MAILBAG - Sept. 22, 2006

Candidates want ‘friendly’ election season

Your City Council candidates want your help in making this election campaign a positive one for all of us candidates and voters alike. The four of us are joining together to ask that there be no personal attacks in any form and that no yard signs be removed from anyone’s property.

Each of us will be sharing our vision and goals for Laguna with you in candidate forums, coffees and written materials. Each of us welcomes your interest and invites you to share your thoughts and to ask your questions — either individually or at the forums. Let’s go to the polls on Nov. 7 as friends and neighbors.

KELLY BOYD

TONI ISEMAN

ELIZABETH PEARSON-SCHNEIDER

VERNA ROLLINGER

Elections deserve tone of respect

Nov. 7, Election Day, is less than seven weeks away. As the date gets closer, the political temperature will undoubtedly rise. It is my hope that public discourse will remain cool and civil in keeping with the spirit of Laguna Beach.

We all win when the focus remains on the issues important to voters and the viewpoints of the candidates regarding them. Voters need facts so that they can make good decisions.

Ultimately, however, it is the responsibility of voters to discriminate between statements of fact versus exaggeration and distortion. (A good source for such information can be found at: www.smartvoter.org.)

Hostility, disparagement and prevarication only serve to diminish legitimate debate.

It is my hope that a tone of respect in speaking, writing and actions will carry the day throughout this election. The city of Laguna Beach deserves nothing less.

LINDA BROWN

Laguna Beach

Ban those field banners

Should advertising banners be eliminated from school playing fields?

Absolutely!

Although it is a sign of the times that professional sports figures sell themselves out for a living, it is wrong to teach our children that it’s OK in a good cause — such as funding school teams.

The banners are an eyesore to all except those who have become deadened to the litter and noise that goes with our 21st Century “civilized” society.

DR. MERTON HILL, III

Laguna Beach

No ads on campuses

Please count my vote against any advertising on any school campus.

ALAN GRANT

Laguna Beach

Marijuana choice should be protected

Re: Should medical marijuana dispensaries be allowed in Laguna?

Yes! Isn’t it time to stop big business and federal control of our lives?

Marijuana is a nonaddictive pain killer that enhances appetite. People with painful illnesses must have their choice to use it protected.

MARNI MAGDA

Laguna Beach

Voters already decided marijuana question

To respond to your question: yes, I believe medical marijuana should be dispensed to the sick, just as we voted. Does our vote mean something or not?

JOY PATTERSON

San Juan Capistrano

Cigarette butts belie beach smoking ban

I attended a meeting of the environmental committee at Laguna Beach City Hall the other night to present my findings of trash on the beach. They discussed having a wonderful speaker who would explain how plastic is bad for the ocean. Then, a short discussion about the proposed “anti-litter” campaign scheduled for sometime next year.

My question is, what has the city of Laguna Beach done about the litter problem lately?

As I was giving my presentation and showing photos of the trash on the beach, I was noticing the body language of the committee and I could tell they had heard something like this before.

I was told I was preaching to the choir. Then I asked them if it was illegal to smoke on the beach. Yes, I was told.

Then I produced a one-gallon bag of cigarette butts I picked up on a walk from Thalia Street to the Hotel Laguna and back (not Main Beach).

As they looked at the cigarette butts in disbelief, one member said that he thought they were from run-off, not from people throwing them on the beach.

I assured him that I found the butts in sand away from the run-off areas. The places where I found the most cigarettes were in front of the boardwalk and the hotels. When I asked about the way the city enforced the nonsmoking law, I was informed that the “beach patrol” had this responsibility.

How can two people cover all of the beaches in Laguna? I would also like to know how many tickets they have written for smoking on the beach.

I asked where were all of the signs that inform people that it is illegal to smoke on the beach, and I was informed that the city could be “difficult” when it came to signage.

So we pass a law to prohibit smoking on the beach, the law is poorly enforced, and we don’t have signs telling anyone that there is a law. Yes, I am a little frustrated.

Thanks to people like Roger Butow for his effort in organizing beach cleanups, as these really help our beaches. However, this is not enough. We have to educate the people who use our beaches to keep them clean.

There is nothing more beautiful than walking on our Laguna beaches. Let’s all pitch in and not only pick up your trash but any other trash that you see on the beach.

If you want something done, do it yourself. Don’t forget, pick up your trash and any other trash you find, educate your kids about their responsibilities to their environment, and I’ll see you on the beach.

DON ROMERO

Laguna Beach