Mailbag - July 3, 2001

Permanent, not transient, residents often troublesome

Re: West Newport and party central, or Dennis Rodman’s playground

(“Summer living can be hard by the beach,” June 25). Everybody is there

for the same reason: the beach. Yes, it is difficult to live in a

well-liked and well-frequented area because of the nice sand and the

beautiful water, but this is the price to be paid -- figuratively, as

well as literally.

As rental prices become out of reach for those wishing to spend a week

in this area, less and less people will be able to rent, and more and

more properties will convert to residences.

However, this does not address the problems as represented by

troublesome residents such as Rodman, which have apparently been worse

than the transient population at times. My only wish is that the Newport

Beach City Council deal with and enforce it in an effective manner.

PAUL JAMES BALDWIN

Newport Beach

District attorney should leave Steel alone

As a taxpayer in Costa Mesa, I resent the Orange County district

attorney’s office spending my money going after the Costa Mesa council

member who garnished the most votes of any council member in the last

election. Chris Steel said he obviously “made a mistake. I was sloppy.”

Get over it, D.A., and spend your time going after criminals. We have

plenty of them on whom you could better spend your time.

Steel obviously doesn’t deserve the vendetta that is being made

against him. And he deserves to be allowed to serve the people who

elected him by a whopping majority in the election.

PHILIP E. ARNOLD

Costa Mesa

Learning English not too basic a task

Kudos to Jana Schmitt for getting it right. Her comments in response

to previous articles on the Westside and education (“School’s basics are

just part of a bigger picture,” June 21) showed insight concerning the

realities of teaching English to nonnative speakers. Some people hold the

opinion that if you just teach non-English-speaking kids English

intensely for a year or so, they will be caught up and be ready to move

on successfully to complete their college-bound education. Nonsense.

Students will be able to speak brightly in conversational English, a

far cry from the language complexities for which they will ultimately be

held accountable. Think how long it takes to teach native English

speakers their own language before we think they are ready to excel at a

level appropriate for college.

I hope folks like Newport-Mesa Unified School District trustee Wendy

Leece can see that test scores alone do not give an accurate picture of

the learning that occurs in our classrooms. Certainly assessment is

necessary, but the learning process takes time and true evaluation

requires more than one instrument.

CHRISTINE CAMERON

Costa Mesa

Columnist doesn’t clearly understand sound effects

This is in response to Byron de Arakal’s column (“What’s the use of

all the noise about noise?”) on Wednesday.

His tongue-in-cheek, cutesy observations on noise were ill-informed at

best.

Sound or noise has a profound effect upon people that can range from

soothing to enraging.

It varies sharply among individuals. To dismiss anyone who complains

about what seems “noisy” to him as sort of an antisocial crank is very

cavalier.

A bawling infant or a cranked-up amateur rock band may be comforting

to de Arakal, but they both will drive many, many people right up the

wall.

A little research will bear me out.

Perhaps de Arakal will entertain us with his observations of the joys

of being caught in a traffic jam or waiting in line at the DMV.

WALLACE WOOD

Costa Mesa

Yacht would restrict views needed for safety

Shame on you, Owen Minney (“If Cook wants to block views, that’s his

right,” Community Forum, Thursday). You’ve lived in Newport your whole

life too. Did Cook buy his boat from you?

What right does Lodwrick Cook have to deny the public a safe swimming

access to our beloved Newport Bay at our street’s end. I am a native

Balboa Islander who has enjoyed our beautiful beaches and waterways my

whole life, as have my children and someday my grandchildren. All views

of oncoming boat traffic would be restricted, making it unsafe for

swimming and entering the channel with small boats. It is my

understanding that no more docks would be constructed on our public

tidelands.

Why doesn’t Cook berth his boat at the Balboa Bay Club with all the

other huge boats that never leave their docks. Cook should have purchased

homes on Lido or Harbor Island to build his little empire.

GRETCHEN BROERING HATFIELD

Balboa Island

Vessel docking would sacrifice Balboa Island

Owen Minney, former owner of Josh Slocum’s near the bayfront, is

right. If someone wants to pay millions of dollars to purchase private

bayfront property and block their own individual view with big yachts,

they might have that right.

However, what Lodwrick Cook is trying to do with his 55-foot yacht

will affect the use of public beach, public water access and especially

the public’s viewing of Newport Bay. Do we want Balboa Island, which is

Newport Beach’s No. 1 tourist destination for people from all over the

world, to become Fiberglass?

If Cook succeeds, there will be many more yachts to follow. No one

person has the right to sacrifice our beautiful island. Our city

officials, who represent all of us, should insure preservation of every

inch of our public beach and waterways to the people. We not only have

the right, but the obligation to protect these very special places for

our future generations to enjoy just as we have for so many years.

Is this really progress or simply greed? These large vessels belong in

marinas, on moorings or at the yacht club.

DEL STAUDINGER

Newport Beach