Balboa Bay Club treats the public like...

Balboa Bay Club treats

the public like kings

Has the Bay Club fulfilled its requirement of public access?

Absolutely! We are not members of the club. Last week, out for our

evening stroll, we walked through the gate, walked in the front door,

had a drink at the Duke’s bar, watched beautiful yachts sailing in

the bay and were treated like royalty. What could be more “public”

than that?

ED AKINS

Newport Beach

CenterLine the wrong path for Newport-Mesa

I spent part of the past weekend reading articles, editorials,

commentaries and letters to the editor in the local newspapers,

including the Daily Pilot, on the subject of light rail in general

and the CenterLine project in particular.

What I come away with is that, with almost no exceptions, light

rail is far from an economical and effective way to meet the

transportation demands of most areas in this country. Such projects

have never come close to the original cost estimates to build them --

sometimes exceeding original estimates by 400% or more. Nor have they

come close to the ridership figures projected. They have always

fallen short of generating enough revenue to meet even the most

modest goals as far as a percentage of operating costs are concerned.

Massive government subsidies are always required just to keep them

running. Apparently, even the most ardent advocates of such systems

agree that they don’t make a dent on vehicular traffic, either.

The residents of Irvine will vote today to decide the fate of the

CenterLine project within their city. Should they vote to discontinue

participation that will leave only Santa Ana and Costa Mesa as

participants in this project. All the other cities who previously

planned to participate bailed out long ago. Not unexpectedly,

Councilwoman Libby Cowan has jumped on the pro-CenterLine bandwagon

and is beating her drum loudly. This is another example -- as was the

case with the El Toro Airport -- of where she supports the views of

her employer rather than what is good for the residents of Costa

Mesa.

After reading all the pro and con positions on this issue I fail

to see the benefit the CenterLine project for anyone -- except,

perhaps, the Segerstroms. How many Costa Mesa citizens are going to

park their cars at the South Coast Plaza terminal and jump aboard a

CenterLine train for a quick trip to Santa Ana? Very few, I suspect,

except those wishing to visit the court room of former Mayor Karen

Robinson. Even with the Irvine leg included, how many residents of

that city or Newport Beach will park their BMW, Mercedes or Lexus at

the Larry Agran Memorial Station at UC Irvine for a trip to South

Coast Plaza or the Santa Ana courthouse complex? Perhaps more than

zero -- but not many more.

Regardless of how the good folks in Irvine vote on Tuesday, it’s

time to give up this ill-advised boondoggle and find more responsible

ways to spend the estimated $1.4 billion presently projected to

complete this project. OK, so we miss out on some available

transportation funds. Part of those funds are mine -- I contributed

tax dollars to them -- and I don’t want to spend my money, or yours,

on this kind of project. I don’t want to dump my hard-earned dollars

into a transportation bottomless pit just to further inflate the

already enormous egos of a few local politicians. If we must spend

that kind of money, we would be better off giving every one of the

projected 21,000 riders a new hybrid car and still have nearly $1

billion left over to fix potholes and hire more teachers, policemen

and fire fighters. If we need better public transportation, part of

that money can be used to buy more environmentally friendly buses,

which historically out-perform light rail as people movers by a huge

margin.

It’s time for the citizens of this community to speak up and

demand discontinuance of this project. And it’s time for Cowan to

climb down from the bandwagon -- we know who you work for.

GEOFF WEST

Costa Mesa

A thanks to a councilman for speaking out

As pointed out by in another commentary, Councilman Dick Nichols

frequently puts into words what I am thinking, but do not have the

forum to be heard. If you have ever watched the televised council

meetings, it’s obvious that Nichols has two very obvious detractors

that frequently weigh in on his every word. Now they have something

more than procedure to complain about.

No apologies, Nichols. You are doing what we do not have the

intestinal fortitude to do. Turning over the rocks and keeping things

in the sunlight for all to see. Thanks.

RICHARD HOUGHTON

Newport Beach