Keeping fingers crossed to keep the fairgrounds...

Keeping fingers crossed to keep the fairgrounds here

As the Costa Mesa City Council’s liaison to the Orange County

Fairgrounds, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will, as it

should, remain in Costa Mesa. I’m holding Assemblyman John Campbell

to his word.

What he recently told me is that he has seen the light and now

will work to keep the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Two individuals

deserve special recognition if the fairgrounds stay here. Fairgrounds

manager Becky Bailey-Findley and especially the man who, as usual,

without fanfare, provided the early, critical leadership to keep the

fairgrounds here. He is the main reason why Costa Mesa is the great

city it is. That man is our city manager Allan Roeder.

CHRIS STEEL

Costa Mesa

Newport Beach parishioner sticks with St. James Church

With regard to the question of whether the Episcopal Diocese of

Los Angeles should sue St. James, I do not agree with the suit. I

have been a member of the Episcopal Church since I was baptized as an

infant. I have been a member of several congregations.

Over the past 20 years, I have seen both the Los Angeles Diocese

and the National Episcopal Church move farther and farther away from

the core values of the Christian faith, the divinity of Jesus Christ

and the authority of Holy Scripture. During these 20 years, I have

remained in the Episcopal Church, actively praying for its return to

the core values it was founded on and participating in reconciliation

attempts with those with opposing views. The theological core values

of the Los Angeles Diocese that St. James was originally a part of

are not the theological core values of the Los Angeles Diocese today.

The Diocese has moved away from St. James.

St. James members, including myself, have contributed 100% to the

operation and ministry of the parish, as well as Phase I and Phase II

of the building campaign for the current facility. No diocesan money

has been given to St. James. In fact, St. James has given money to

the Los Angeles Diocese. But being obedient to God’s command to be

good stewards of our time and talent, we can no longer share them

with a diocese whose beliefs are opposed to ours.

This decision brings both grief and relief. The grief is because

the church I knew and loved is no more, and relief that I can finally

rejoice in worshiping God and studying his word without the

distraction of the divergent views of the diocese.

CHRIS MORGAN

Newport Beach

Motorcycle ‘vroom’ not music to everyone’s ears

Alicia Robinson’s Daily Pilot article on the burgeoning use of

motorcycles in our community (“Vroom to grow,” Sunday) seems to

disregard an obvious truth.

Like the elephant in the middle of the living room, nobody seems

to want to talk about the fact that some motorcycles have a very

nasty side effect -- they make a lot of noise!

My family hears a near constant stream of ear-splitting belches

from these machines, which have become de rigueur for the macho 40-

or 50-something male suffering from identity crisis. So loud are they

that car sirens are often set off. And it gets worse as more and more

riders take short cuts to the coast through residential

neighborhoods.

The other nasty side effect is that the rider of the machine often

has a “So what?” or worse mentality about the noise.

Mike Silvernail, cited in the article, may believe the machines

are “therapy” for him, but they shatter the peace of mind for many

others. And they often ride in groups, so they must be “cool,” right?

WARREN BEACOM

Costa Mesa