Mailbag - March 21, 2002

Costa Mesa should outlaw RV parking

This letter addresses some points that I hope the City Council will

consider in its decision regarding recreational vehicles (“City Council

puts brakes on new RV law,” March 5).

To start with, anybody who takes even the roughest of polls (which I

have) will know that the vast majority of Costa Mesa residents do not

want recreational vehicles parked on our streets. The RVs are eyesores.

They reduce property values and are a traffic hazard.

I’ve heard the rhetoric of the RV owners at the council meetings

voicing what are the selfish demands of a very small minority. According

to my poll, you should weight the RV owners’ desires at about 5% and the

desires of the anti-RV people at about 95%. Do not be swayed by RV

owners’ raucous emoting at the microphone.

In addition, Lt. Karl Schuler of the Costa Mesa Police Department gave

firm evidence that Newport RV owners are parking in Costa Mesa because

parking is illegal in Newport. That’s terrific. Residents of an adjacent

city park their eyesores in Costa Mesa because Newport wants to keep its

city more attractive. What are we, a dumping ground for neighboring

cities?

For the above reasons, I urge the council to eliminate, or very

severely restrict, parking of the RVs on Costa Mesa streets.

JOHN O’MEARA

Costa Mesa

Mayor should have informed residents of water

I’m commenting on the story “Mayor asks for water reimbursement,”

(Feb. 21) talking about the polluted wells. What I find amazing is how

the Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway is more concerned about asking for a

refund from the water district than to notify the residents that live in

his town that there is a cancer-causing agent in the water.

Unless I’m mistaken -- and we’ve been reading the Daily Pilot every

day -- we haven’t seen any mention of the water having toxic

cancer-causing agents in it, nor have we received any message from City

Hall, the water district or anything on our bill saying there’s danger in

the water. It’s kind of upsetting when our local politicians are more

concerned about dollars than the health and welfare of their

constituents.

TOM SZULGA

Newport Beach

Letter’s Job Center comments insulting

I want to make a comment on the Job Center. I’m pretty frankly

insulted by what Shirley Koch-Smith wrote (Readers Respond, Feb. 14) --

that our country’s spending too much money on illegal immigrants and

everything. For one thing, my mom came to the U.S. about 25 years ago not

speaking too darn well for anything but looking for a better place to

live.

PEDRO LOPEZ

Costa Mesa

Columnist performs wonderful service

I’m responding to the column by Steve Smith, “One parent’s letter of

restraint” (Jan. 26). I was so impressed by the column. My girlfriend

gave it to me, and I cut it out. It’s about PG-13 movies and just keeping

kids young and really restricting and watching what they do -- really

taking an active part in raising them to be responsible, happy, little

people. I am making photocopies and giving it out to as many people as I

can because I absolutely love this column. Thank you, Steve Smith.

LAUREL BREWER

Costa Mesa

New Christmas Boat Parade plan floats

I think the longer Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade should run all

five days (“New plan launched for boat parade,” Feb. 5). The extra 20

minutes isn’t going to kill them. I’m in agreement with reducing it to

five days -- from Wednesday through Sunday. I think that’s a great idea.

I think the homeowners are entitled to have the full parade all of

those nights. What if they have parties every night? What if they bought

those houses based on the fact that the boat parade passes in its

entirety? I firmly believe it would change property values. I absolutely

would not buy a home that did not get the parade all of the days, but

five days is great.

SHERRY PALMATEER

Balboa Peninsula