Honoring ‘The OC’ is misguided I find...

Honoring ‘The OC’ is misguided

I find myself a little unnerved to discover that on Oct. 28 at

6:30 p.m., Newport Beach Mayor Tom Ridgeway will award the key to the

city and immortalize the cast and producers of Fox’s hit show “The

OC” on the Newport Beach Walk of Fame at the Balboa Pavilion.

Am I the only person who has actually seen this show?

Having worked in the television business for almost 10 years, I

take no issue with Fox’s right to air their program, nor do I usually

speak out on moral issues to which I usually fall on a more liberal

stance, but as a member of the community and father of two, I feel I

must comment on this one.

I cannot believe that Ridgeway and the City Council want to

formally endorse this show as representative of our community by

bestowing its highest honors upon it. This is a television show that

repeatedly portrays Newport Beach as a haven for teenage drug use,

absentee parenting, snobbery, spousal infidelity, public corruption

and crooked business dealings.

On “The OC,” a mother sleeps with the 17-year-old boyfriend of her

own daughter, her husband steals millions from his own friends, and

the show generally portrays our teenagers as out of control,

uneducated, violent drug and sex addicts. The lead couple attend a

wife-swapping New Year’s Eve party, and all the while, a Donald

Bren-ish character repeatedly bribes, threatens and coerces everyone

around him -- including his own children -- in the normal course of

strengthening his grip on the community (characteristics that as far

as I have read are far from those of Bren).

This and a whole host of other salacious events are just from last

season. I can only imagine what the soon-to-be-aired next season will

bring us.

“The OC” also unfairly and snobbishly portrays middle-class Chino,

where the main character hails from, as a haven for criminals, thugs

and wife beaters -- so much so as to force their local politicians to

condemn the show as defamatory.

I don’t doubt that Newport Beach probably has a darker side to it,

but I see it generally as a good, family-oriented community. I take

no issue with the show for its entertainment value and concede that

it shines a little glamour on our little beach town, but I think the

mayor and the City Council should take a real hard look at the show

before they put our city’s seal of approval on it and say to our

children that these are the values held by the residents of Newport

Beach.

J.P. HANNAN

Newport Coast

A sign the rules do not apply equally

The “silly season” for campaign signs is in full swing. In a

recent letter to the Pilot, Costa Mesa City Council candidate Mirna

Burciaga complained that someone was “stealing” her campaign signs

(“A sad sign for political process,” Oct. 10). It is interesting to

note that Burciaga has placed many of her signs in the public right

of way and other places not allowed. This past Sunday, I even saw

them at Costco in Fountain Valley. Is she running in Fountain Valley

also?

Burciaga apparently failed to be aware of the sign ordinance. She,

along with other candidates, have placed signs in inappropriate

places. It makes you wonder how good a City Council member they would

be when they can’t follow the campaign and sign rules.

Business owners who place signs in the same areas as candidates

are often cited and fined for violations. Candidates are seemingly

not given those same consequences.

Maybe the rules should apply equally to all violators. I am going

to ask for a refund for the garage sale sign violation I recently

received, when one of my clients left the six signs up after 6 p.m.

on a Sunday.

LARRY WEICHMAN

Costa Mesa