Baugh deserved honor, not bashing I agree...

Baugh deserved honor, not bashing

I agree that Scott Baugh is deserving of the title “Newsmaker of

the Year.” However, I am disgusted that the Independent chose to

bestow this “honor” merely as a means to bash Baugh and the district

initiative.

I do not know Baugh or his reasons for launching the petitions

that propelled the Fair District Initiative onto the ballot, but I

thank him for allowing me and my neighbors the vehicle for change and

improvement to our city government.

Thank you, Baugh. You deserved better from the Independent.

CARL WRIGHT

Huntington Beach

Baugh must answer tougher questions

Jenny Marder’s “happy face” treatment of Scott Baugh (“Drawing new

battle lines,” Jan. 1) and the entire districting issue was

journalism at its most lightweight.

If ever a subject cried out for greater depth of inquiry

concerning the “Newsmaker of the Year,” Baugh and his motivation for

the districting measure is it. As Jonathan Pryce’s newspaper mogul

villain in the James Bond movie “Tomorrow Never Dies” explains, it’s

not the who, what, when, or where, but the why that is truly

important to a good story.

Marder sought no responses from Baugh to the tough questions

regarding districting and his motivation for pursuing it that the

author has successfully dodged since his initiative qualified for the

ballot.

Marder seemed blissfully unaware that her subject has steadfastly

refused to publicly debate or defend his own creature that has

“proven to be a political tinderbox.” And yet, this is the heart of

what is qualifying Baugh’s status as “Newsmaker of the Year.”

There was no mention of any of Baugh’s law clients or corporations

like AES that have contributed heavily to the districting cause or

the political advantage being sought by these contributors to further

their own agendas.

Doubtlessly, Marder would claim that this piece was not about

investigative journalism, but shouldn’t the “Newsmaker of the Year”

be shown (dare I say it, exposed) in both lights as a “mover and

shaker?”

Hopefully, the Independent will be a little more “inquiring” when

it runs cover stories like this in the future, because we really want

to know.

TIM GEDDES

Huntington Beach

Let’s just enforce laws against littering

In regards to banning smoking on the beach, the big problem is the

cigarette butts. We already have a law it’s called littering. All we

have to do is just enforce the littering law and that will take care

of all the cigarette butts in the world.

JOHN GLOWACZ

Huntington Beach

Restrict smoking to an area in parking lot

I believe smoking on the beaches should be banned along the water

and all over the sandy area. It should be in a restricted area in the

parking lot away from the traffic areas so that the oncoming ocean

breeze doesn’t blow it in someone else’s face. A restricted area in

the parking area back away from all traffic areas wold probably be a

reasonable place for smokers to smoke.

ARMIDA BRASHEARS

Huntington Beach

Banning smoking on beaches excellent

I think it’s an excellent idea. Before moving to Huntington Beach

I lived on Treasure Island in Florida, and I lived on the beach and

anybody smoking, the breeze always wafted it toward me. The beach

should be a relaxing place and not a place where you’re irritated by

smoking.

YVONNE SCANNELL

Huntington Beach

I strongly support banning smoking on the beaches. The fact that

smoking is a filthy and unhealthy habit notwithstanding, the

practical side of a ban is that beaches would be much cleaner without

the thousands of cigarette butts that smokers carelessly discard

after finishing a cigarette. The sooner the ban occurs, the better.

BERNIE TORBUK

Huntington Beach

Let’s look at AES’s track record here

So let’s review what AES has done for the city of Huntington Beach

over the past several years. First, AES convinced city voters through

a huge ad campaign and hundreds of thousands of dollars that it

should be exempt from paying city taxes like all the rest of us do.

Then, it took advantage of a state energy crisis (either real or

imagined) to get huge concessions from the State Energy Commission to

modernize its plant without the normal approval process that would

take years to complete. AES got those approvals in months rather than

years and thus the citizens of Huntington Beach that we will be

looking at that dinosaur for at least another 10 years. Then, most

recently, the State Board of Equalization changed the way its

property is assessed saving them millions of dollars and all but

killing the long-awaited Southeast redevelopment. I wish I had that

kind of clout regarding my property taxes.

Now AES is putting up tens of thousands of dollars in support of

the measure to cut the city up into five districts. I would hope that

the citizens of Huntington Beach are wise enough to see the

districting measure for what it really is and to see that those who

are backing it are not looking out for the best interests of the

city. It is simply an attempted power grab on the part of those like

AES. Their reasons for their interest in districting are clear. Money

and control of the City Council.

DAVID GUIDO

Huntington Beach

Good for AES being reassessed

As far as that AES property reassessment, I think it’s just

wonderful the way they reassessed it and the city ought to just suck

it up and forget about it, because those people down in the city hall

don’t have any better sense than to sue somebody.

DONALD LIMBOCKER

Huntington Beach

Huntington is fine without districts

No to districting for Huntington Beach. In the first place most of

the signatures were collected fraudulently. I argued at the markets

while the gathering of signatures was in process. The petition

carriers were saying “Sign this petition if you want term limits for

City Council?”

The truth was what I told them, “The City Council already had term

limits.”

They were paid for each signature by special interests and

gathered enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot. Voila!

It isn’t about term limits, it’s about districting.

The ballot measure is trying to change our City Council to five

members instead of the seven council people we have now and only

allow us to vote for the one nominee in our district. We in

Huntington Beach can vote for all of them instead of this cockamamie

district idea where you can only vote for your district nominee.

Leave us alone, special interests.

Huntington Beach is doing fine without voting by districts.

EILEEN MURPHY

Huntington Beach