Mailbag - March 7, 2002

We would like to express our appreciation to Mayor Debbie Cook for

doing away with the invocation before the City Council meetings.

Not only is there a constitutional issue of the line between church

and state, the usually Christian prayer has become, in Washington as

well, an anachronism in a society as diverse as ours.

It excludes Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, other religions and

nonreligious humanists, and in a democracy like ours, freedom from

religion is as important as freedom of religion. This is a hard lesson

for many to learn, but whether they wish it or not, it is becoming truer

each day.

JACK and JEAN BROOKHART

Huntington Beach

Mayor Debbie Cook’s decision to stop holding an invocation before

Council meetings is both correct and appropriate.

If people need to say a prayer before a public meeting, I suggest they

do it before the meeting begins, in their personal time.

As for Shirley Dettloff’s comment that she felt it was a “nice way to

start the meeting,” I respectfully disagree. Rather than the invocation,

the Pledge of Allegiance is a more fitting ceremony since the flag unites

all Americans.

Mayor Cook’s decision to stop holding an invocation reestablishes the

appropriate relationship between government and spiritual beliefs. I

would hope that those in favor of the invocation understood that it made

many good citizens of the city uncomfortable.

JODY COOK-FISHER

Huntington Beach

Editors note: Jody Cook- Fisher is the son of Mayor Debbie Cook.

Coyote problems highlights bigger issue

In regards to the coyote article published Feb. 21st (Coyotes plague

Bolsa neighbors” This article can be viewed as a testament as to why

there should be no more building on or around the Bolsa Chica wetlands

and mesa.

Those of us fortunate enough to have lived in Huntington Beach for

many years have been happy to welcome new neighbors and share this

wonderful area with them but we have also watched open spaces disappear

tract by tract, year after year, until only small portions remain.

Every person who lives here should be so thankful that there is some

room left for wildlife and understand that what coyotes do is hunt for

small animals to eat. They do not differentiate between a squirrel and

someone’s beloved cat. I learned that hard lesson many years ago.

Coyotes are a minor danger to cats compared to the dangers of vehicles

in the streets, cat fights, which can cause major damage, or the danger

of contacting diseases from other cats. Feline diseases are running

rampant in suburban areas according to the Humane Society. Responsible

owners confine their pets to their homes.

The bike rider who was pictured taking a ride through the trails of

the Bolsa Chica (with an unleashed dog?) must be aware of the signs along

the trails. Bicycles and dogs, leashed or not, are prohibited on these

paths. The rules need to be enforced to protect the wildlife and the

nature lovers who come to revel in the open space. Most of us consider it

a privilege to get a rare sighting of the coyote.

LOIS VACKAR

Huntington Beach

I think it’s ridiculous the way people are carrying on about the

coyotes. These animals have been here forever. Leave them alone and they

will leave you alone. Don’t leave food out and bring your small dogs and

cats in.

I’ve lived around coyotes all my life. If you just leave them alone

they’ll leave you alone. I just don’t believe the way people carry on.

It’s like they’ve never seen anything before in their life. They see an

opossum and people think it’s a rat. They have a right to live too. This

just infuriates me, I’ve been sitting here angry for two days over this

stupid article.

CONNIE TUTTLE

Huntington Beach

Fees will hurt not help Downtown’s image

Regarding the new fees for redeveloping the Downtown area. It’s

absolutely ridiculous for the city to tack these fees on.

It seems that every time a derelict house is brought down and two nice

new homes go up, our city is improved. This would completely stop this

from happening. Our housing values are coming out of reach to start with

and this would just add that much more onto them.

I am adamantly opposed to this. I think they should start looking into

their own closets a little bit and examine their own system at city hall

and start doing a better job. It’s just ridiculous.

This city was once described in West Coast Magazine as the ugliest

city on the coast.

These people at every opportunity seem to stop aggressive improvement

in the Downtown area. If you drive the coast, we are the most pathetic

Downtown.

I remember growing up here and Seal Beach was considered a slum hole

and look at Seal Beach now because of city fathers that cared about their

city and were determined to improve it. We need improvements here so we

need to make sure this doesn’t happen.

ART COOPMAN

Huntington Beach

Sanitation district bleach program not the best answer

The Orange County Sanitation District is putting three Rose Bowls full

of partially treated sewage a day into the ocean.

On Feb. 11, when its study showed the plume (six miles long, three

miles wide and 100 feet thick) was within a half mile of Newport Beach

they decide to bleach it.

The Clean Water Act demands one standard for the water but the

sanitation district claims that if it had to abide by that it would

result in too many trucks on the road and more pollution to take the

“sludge” away.

Well guess what? By its own calculations, trucking the bleach to the

sanitation district to bleach the effluent is going to have the same

number of trucks as taking the sludge away would have. The Orange County

Sanitation District admits this bleaching is a temporary measure until

they find a permanent solution to the contamination problem.

As of its meeting Feb. 27 the cost for the bleaching is $14 million

and counting.

Why is the Orange County Sanitation District clinging to the waiver?

Officials say they don’t have the money? They should review their

budget and forget this willy-nilly grabbing at any method to clean the

sewage except for the proven and lawful treatment that is demanded by the

Clean Water Act.

EILEEN MURPHY

Huntington Beach