MAILBAG - Aug. 5, 2006

What can Smith know about KOCE?Once again, Steve Smith has proven that he is “talking through his hat” about almost every issue, when he insists that “no one watches” KOCE/Channel 50 (“On the Town,” July 22). How would he know? We readers must never forget that, as he constantly reminds us, he doesn’t watch television!

If no one watches that marvelous treasure that KOCE is, then what have I and my family been watching all of these years? To whom have we been sending our donations as subscribers and supporters? If one really wants to know what is going on in our area, read the Daily Pilot and watch “The Real Orange” on KOCE.

Does Smith know what takes place at Little Dooey’s in Starkville, Miss.? Did he take a tour of the Tejon Ranch with Huell Howser? Is he learning to speak Spanish? Is he learning about California’s Golden Parks or the Panama Canal? Of course not, he doesn’t watch television! All of the previously asked questions could be answered with a yes, if one only spent a couple of hours watching KOCE.

I do hope that Smith does not start watching KOCE. His uninformed diatribes are always good for a laugh.

LANCE THOMPSON-HAILSTONE, Costa Mesa

Council should be making the tough decision on city hallRegarding whether the Newport Beach city hall question should be decided by voters or by the City Council, I support Councilman Tod Ridgeway’s position, and I quote: “What will it accomplish? This is about honoring our past representation on that property, period.”

After a several-month process of evaluating sites, the council was poised to rebuild at the existing City Hall site on the Balboa Peninsula. Council members in late 2005 voted to take the library park site out of consideration because it had long been promised as a park. I support that decision.

Traffic congestion at the current library site and at the crossroads of Avocado Avenue, San Miguel, San Joaquin Hills Road and McArthur Boulevard is already bumper-to-bumper and getting worse. A park would provide a welcome relief from the constant barrage of oncoming traffic.

HELEN DWAN, Corona del Mar

Beachfront homes need a little bufferThose who can afford beachfront property certainly deserve a few feet of sand between their homes to buffer them from the “out-of-towners’” noise and litter. Along with the board walk’s traffic, it’s not unlike having strangers picnicking and partying in your front yard and waking up to find someone sleeping there.

BOB MURPHY, Costa Mesa

Newport needs to keep on growingI am against Greenlight II, which would restrict new building and additions. We need more business and residential: towers to increase the tax base, which would in turn lower our taxes. I am all for reduced taxes.

GRACE GEUTSCH, Corona del Mar