Licenses make sense to this compassionate conservative...

Licenses make sense to this compassionate conservative

Thursday’s Daily Pilot cover story about a Mesa Verde resident

gathering petitions to halt a law allowing illegal immigrants to

obtain a driver’s license drove me down a street I wasn’t quite sure

how I wanted to go down. Would I turn “left” and support illegals

driving with a driver’s license, or would I turn right and follow the

path of California Republican Assembly and sign the petition?

Then the issue of national security was mentioned and how illegal

immigrants having driver’s licenses would compromise national

security. This is when I put the Daily Pilot down and decided to take

some time and really think about this.

First of all, the term “illegal immigrants,” in my view, means

Mexican or Latino, at least regarding this issue. After all, isn’t

this the group that Gov. Gray Davis was supposed to be pandering to?

Yeah right, call me politically incorrect for cutting to the chase or

calling a spade a spade.

All right, we all know there is a problem with “illegal

immigrants” driving without driver’s licenses. This is a problem that

already exists, and by not allowing them driver’s licenses, this

problem will not be alleviated. However, by having a driver’s

license, an illegal immigrant is now public, has an official address

and accountability, and now has to purchase insurance for that car he

has been driving for all these years. Let’s see, if he has insurance,

maybe my auto insurance would go down? That in itself made me think

twice about this bowl of guacamole.

Oh yeah, back to national security. I believe national security

would be enhanced if everyone who drives a car had a license. What I

don’t understand, and fail to comprehend, is how national security

would be compromised by auto drivers having and carrying

identification. Maybe someone from the California Republican Assembly

could explain this to me? I’m all ears.

If someone has a problem with illegal immigrants driving here,

then someone better look at the cause, and not the symptom. The fact

is, illegal immigrants drive illegally here everyday and on every

street whether it is the gardener, restaurant worker or maybe your

housekeeper.

If one were a true Republican, one should remember President

Bush’s call for compassionate conservatism and not sign the petition

started by the California Republican Assembly.

PAUL JAMES BALDWIN

Newport Beach

Petition to revoke formal driving privilege is nonsensical

I have two questions for Dan Worthington, the Mesa Verde man

leading the local charge to revoke licenses for illegal immigrants:

1. How exactly does not issuing driver’s licenses to illegal

immigrants stop them from driving in California?

2. Isn’t locating somebody for an accident, crime, etc., who has a

photo, address and fingerprint on file, easier than locating a person

without said file?

ROBERT SOMERS

Costa Mesa

New developments must respect neighborhood’s old charm

I have been a resident and homeowner on Myran Drive for 30 years.

My older home, community and beautiful historic lane are in great

danger and may be ruined forever by continuing urban sprawl. A

developer has purchased two of the four homes on Myran Drive and is

making plans to build two large, two-story structures on each lot, on

both sides of my single-story home. If a developer is allowed to

build multiple two-story structures, our small historic community

would be negatively impacted. Traffic, parking, character and

continuity would be compromised, but more importantly, the historic

value, peace and quiet would be destroyed.

First, since the purchase, and subsequent rental of these two

homes, the vehicle count on our small street has already tripled. The

car count jumped from nine to 23, not including guests. Entering and

exiting Victoria Avenue from Myran Drive requires use of a two-way

center, left-turn lane. It is already very dangerous, especially

during peak traffic hours. For this reason, added traffic and

vehicles is not appropriate.

Next, large two-story structures would be completely out of size,

scale and character for this small street. One would not attempt to

park a battleship in slip meant for a row boat, so why do it here? We

have a more than 50 years of precedent of one-story, single-family

residences, with large yards and open spaces and beautiful old trees.

This type of construction would destroy the character and charm of

this historic and intimate neighborhood and its park-like atmosphere.

Inappropriate development sets a new precedent for more unnecessary

building and a “developer rules” mentality.

Lastly, what residents love most about living here is the quaint,

old neighborhood that is relaxing, intimate and peaceful setting.

Residents don’t want more traffic, over-crowding, cars or noise.

Our families have embraced the unique qualities of this special

neighborhood, and we treasure the time we have spent here. My father

lived and spent the last years of his life here. I raised two

beautiful children here. I look forward to a peaceful retirement

here. We do not want to live in a tunnel blocking the breeze, view of

the sky, beauty of the trees and open space. We do not want shade and

shadow to prevail in what has always been a bright beautiful setting.

We don’t want to look up from our gardens only to see buildings and

the evidence of urban sprawl.

It would be hazardous to increase traffic and associated problems.

It would be a crime to ruin the neighborhood’s character and charm

and to destroy the privacy, peace and quiet of our small community.

We believe we have a right to reasonable enjoyment of what is good

and beautiful in our neighborhood. It is totally possible to build

and remodel in such a way that respects the already existing

character of an older neighborhood such as ours. That is all I ask.

I ask for your help to preserve and protect one of the last older

neighborhoods in Costa Mesa from extinction and ask only that future

development remains in character with the area. I ask that form

follow function, rather than profit.

PAMELA FRANKEL

Costa Mesa