City’s motto attracts criminal element

I agree with all of the rumbling concerning the name Surf City not being appropriate for Huntington Beach.

I live next door to Huntington Beach in Fountain Valley (sister to Huntington Beach, and we share some of the same schools too) and only four and a half miles to the ocean.

We share almost everything with Huntington Beach: shops, stores, malls, parks, schools and the surf.

Fountain Valley’s motto is appropriate: “Fountain Valley -- A Nice Place To Live.” I think Huntington Beach’s motto should be: “Huntington Beach -- A Nice Neighbor.”

The term “Surf City” brings in the wrong crowd for a family environment. This, in turn, brings about the element of drinking, racism (the city’s history of skinheads, white supremacists, etc.) and it also brings in the bad crowd linked to crime, drugs and sexual criminals looking for an exciting lifestyle connected to the phrase “Surf City.”

We all know of the other problems related to “Surf City.”

Recently, I can recall a teacher (a choir director) at Marina High in Huntington Beach who was arrested for child molestation. I can recall the riots of years past on the Fourth of July. I can recall several bank robberies recently. I believe that the homicide rate in Huntington Beach is much higher than in its sister city, Fountain Valley.

The problems with skinheads and neo-Nazis ring a bell too. I continually drive by Huntington Beach intersections to see make-shift memorials on street corners where young people have been killed in car accidents. I have talked to high school kids who tell me about the problems of drugs in the schools.

After all, the stereotypical surfer is viewed as a young person who only hangs out at the beach while under the influence of marijuana or beer. There is your foundation for “Surf City.”

The term Surf City attracts people looking for excitement. Could that be why there are more bars and liquor stores in Huntington Beach than in Fountain Valley?

Fountain Valley’s violent crime rate is much more subdued than that of its sister city. Perhaps that is because the motto “Fountain Valley -- A Nice Place To Live” is geared more for families rather than for the criminal.

Do criminals want to visit “A Nice Place To Live” to accomplish their agenda, or would they rather visit a place of surf, bikini-clad girls, bars, riots, malls, singleness and race-oriented crimes?

Change the name or reap the consequences of being a tourist trap. The City Council of Huntington Beach wants Surf City to be known as a place for visitors to frequent just for the sake of money while neglecting the families of Huntington Beach and Fountain Valle that want “A Nice Place To Live.”

* Gary Timmy is a Fountain Valley resident. To contribute to “Sounding Off,” e-mail us at hbindependent@latimes.com or fax us at (714) 966-4667.