At least we’re parleying

STEVE SMITH

There is a bit of necessary housekeeping that is relevant to a few

issues confronting Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.

The tag at the end of this column was carefully written to direct

story ideas to me and comments to the paper, where they may be

printed in the Forum section. The Forum pages are, in my opinion, the

most important part of the newspaper. The editorials, letters and

columns help us all keep our finger on the pulse of what is happening

in our cities.

Lately, however, I have been receiving e-mailed comments that

should be directed to the Daily Pilot. Please use my e-mail address

only for story ideas and send your comments to the newspaper. Please

do not copy me on letters you have sent to the paper -- I read the

Daily Pilot from cover to cover every day, and yes, I even scan the

classifieds -- and will see your correspondence in due time.

Finally, if you do not plan to sign your name to your e-mail or

provide me with contact information, please do not write.

The case in point here is a reader who sent some rather strong

accusations about someone else. There was no crime involved; it was

simply a matter of one person not caring much for another’s beliefs.

Yet, there was no name attached to the note and no phone number. I

e-mailed a reply asking for a name and phone number but got no reply.

The two hottest issues in these e-mails are the closing of the

Costa Mesa Job Center and the proposed expansion of St. Andrew’s in

Newport Beach. The dialogue I have been witnessing is approaching an

unhealthy level in both towns.

In Costa Mesa, I want to applaud Councilwoman Katrina Foley for

attempting to revisit the Job Center issue, but a large part of me is

saying that perhaps those of us who support the Job Center should be

patient until just after the June 30 closure date.

At that time, we will know whether closing the center was a good

idea. If there are day laborers once again lining Placentia Avenue,

and if the police are not in a position to write citations for them

or haul them away, we can call Councilman Gary Monahan and ask him to

fulfill his promise of admitting that he made a mistake. The

assumption there is that a new Job Center vote will be swift and that

Monahan will reverse his vote and join Foley and Linda Dixon in

giving the Job Center a second chance.

Or, we may find at that time that Monahan, Mayor Allan Mansoor and

Councilman Eric Bever were right all along -- that the Job Center has

served its purpose and is no longer needed. Either way, the Westside

wins.

The situation in Newport Beach is a little trickier. While it may

seem as though the church’s expansion is the issue, it is only a

symptom. At some point, everyone reading this column will be faced

with an issue of infill in their neighborhood.

But infill is Greek to the residents around the church. They are

concerned now with preventing the severe disruption that they expect

will come with the expansion of the church.

Unfortunately, with this issue, there is no way to test whether

the expansion will have the anticipated impact and then reverse the

decision if it does. This is toothpaste that will not go back in the

tube.

So, the rancor is amped-up.

This is a very important issue, not only for the infill message it

will send, but also because it touches on property values, perhaps

our area’s most important topic.

With both issues, I’ve seen or heard all of this before, first

with the school taxes of five years ago and then with the El Toro

airport debate. At some point one side or the other decides that they

are going to shout a little louder or rattle their saber a little

longer, and then there is no turning back.

At least we are discussing these issues and at least each side has

a pretty good idea of its opponent’s position.

We must never forget, however, that when all is said and done,

when the decisions have been made and we move on, that the people who

don’t agree with us are the same people we will see in supermarket,

whose kids will play with our kids and whose help we may one day need

on another matter.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to onthetown2005@aol.com.