Preserve Marinapark ‘bay-front treasure’ I am strongly...

Preserve Marinapark ‘bay-front treasure’

I am strongly opposed to approving the general plan amendment for

the Marinapark resort on the grounds that it will inevitably and

irrevocably remove this parkland from public access and place it in

private hands, subject to lease terms with the developer. In my

opinion, the project doesn’t pencil without ultimate conversion to

timeshares, with far greater increases in traffic than the developer

would like the public to believe.

C’mon. This one little bay-front treasure ought to be preserved.

JOHN BUTTOLPH

Newport Heights

Knowing the dealmaker as important as knowing deal

There have been many letters published lately (including one of

mine) regarding the proposed Marinapark hotel/timeshare project, but

I feel something has been left out.

There has been much “talk-talk” around town about Stephen

Sutherland, this proposed project’s developer, none of which has

really been addressed. Why is the city in such a hurry to pass our

public land to a hotel/timeshare developer-type? Who is this guy? And

who is behind this guy? Years ago I learned to ask a very valid

question in regards to business situations: “Don’t tell me what’s in

the deal; tell me who’s in the deal.” Well?

SARAH PEDERSEN

Newport Beach

Films follow partisan lines but maybe not always facts

As the film “Fahrenheit 9/11” now sits poised to enter the

glorified status of “blockbuster,” I can’t help but think of the

irony of that other film, whose audience -- not unlike “9/11” --

divided itself along partisan lines of liberal and conservative.

What I find of interest is the fact that the majority of the

people who condemn “9/11” as being historically inaccurate are many

of the same people who genuflect in reverence to the film “The

Passion of The Christ” and its perceived historical accuracy.

I’m no theologian, and I may be going out on a limb here, but I’m

guessing “The Passion of The Christ” most likely contains less

factual information than does “9/11,” if not only in part due to the

time discrepancy and method of reporting. Don’t get me wrong; faith

and myth play a very important role in the human experience, but

unfortunately, when it comes to a certain president using faith and

myth with zealous invocation as a reason to go to war, sorry, but it

just doesn’t fly.

BILL MADDEN

Costa Mesa

Meetings about church growth should be open

Many of the residents of Cliffhaven and Newport Heights have signs

in front of their homes that say: “No to St. Andrew’s

35,000-square-foot Expansion Plan.” The signs do not say, “Let’s have

an unannounced, by-invitation-only meeting,” where people gather and

come up with some ideas and call it a neighborhood-church

representation of what the community wants and hope that such a

process prompts the Planning Commission into believing that the

community has been consulted.

To rephrase an old saying: “What part of ‘no’ doesn’t St. Andrew’s

understand?”

It has been published in the Daily Pilot that church officials are

not prepared to postpone another Planning Commission meeting. As

another saying suggests: “The tail does not wag the dog.”

RICHARD AND ELAINE ENGLAND

Newport Beach