What’s next up the alley for Kona Lanes?

Yes, Kohl’s store should be approved. A better question is: Why

doesn’t the City Council and Planning Commission follow the city’s

rules and regulations. All 10 affected property owners have approved

Kohl’s plans. The plans meet the code and rules and regulations of

the city. Why not approve? Shouldn’t the city politicos be compelled

to follow the rules? If they do not, the residents of this city

should bring them to task for a clear disregard of the rules and

regulations of Costa Mesa.

Perhaps the mayor, a Mesa Verde resident, is swayed by the

opposition of Robin Leffler and Cindy Brenneman of the Mesa Verde

Community Assn. The association does not speak for all of us

residents of Mesa Verde. I for one feel that Leffler, Brenneman and

others have no business pushing the city to override city rules. The

affected home owners have approved the project, so should the

association as its members are not impacted by the project and are at

best only distant observers of the approval process. Their opposition

is misplaced.

Why listen to a negative minority? My guess is your survey will

show most of the city residents feel a good store in a convenient

location would be a wonderful replacement for what is now a derelict

eyesore. Out with the derelict. Bring on a Target and K-Mart

alternative. Bring on Kohl.

LARRY PARKER

Mesa Verde

I am 18 years old and a student. In response to the “What should

we do with Kona Lanes?” question, I suggest that Kona Lanes become

more fixed up and teenager-oriented and just maybe re-open the movie

theater and add some type of hangout place where kids can go and just

hang out.

I like it how it is now, but I wouldn’t mind if it were a little

more updated. It is very, very nice that they have such reasonable

prices as compared to Irvine Bowl or Fountain Bowl. I enjoy spending

time at Kona Lanes with friends and meeting new people, so I just

think that it would be sad if we destroyed it.

Thank you for asking for input.

LAURA MORTON

Costa Mesa

Save Kona Lanes.

Several weeks ago, you asked for reader response about the Port

Theatre in Corona del Mar. Should the old landmark be “saved”? My

thought was, of course! Why even ask?

Had Europeans razed their old landmarks (e.g. Monet’s country home

and glorious gardens, southwest of Paris; the naturalist Alexander

Humboldt’s home in Berlin; the Tour St. Jean in La Rochelle on the

French coast; the Globe Theater in Stratford-on-Avon), then American

tourists from Newport-Mesa would have no place to go. Awww, shucks.

Today you ask the same question about the Kona Lanes. How sad that

folks in Costa Mesa or Corona del Mar would even consider destroying

sites like these. How sad that some of us are so short-sighted and

have such a diluted sense of history.

Let’s shed our throw-away mentality. Kona Lanes and the Port

Theatre are located on main streets, near coffee shops and

restaurants. Don’t raze them. Refurbish them.

Bring on the tourists.

FLO MARTIN

Costa Mesa

Regarding your article, “Planners give Kona Lanes hope,” I am not

in favor of another department store in such close proximity to the

Target and Harbor Shopping Centers. The city of Costa Mesa

desperately needs more kid-friendly resources in this area. It has

been a huge loss to the Westside community with the movie theater,

Ice Capades and Kona Lanes lost. There are so few recreation and

entertainment resources for the children in this part of Costa Mesa.

With all the new shopping centers along Harbor Boulevard from Wilson

down to the San Diego Freeway, the traffic has become almost

unbearable. There have been too many bike versus car fatalities in

the last couple of years, which will probably only increase with the

addition of another large department store and more traffic

congestion. And then there is Home Ranch.

I took my kids to Irvine this week to go bowling. The bowling

alley was full of children and parents bowling, eating and playing

arcade games. In fact, there was a waiting list for lanes. Why can’t

the city of Costa Mesa and the Segerstrom dynasty find a

family-friendly use for the unoccupied buildings in the Mesa Verde

Shopping Center? Perhaps some of those Home Ranch dollars could go

toward renovating Kona Lanes to make it a top-notch recreational

center. Maybe Vans would be interested in building a skate park where

the ice rink or the theaters used to be.

While these suggestions may not generate the amount of income that

another big department store would, I bet that it would help to

generate a healthier, more family-centered and kid-friendly community

with less crime.

LINDA HOGSETT

Costa Mesa