Kids deserve the spotlight for fundraising project...
Kids deserve the spotlight for fundraising project
“Kids work to rebuild” should have been the headline of the
article published Saturday (“Family works for rebuilding”). The Give
Shelter project is a fabulous example of community outreach. It had
nothing to do, in fact, with my family but everything to do with a
handful of thoughtful children and a generous public.
The record should be corrected that it was the kids who
accomplished this astonishing feat; and it was actually Jack Paal and
Max Newsome, on behalf of all the kids, who handed over the little
gold house filled with $22,434 to the Habitat for Humanity
representative.
These two boys and a couple dozen other students eagerly gave up
their free time to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity to provide a
home for a family ravished by Hurricane Katrina. They were all
courageous and courteous as they faced the uncomfortable situation of
trying to get others to part with their money. These kids were, in
turn, supported by a generous outpouring from the folk in our
community.
With every dollar bill, coin and check that went into the gold
boxes, and every smile and encouraging word from each stranger and
neighbor, our kids learned a great lesson in the heart of giving.
So, to each child who participated and to each giver: Hooray for
you.
CHERYL LAIDLAW
Newport Beach
Trip to airport will continue to get worse
I got a great deal of satisfaction reading the hassles Steve Smith
laid out in his Saturday column, “Analyze this trip.” Even if he
isn’t smart enough to get to LAX without getting lost, he should be
smart enough to know the “madness” he described will only get worse
and, in five years, travel out of LAX will be next to impossible.
(They may even put a surcharge on Orange County residents.) We will
also see John Wayne fares rise significantly. Why? Because they can.
And Smith still doesn’t believe El Toro should be an airport.
How ignorant and short-sighted can one person be?
JOSH WALKER
Balboa Island
Cameras on Newport’s beaches threaten privacy
The idea of cameras on the beach in Newport is obtrusive. The
thought of relaxing on the beach and being watched from a control
room somewhere is haunting. These cameras pose a direct threat to
civil liberties, which are -- with the assistance of growing social
anxieties about safety -- increasingly diminishing. These incipient
cameras support this contention.
Under the guise of “safety,” Charlie Smith of Seven Seas Internet,
a Laguna Beach-based wireless provider, has made his case for the use
of the cameras.
“The benefits far outweigh the privacy issues,” Smith has said.
At $4,000 to $5,000 per camera and a total of six cameras planned,
some financial benefit is obvious. What is not as clear is the
unpredictable, pernicious loss of privacy that will work in concert
with these cameras to forever change the social landscape of
Newport’s beaches.
Let’s stop foregoing civil liberties in the name of fiscal profits
and bogus safety concerns.
ERIC FERENTZ
Newport Beach
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