MAILBAG - July 21, 2006

Support for labor site shows city’s spirit

I feel compelled to express my feelings about our city, Laguna Beach, after listening to various comments at Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting. Fortunately, most of those comments came from people who were not residents of our city.

It was 41 years ago that I decided to make this village my family’s home. What blessings those years have brought! Laguna Beach is a place most special. In past years when I was involved with county issues, on many occasions I remarked about the way things were done in Laguna. Invariably the answer would come back ? “but that is what it is like in Laguna.”

The implication was that other municipalities didn’t meet our standards ? and we do have high standards. We are different. We have a spirit which expresses itself in such a way that a better community evolves. Other cities cannot match the numbers of our citizens who actively participate in making our community a special place.

Where can you find as many nonprofits per capita as we have in Laguna Beach? Our record for protecting the environment is unparalleled. Most of all, we have a citizenry which cares about all members of our community. People are measured not by their wealth, but by their contributions in both time and money to make this a better place to live for all of us. We are not mean-spirited.

I want to thank the City Council for their support of the hiring center on Laguna Canyon Road, a center which benefits all of us. It is another example of what makes Laguna such a wonderful city.

JEAN RAUN

Laguna Beach

Day labor site supports illegals

The day labor center (hiring place for illegal aliens) should go away. The city of Laguna Beach is helping finance an illegal activity, to the tune of $28,000 a year to the Cross Cultural Council, another name for “hire an alien at the taxpayers’ expense.”

The contractors and citizens who hire these people are breaking the law. We are NOT racist. We are law-abiding people who are supporting illegals to the tune of billions a year.

BILL KAIL

Laguna Beach

Day Labor site Christian thing to do

If Jim Gilchrist is right that “Laguna Beach wants to be a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants,” I would swell-up with civic pride.

However, in all honesty, its day labor site is more the result of bureaucratic pragmatism than morality. The site is a viable solution to a practical problem that many cities have: the management of its immigrant work force.

Without it, the laborers would once again be dehumanized by having to hang out at public parking lots. The city has nothing to do with controlling or not controlling the flow of immigrants. But those who do arrive are dealt with in a humane way.

If Gilchrist wants to couch the discussion in moral terms, as his name suggests, then Laguna and the involved nonprofit groups have acted in a very Christian manner.

GENE COOPER

Laguna Beach

Greening of golf courses gains steam

It’s easy to vilify golf courses ? really. But we’ve gotta give them credit: Some 2,000 golf courses in 100 countries have joined a campaign that urges them to use less water, plant drought-tolerant grasses, cut out pesticides and replace sand with recycled glass. This campaign for sustainable golf is being driven by Britain’s 250-year-old Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, which hopes to “improve golf’s image as a polluter and abuser of vast tracts of countryside.”

There are 25,000 golf courses in the world; St. Andrews governs the ones outside of the U.S. and Mexico. Critics charge that golf courses use up to seven times as much pesticides per acre as farms and can suck up as much water as a small town. No word yet on whether the St. Andrews campaign will sway the Global Anti-Golf Movement and Anarchist Golfing Association. So says The Independent News.

No word yet from The Athens Group/Montage if they are going to change their polluting ways on Aliso Creek golf course.

CHARLOTTE MASARIK

Laguna Beach

Labor center aids illegal activities

The Day Labor Center in Laguna Canyon should definitely be closed. City funds should not be used for illegal immigrants.

If the job labor center were relocated with private funds, not city funds, the job applicants should show a valid social security card and green card which should be verified to see that they are in the United States legally.

The police should have traffic check points (as they do for drunk drivers during the holidays) near the day labor center, periodically, to check for valid drivers’ licenses and proof of insurance. Unlicensed and uninsured drivers are a danger to Laguna Beach residents.

The city of Laguna Beach and police department are aiding and abetting illegal activities ? as in illegal immigrants crossing the border (illegally) seeking employment, which is against the law in the United States.

RAY AND CAROLYN LAURIA

Laguna Beach

Rotary Club helps children

Barbara Diamond’s article a few weeks ago concerning “Kiwanis come to Laguna” did an excellent job of pointing out how important local service clubs are to the community as a whole and children in particular.

However, after reading this article, I was saddened to see that Barbara, in her effort to list other organizations that support children, did not include the Rotary Club of Laguna Beach.

Our efforts in supporting local youth go back 75 years to when our club was founded. I am excited about the probable formation of a Kiwanis Club in Laguna. Their presence here can only be a benefit to our community.

NOEL JOHNSON

Laguna Beach

[Editor’s note: Johnson is president of the Rotary Club of Laguna Beach.]