Surfing should not be banned at state...

Surfing should not be banned at state beaches

Surfing should not be prohibited at Huntington State beaches. I

don’t know about windsurfing and kite surfing, but I believe they

don’t mix very well. Maybe windsurfing and kite surfing could be

modified because they’re either really big or can travel really fast.

Surfing is much more controlled. Good surfers wear leashes, and

they’re smaller and they go slower.

CHRIS WEBB

Huntington Beach

This is the most absurd question you could ask to Huntington

Beach. Surfing and windsurfing and kite surfing shouldn’t be stopped

at any public beaches.

KEITH KLINE

Huntington Beach

I’ve been a resident of Huntington Beach for 15 years and I’ve

been surfing and windsurfing at Bolsa Chica for 15 years, and I do

not believe surfing and windsurfing should be prohibited at the state

beach.

I think that they should just do like Seal Beach has done and many

other locations in California have done, simply designate a specific

area which is for surfing, another area for windsurfing, and the rest

for bathers, and that would be employed during the summer hours of

peak use. And during the winter hours, I see no need to have anything

sectioned off because there’s not a whole lot of people in the water

anyway. That seems to be a pretty viable solution. It’s worked with

many other beach communities and I see no reason why it couldn’t work

there. Just between two guard towers would be plenty of space for

windsurfing.

DAVID OAKLEY

Huntington Beach

I am a windsurfer and I sail over at Bolsa Chica occasionally,

mostly at Seal Beach. We didn’t seem to have any problems over there

until the kiting came along and I think that’s basically where the

danger lies. It’s a shame for the kiters, but maybe they should limit

their hours or give them a certain area to be. It is an extremely

dangerous sport. I can tell you that most of the sailers that do

windsurf in that area, they’re very experienced and I mean, very good

sailers -- you have to be to sail at Bolsa Chica. It’s safer to have

them in the water than the surfers. I mean they’re that good. I don’t

think they can keep the sailers out of there forever. They’ll have to

either restrict the kiting completely or just open up an area like

Seal Beach has. It seems to work real good.

SCOTT WOMBOLD

Huntington Beach

Prohibit surfing at state beaches

I’d like to say that the surfing, windsurfing and kite surfing

should be prohibited at Huntington Beach State Beach, especially

around Bolsa Chica and Warner Avenue, Pacific Coast Highway and

Warner. It should be allowed during the working hours but should be

banned during the weekends and in the evenings. It should be allowed

for professional people to do it during the weekday, during the

working hours, and not in the evenings and weekends. And also the

fire pits should be banned. All the debris and garbage that the fire

pit folks bring along with them so I would say yeah, all of these

should be banned, especially the fire pits.

SYE NAJEEB

Huntington Beach

Let’s oust the City Hall liabilities

Contrary to Debbie Cook’s advice [“City to repay with bonds,” Aug.

21], I did file a claim, but I wouldn’t have voted for an illegal

measure in the first place. I would gladly return any refund to the

city if the officials responsible for this latest debacle were

removed from office starting with our mayor, the City Council and

city attorney’s office. Hopefully, others would feel the same way.

Now we are being taxed again in the same way to pay for their

blunder. And is it legal to issue bonds without voter approval?

Our city has lost JC Penney, the Broadway, turned down Costco and

tried to bar Wal-Mart. We now are paying more sewer fees due to city

mismanagement. Trash collection fees are going up. Why can’t we sort

our own trash for recycling and sweep our own gutters?

The council spends too much money on studies for issues beyond its

control -- air plane banners and noise from jets, and petty issues

such as dogs playing at the dog park and a part-time ranger at

Shipley Center, both of which benefit thousands. It is time to focus

on attracting businesses to contribute to our tax base and put a

moratorium on building million dollar homes until there is enough

money to widen streets and repair the ones in existence.

If, as Cook says, “We have more assets than liabilities,” why is

the city gouging its taxpayers?

ELINOR MATTSON

Huntington Beach

It’s time for a little accountability

Thank you for the insightful column on the city’s fiscal

irresponsibility [Editor’s Notebook “The city has to learn the hard

way,” Aug. 21]. Following up on the benefit package that city

employees receive, based on “parity” with the private sector, how

many residents of Huntington Beach have never had the pleasure of

worrying about job continuity -- that is reductions in force or the

good-old, gut-chewing lay off? How many city employees would accept

2% to 3% raises per year? How many pay into a social security system

threatened by insolvency on a yearly basis? How many city managers,

who make in excess of $100,000 are willing to be personally

accountable for the actions of their city employees? It is time for

Huntington Beach residents to demand responsibility, and

accountability from the City Council members for an overpaid, under

performing city employment tumor.

JOHN WILKER

Huntington Beach

KOCE sale presents interesting debate

The sale of KOCE to televangelists presents an interesting debate.

On the one hand we live in a country whose religion is based on a

free market economy.

If we were to apply this concept to KOCE, the sale should go to

the highest bidder; however, our second commandment is fairness. Is

it fair for tax paying businesses to compete with religious

organizations who pay no taxes? It should also be noted that

taxpayers are forced to pay for these exempt religions. Finally, the

air waves rightly belong to the public. Shall we have educational

programming or modern day Pharisees hustling a buck?

JOHN BOAG

Huntington Beach

Huntington doesn’t need the helicopters

I am writing in response to Shirley Davis’s letter of Aug. 28

(“Wait until you need a police helicopter”) in which she praises the

Huntington Beach police helicopters for their constant patrolling of

our city. I am one of those “whiners” who have the nerve to complain

about the constant noise from these patrols.

I have lived all over the country and have never lived in a city

that saw the need to patrol with helicopters. Gee, I wonder how every

other city survives without helicopters? Who made the decision that

Huntington Beach would have taxpayer-supported helicopter patrols?

Give me a break, Shirley. Are you that fearful of crime here that you

need a Big Brother-type protector flying overhead to swoop down to

save you at a moments notice? I can only surmise that you have a

vested interest in the operation of these helicopters. I wonder if

you are related to one of the pilots. Must be a good paying gig.

LARRY BAKER

Huntington Beach

The council are pirates looting taxpayers

Well, the “Pirates of Surf City,” a.k.a. the City Council, are at

it again. Can’t you just see it now, Captain Connie [Boardman] and

her merry band of scoundrels planning to rape, pillage and plunder

the faithful Huntington Beach taxpayers yet once more.

“Har, har, har,” the Captain says, “we’ve got them just where we

want them. They’re are just a bunch of ignorant and gullible sheep,

and we can lead them anywhere we want them to go.”

She and her cronies have figured another way to finance their

initial mistake. How you ask? By making another mistake. Except this

time their eyes are wide open. This time maybe it will mean personal

liability. After all, why should the taxpayers continue to pay for

one mistake after another on the part of the City Council.

Captain Connie thinks, “that it’s important that we (the City

Council) act decisively and quickly”.

Decisively and quickly, huh? Let me remind the Captain, that this

[Howard Jarvis] lawsuit has been around since 1999. Chuck Schied

already received a positive court response, and the city’s legal

people used their tactics to delay the inevitable. Plus, taxpayers

have until December to file, and then there will be the additional

time necessary to validate the claims.

This seems to be an adequate amount of time to form a citizen’s

committee, as was suggested by Councilman Dave Sullivan to

investigate alternatives to your pirating bond issue.

By the way Captain, what if the bond issue you float is greater

than what is actually needed, who will be the beneficiary? Maybe you

can find some city employees who could receive 100% of their salary

upon retirement.

Alas, what to do? Put an end to the current retirement plan for

any new employees who are hired by the city after a given date.

Renegotiate and eliminate the 75th percentile floor for determining

future salary increases. Consider outsourcing some of our services to

private business or the county if it can be done more cost

effectively. Don’t allow management employees to be automatically

included when new labor contracts are negotiated. Sell off surplus

property. Finally, consider the plight of the taxpayer, particularly

the retirees who are on fixed incomes.

One final comment to first and second mates [Debbie] Cook and [Pam

Julien] Houchen and their gratuitous act to suggest that the

taxpayers should forego their claims for the council’s mismanagement

-- shame on you.

To Yeoman Sullivan, keep up the good fight and don’t give in to

the scalawags.

ED BUSH

Huntington Beach

City should refund new tax while at it

The City Council should consider instructing the City Clerk to

change the request for property tax refund form to include both the

last illegal tax collection and the latest one. This will eliminate

the printing costs when the city is ordered to pay back, by the State

Supreme Court, the ill advised (by the City Attorney) our new tax

four or five years from now.

These cost savings, of course, will not recover the time, fully

loaded staff expenses, outside legal, court fees and political costs

generated by our council. But it will help ease some frustration

placed on the homeowners because they need not fill out two forms to

someday get their money back.

The council has created a new tax or, at the very least, an

increase, which is in violation of Proposition 218. Otherwise, it may

extend all taxes simply by including new “costs” not previously

covered. An example may be to increase the property taxes to pay for

a municipal zoo. After all, the zoo could be merely an extension of

the library or any already funded function. The answer simply is to

roll back the benefits offering rather than perpetuating the problem

because taxpayers are not in the mood for any increased tax,

regardless of legal standing.

Continuing down this path will fuel the idea that this council

willingly rivals the actions of both the San Francisco board of

supervisors and the Berkeley city fathers.

ROD KUNISHIGE

Huntington Beach