MAILBAG - May 10, 2007

Rohrabacher should just join the Dems

I am a longtime resident of Huntington Beach and have voted for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher every time he has run for congress. His reasons for bashing the president may make you happy but not me (“Rare straight talk from D.C.,” March 29). From what I know about the [convicted Border Patrol agents’] cases, I don’t think they should be in jail. However, I have not read the trial proceedings and do not know why the jury convicted them.

I wonder if the congressman thinks that the president should review and second guess every federal trial conviction, and should the president be impeached every time a convicted prisoner is murdered in jail? Also, some U.S. attorneys were fired — big deal. As far as I know, the president can do that at will. No one questioned President Clinton when he fired all but one U.S. attorney, including the one who was handling the Whitewater shenanigans that involved him and Hillary. Why would Rohrabacher side with the Democrats for any reason other than to get on the front page of newspapers or on TV? I doubt he would ever get on the front page of even your paper if the story was that he strongly supported President Bush on an issue.

I realize why you love “straight talk” when it bashes Bush — that’s your paper’s bias. I like straight talk, also, but I wish you would expect it from the Democrats once in a while. I think that Rohrabacher decided that the only way to get press coverage is to be against the president. He may have aspirations to fill in for Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) on Sundays as the “balanced Republican voice.” I believe that if the congressman cannot support the president then he should join his friends in the Democratic party and let us elect a real Republican.

RON VIOLETTE

Huntington Beach

Move band to Walnut or Orange avenues

Suggestion for “Surf City Nights:” Move the rock ‘n’ roll band at Olive Avenue to either end at Walnut or Orange avenues. This way we would be able to hear the other music performers when we are standing close to them.

GERALD A. CATERINA

Huntington Beach

New recycling service is garbage

Last week’s article about new garbage service was presented as news but was actually a news release from Rainbow Disposal.

Currently, we have service in which our trash is sorted for us by near minimum wage laborers. Huntington Beach has had a high landfill diversion rate because of this. Someone decided to change the service. Who decided and why? With the new and improved service, we “get” to sort our own garbage. That’s an improvement? I value my off-time at more than the minimum wage that is paid to trash pickers! Why do I now have to do this task? Tax Freedom Day for 2007 was April 30. I do enough work for the government. I don’t intend to volunteer as a trash picker.

With the current system we can get rid of just about anything we can place in the allowable 35-gallon cans. I simply empty my household trash containers into the larger outside ones — very simple. With the new service, we get to take caps off jars, remove newspapers from their plastic wrappings, remove plastic encasements from cartons, and separate dry paper products from wet paper products. These items can’t be put into the same containers with the rest of our household items.

According to the City of Huntington Beach website, there are three reasons why they are implementing this system:

As for number one, why is it that our environment will be cleaner if I, instead of others, separate my trash? Secondly, how is this going to reduce the amount of trash at landfills? Doesn’t the current system already separate our trash and reduce landfill usage? And for number three, how is recycling increased by this new system? It will only be decreased if you have less than 100% participation.

According to recent news articles, it has taken the city of San Clemente 15 years to achieve a 50% diversion rate. And Tustin has been unable to surpass 31.4% diversion with its curbside recycling program. According to the figures from 2000 for Orange County Cities and reported by Integrated Waste Management, Huntington Beach has the second highest diversion rate in the county at a whopping 67%! This number is substantially over the state-mandated 50% and also much higher than the mean.

The part that has not been disclosed is how they plan to fine those of us who do not plan to sort our trash. Will someone be hired to go through our trash cans and look for non-compliance?

Setting my three monster containers in front of my house will now take up nearly 10 feet of space in front of my house on garbage day. They won’t fit through the gates and around the corners to store behind the house. They are too heavy to lift, so this “improvement” will have to sit in the street or take one parking space in my garage, leaving a car in the street.

Someone, please show me where the improvement is and who benefits.

ROGER HODGES

Huntington Beach