I think it’s ridiculous for the city...

I think it’s ridiculous for the city to be spending any money to

support the Job Center.

There are plenty of jobs available and many employment agencies

that these workers can use that will take care of workers’

compensation and taxes that are legally required.

If the city starts to see a problem in loitering, then perhaps the

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can be of assistance.

I don’t blame anyone for trying to find a better life for their

family, but these unfortunate workers will be better off in the long

run.

Many of these day laborers are being exploited by the people

hiring them, who are trying to save a few bucks on menial painting

and gardening jobs.

Working through legitimate agencies can lead to higher wages,

permanent employment and getting a piece of the American dream that

they claim to be looking for.

TIM CROMWELL

Costa Mesa

First, let me say that recent votes by the Costa Mesa City Council

about our Westside issues, despite statements from a vocal

opposition, have less to do with gender than political philosophy.

Those who suggest otherwise are just attempting to use this as a

way to divert attention from the real, important issues that face our

city.

Also, the strong focus by some on ethnicity in sections of our

city, rather than on the underlying problems, only creates hostility

and animosity for all the residents of our city. People interested in

improving our city have been labeled as bigots, racists and

xenophobes.

The truth be told, I do not fear foreigners as long as our borders

are secure and our laws are enforced. However, I am distressed to see

the effect on our personal safety, property values, medical services,

public health, schools and city costs because people from other

countries take advantage of our willingness to help those in need or

overlook our immigration laws and end up living in Costa Mesa.

In Costa Mesa, we seem to lay out a welcome mat that invites the

homeless, the poor and the undocumented to our city to receive enough

food, medical and lodging assistance to locate here in Costa Mesa.

Unfortunately, our generosity and acceptance has worked to the

detriment of a whole section of our city.

We created a Job Center a long time ago to get day laborers off

our streets and out of our parks. We ended up reducing the day

laborer and parks problem only to be replaced by the homeless and

indigent filling in to still keep residents from using our city

parks.

Currently, our $100,000-plus- per-year, city-sponsored Job Center

actually serves less than one-third of the individuals who show up to

vie for jobs each day. And, unfortunately, our Job Center isn’t very

effective, as there are people who still go to the 7-11s and other

spots to solicit day jobs in our city. And then, at our Job Center,

we have only 30 out of the hundred-plus people who show up for jobs

every day that end up getting hired.

What do the 70-plus people who do not get hired each day do? It

seems that they are back on the street and the same problem for the

police that the original 100-plus unemployed were at the beginning of

each day.

The last thought that comes to mind is why do the management,

editors, and staff of the Daily Pilot convey such a strong opinion

that Costa Mesa should tolerate this situation, even though few of

them, if any, even live in Costa Mesa, let alone on the Westside

Many others that we continue to hear from are non-Westside

residents who have generously offered their opinion on the subject,

and are from Mesa Verde, Eastside Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and

Corona del Mar.

Costa Mesa has spent many of the past years trying to figure out

how to fix the problems we have in the area defined as the Westside.

One part of the solution is to either eliminate or at least move

the Job Center to another area of the city. Perhaps, those in our

city that see the value of keeping the Job Center in Costa Mesa will

offer spots in their neighborhoods to relocate it.

This will be a tremendous help to the work we are doing to upgrade

and improve Costa Mesa.

The current City Council has finally made decisions that will lead

to the improvement of the southwestern quadrant of our city. I hope

others in our city will see the value in letting the Westside rise to

achieve its potential and address the problems that have so far

prevented this from happening.

PAUL BUNNEY

Costa Mesa