Mailbag - Aug. 12, 2001

City should take over Dunes site

I have been given a letter that urges me to write the City Council to

urge the city to take over the land site where they want to build a hotel

(the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort). I am much in favor of the largest

income-producing hotel that can be built on the site. The income

generated by hotel guests will be enormous, and for goodness sake that is

a simple way to keep from reaching into local residents’ pockets for

another city-owned property.

We already have more parks than are used and beaches galore that sit

empty a lot of the time. Let’s help our merchants and residents by

providing space and zoning to assist someone in developing a new hotel in

our city.

HARRY C. CROWELL

Newport Beach

Former cove residents should be appreciative

Hooray for Mark Hart for being so articulate in expressing our

feelings (Sounding Board, “Don’t preserve the Crystal Cove cottages,”

Aug. 5). How wonderful it would have been to spend our summers, springs

and falls in such a beautiful place.

How wonderful not to have to fight the crowds. We have lived in

Newport Beach for 60-plus years. The changes are huge. How lucky the

whiny people at Crystal Cove have been. Instead of all the complaining,

they should be writing thank-you notes to all of us who have supported

their isolation with our taxes. VICKI and JOHN VULTEE

Newport Beach

Council members not always permitted at meetings

On Aug. 2, Councilman Gary Monahan was quoted in the Daily Pilot as

being highly critical of some of his fellow council members (“Group

rallies support in Costa Mesa”). As reported, he felt all council members

should have attended a privately sponsored meeting held Tuesday night.

This criticism is unwarranted and unfair.

Under the Brown Act, a quorum of a City Council may not attend a

meeting to discuss city business unless official public notice is

circulated in advance and an agenda is posted. Council members may meet

for purely social or ceremonial occasions, but they have to be careful

not to violate the Brown Act. Several council members are permitted to

attend other meetings, as long as they don’t communicate, which is

difficult. Thus, attendance of a majority of council members at the

Tuesday event may have been unwise -- or even illegal.

In any case, Monahan’s criticism is also undeserved. Some of our

council members are nearly always available to meet with residents,

parents, small-business owners and others. It is rare that Councilwoman

Linda Dixon is unable to find time to meet with members of the community.

Mayor Libby Cowan has also been very good about this over the years.

Others seem to be quite often AWOL. In fact, as anyone who attends

meetings regularly knows, there have even been problems getting a quorum

for some of the City Council’s own study sessions of late.

We have some council members who work very hard and some who don’t. I

find it ironic that the latter seem to be criticizing the former for

slacking off.

SANDRA GENIS

Costa Mesa

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Sandra Genis is a former Costa Mesa mayor and

councilwoman.

Steel case no less than political assassination

The criminal case against City Councilman Chris Steel should never

have been filed (“Steel pleads not guilty in criminal case,” Thursday).

Law-abiding people are fully acquainted with the term “proxy write-ins.”

In certain circumstances, proxy write-ins are recognized and in fact

necessary in business, the professions, medicine and government.

What we see here is worse than a political dirty trick. It is a

malicious attempt at political assassination and, unforgivably, an

attempt to brand an honest man with a criminal record.

All that need be asked here is whether it is the intent of the two

registered voters in question to have their names appear on the document.

In the one instance, the husband entering the name of his wife, there is

no question of the intent of the wife to support Steel’s run for office.

Ask her.

In the second instance, the woman, now deceased and reportedly blind,

had long been a friend of Steel and a determined supporter of the kind of

improvement Steel’s leadership promised to bring to Costa Mesa. Because

she was unable to see the signing space on the document, she affixed her

X under Steel’s entry of her name.

The charge against Steel is not merely bogus. It is defamatory to all

parties charged. It should forthwith be dismissed.

WILLIAM B. ANDERSON

Costa Mesa

Rodman taking advantage of the legal system

Dennis Rodman’s arraignment postponement of his noise ordinance

charges for the reason of “discovery” is ludicrous (“Rodman’s arraignment

on criminal charges postponed again,” Thursday). Why do you think

everyone has such low opinions of attorneys? Because our legal system

allows this stuff to go on. Of course, you could count on Rodman to

pursue such tactics, which in the long run just cost us taxpaying

citizens of Newport Beach. Thank you, good neighbor Rodman.

PAUL JAMES BALDWIN

Newport Beach