MAILBAG - Aug. 3, 2006

How do you like your El Morro now?Attention all you beach huggers and promoters of open sands for all. How do you like the way El Morro looks now that the residents have been evicted, the entire place trashed and beach access barricaded to all? What a treat for those of us who drive Pacific Coast Highway frequently — to say nothing of the swarms of visitors on their way to and from Laguna, the Festival of Arts, San Diego and other southerly points of interest — to gaze upon one of the primo coastal areas in Southern California now reduced to a landfill and becoming worse by the week.

Would it not have been a great deal smarter to wait until the bulldozers were ready to start preparing the property for its ultimate use as a haven for transient campers then give everyone one week to clear out?

Great planning, folks. Give yourselves a big pat on the back for ousting those nasty people!

JANE LOWRY

Newport Beach

Dodger blue responds to publisher’s seeing redI am writing regarding Tom Johnson’s Fair Game column that ran in the Daily Pilot on July 27 (“Dodgers’ family values are off-base”).

While we can appreciate that the response to the boys’ signs and your post-it note may have seemed aggressive, the fact is we do not allow signs of any kind into Dodger Stadium primarily because it blocks the views of other fans, whether these signs are pro-Dodgers or not. If we did allow signs into the stadium, we would have plenty of fans complaining about blocked views, particularly if the signs are in support of the other team. Believe me; if on Tuesday night the two boys had been bouncing up and down and waving signs in favor of the opposing team, the crowd would have been cheering the security guards when they approached. And had it been adults with signs, the reaction would have been even stronger. It happens all the time.

We agree that this episode could have been handled more tactfully, particularly in light of the age of the boys; however, the procedure is in place simply because it prevents complaints about blocked views and other problems in the stands.

CAMILLE JOHNSTON

Senior vice president,

communications

Los Angeles Dodgers