-density living creates a great strain on city services and the local

environment.

More single-family residences and lower density townhomes are needed

in this part of town, with fewer high-density apartments.

If our neighboring cities offered more affordable, low-income housing

opportunities, it would take the strain off the resources of one small

part of the coastal area and make the issue more manageable for the whole

area.

One outcome of the city-sponsored workshops regarding the

revitalization of the Westside was the appreciation of our diversity.

If we do not want “communities for only the wealthy,” as stated by a

Balboa Island resident, and if that concept is “unacceptable and

undermines the very concept of our great democracy,” then the people she

is championing need to have choices.

Please tell us, where is the low-income, affordable housing on Balboa

Island and in Newport Beach?

DIANE LADUCA

West Costa Mesa

Reserve Steve Smith’s column for South County residents

This is about Steve Smith’s column on March 10 (“Want to see the El

Toro airport fly? Here’s how”). With his usual effusion against El Toro

airport and particularly against Newport Beach, why has he been chosen to

print this in a paper that reaches Newport Beach and Costa Mesa

residents?

This tripe belongs in a South County newspaper not in this area.

Smith is clearly opposed to the vital interests of both Newport Beach

and Costa Mesa.

His column is an insult to the readership of this area that cares

about the future of the two cities most affected by the environmental

impact of John Wayne Airport.

Please stop printing Steve Smith’s column.

BARBARA BROOKS

Newport Beach

Human relations commission should hold awards banquet elsewhere

I’m curious as to why the Orange County Human Relations Commission is

holding its annual awards banquet in Costa Mesa. If memory serves me

correctly, Costa Mesa withdrew from the commission a couple of years ago

-- the only city in Orange County to do so. What else would you expect

from a city that refuses to honor Martin Luther King Day?.

Shouldn’t this organization hold its awards banquet in a city that

actually believes in and abides by its principles?

BOB GURAN

Costa Mesa

EDITOR’S NOTE: The city of Costa Mesa indeed does not belong to the

Orange County Human Relations Commission, but since 1987 has had its own

Human Relations Committee.