Mailbag - March 28, 2002

What is there NOT to be said, and felt, about the alleged cowardly

racist attack by three pipe-wielding teenagers against one man,

performing his work duties?

My rage over the reported threats, insults and physical blows to him

gives way to grief.

I know that our teachers have many academic requirements to meet. But

along with those we need to ask ourselves what programs exist to

eliminate bullying at school. Bullies thrive on intimidation of others --

the smaller, not as well-dressed, or racially different than themselves.

This kind of behavior is likely the background of the three “skinheads.”

I wonder what their school records reveal, or what is very possibly

ongoing, hidden abuse of others?

Our society is an increasingly diverse one and our residents,

beginning with our children, must learn that diversity enriches our

lives. Not one child nor one adult should suffer for their uniqueness.

MARGE ALLEN

Huntington Beach

One El Nino and goodbye open-air mall

I’m calling in regards to the cover story on the Independent of the

March 14-20 issue about the beautiful new plans for the revamped

Huntington Center Mall.

Do you know what was at that site before the current failed mall? An

open-air mall just like the one being proposed.

There was a sister mall at 17th and Bristol streets in Santa Ana and

probably two or three more of those open-air malls sort of like The City

[in Orange] used to be, which is now The Block, because an open-air mall

is beautiful until there’s an El Nino.

So perhaps next year or the year after there will be an El Nino and

then all the open-air malls will fail and Huntington Beach will be back

in the soup where they started.

Wouldn’t it make sense to make a closed mall? Then again I guess I’m

just older than most of the folks who are designing these things.

TOM WAITE

Huntington Beach

Better public transportation a must in Surf City

Does Orange County and Huntington Beach need a new transit system? Yes

they do. Sometimes just to go three or four miles it will take me three

hours round trip.

I live at Hamilton Avenue and Brookhurst Street and I can’t even get

to Beach Boulevard and Atlanta Avenue without it taking a couple of

hours. When I had jury duty at the Westminster court house it took me

three hours to get home and I had to walk part of the way.

This has go to stop. Something needs to be done for people who don’t

drive and to encourage other people to give up their cars and use public

transportation. I used to live in Los Angeles for 20 years and I waited

no more than 10 or 15 minutes for a bus.

SHERRON DOUGLAS

Huntington Beach

Taxes don’t go far at nearly $40 an hour

Should the City Council pass an ordinance eliminating the need to pay

workers prevailing wage on city-funded jobs?

Absolutely! I was appalled to read that street sweepers are making

nearly $40 an hour. Whatever happened to awarding city contracts to the

lowest bidder who can do the best job? Good grief, no wonder our taxes

are so high and the city is always running out of money. Sounds like the

California Labor Code could use some revision, too. I don’t know who’s

setting the “prevailing wage,” but I know very few people making $40 an

hour, including myself. In fact, an engineer friend is considering

quitting his job to becoming a street sweeper.

MICHELE BURGESS

Huntington Beach

City Council needs to do away with prevailing wage

The City Council would be irresponsible if they didn’t pass

anordinance repealing the prevailing wage provision. Prevailing wage

dictates that the city must pay the highest possible wages on work done

by outside contractors. Often much more than the contractors usually pay

their workers. This makes the costs of the contract to the city

skyrocket. This costs Huntington Beach taxpayers many more thousands of

dollars each year.

This is not a living wage issue as some have claimed; personally I’m

strongly in favor of paying a living wage. In the case of street

sweeping, the outside contractor normally pays its drivers about $20 per

hour ($40,000 annual salary) certainly a living wage. But, because of

Huntington Beach’s prevailing wage provision, the outside contractor has

to pay his workers in Huntington Beach almost $40 dollars per hour or a

$80,000 annual salary for street sweeping. Because the outside

contractor’s biggest cost is salaries, the city has to pay thousands of

dollars more for the street sweeping. Of course the city doesn’t really

pay for anything; we, the taxpayers, do.

Not a City Council meeting goes by without City Administrator Ray

Silver and others talking about the money that the state has taken away

from the city and the resulting budget problems. Eliminating the

prevailing wage would save the city thousands of dollars on projects that

they contract out. It will be interesting to see the city staff’s

recommendation to the City Council on the prevailing wage issue, and then

how or if the council votes on the issue.

Thanks to Propositions 13 and 48 etc. they are running out of options

to tax us i.e. -- water master plan surcharge, sewer tax, et al.

Hopefully the City Council will follow the lead of our neighboring city,

Irvine, and eliminate the prevailing wage.

DAVE SULLIVAN

Huntington Beach

Editor’s note: Dave Sullivan is a former Huntington Beach mayor and

City Councilman.

The city should be paying prevailing wage

I want the city to pay the prevailing wage. That vote is also for my

wife. We want the city to pay the prevailing wage.

SAM KURTZ

Huntington Beach

It’s just ridiculous not to pay the prevailing wage on things. If you

don’t do that you’re buying on the cheap. You’re going to have a project

that’s going to cause a lot of remedial work to be done. Do it right the

first time -- thats the cheapest way to do it.

MARLIN BRITTAIN

Huntington Beach