MAILBAG - Feb. 16, 2006

Santa Ana Heights needs to be united

Please tell Costa Mesa City Councilwoman Katrina Foley and her Costa Mesa cronies to back out and back off of West Santa Ana Heights. Is anyone there listening to the residents of West Santa Ana Heights?

We were asked and made it known: Make us part of Newport Beach!

This debate has been going on for more than 10 years. It doesn’t make sense organizationally or financially to have two cities manage the redevelopment funding.

Newport has already begun the management of some of the east side redevelopment projects, let it manage the west side too.

MATTHEW and CYNTHIA BIESER

Santa Ana Heights

An attempt to explain Costa Mesa’s actions

Globalization is growing, companies are merging, and the community of Santa Ana Heights is being divided.

Look at the following facts:

1. Residents of West Santa Ana Heights voted to be annexed by Newport Beach a couple of years ago.

2. A couple of years ago, Newport Beach accepted to annex West Santa Ana Heights.

What is the problem?

I see two.

1. The members of the Costa Mesa City Council also desire to be part of Newport Beach but they cannot since they are already in Costa Mesa.

2. The members of the Costa Mesa City Council are acting immorally. In fact Costa Mesa can find morally acceptable ways to raise money in order to revamp the city, such as inviting serious businesses to Triangle Square and the area around it. It also cannot develop land to attract businesses and residents. Costa Mesa does not need a small pocket like West Santa Ana Heights.

ANNIE PIERMONT

Santa Ana Heights

School board needs some original thinking

A standing ovation to Wendy Leece and Mark Gleason for their insightful summaries of what is right (not much) and wrong (a great deal) with the Newport-Mesa Unified School District board (“Board needs new faces,” Tuesday).

I strongly suggest they both run for the board; we need their kind of original input to replace the tired and uninspired rhetoric the current panel produces.

Parents, please step up to the challenge. Announce your interest early and publicly so the large group of voters who want to support your candidacy can start to build a base of finance and manpower to make this much-needed change of leadership a reality.

J.A. LOWRY

Newport Beach

Newport council losing residents’ interest

We are losing our representative government in Newport Beach.

With the appointment of yet another business clone to the City Council, we now have four members of the seven-person City Council who first attained their status via appointment, not election.

Since they were appointed by the pro-development group, they tend to have less regard for residents’ quality of life.

R.S. LEITH

Newport Beach

Thanks to Steve Smith for Saturday’s column

I really appreciate Steve Smith’s article on the interfaith shelter that our church has been involved with since its beginning (“Shelter works magic for those in need,” Saturday). I appreciate most of his articles, actually.

DENNIS SHORT

Newport Beach

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Dennis Short is the pastor at Harbor Christian Church.

More thanks to On the Town columnist

I am a co-president of Friends of the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter, and we do such fabulous work, and it’s wonderful to see Steve Smith do an article about us. So thank you for that. The day should be wonderful at the shelter.

SALLY PHILLIP

Newport Coast20060216hi5bcgkfDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Riders cruise an equestrian trail in East Santa Ana Heights, which was annexed by Newport Beach in 2003. Readers Matthew and Cynthia Bieser write that West Santa Ana Heights should go to Newport as well.