Readers sound off at chat

It was no chance happening that I chose a pub for the Daily Pilot’s inaugural “Chat with the Editors” get-together earlier this week.

I figured that after dodging the slings and arrows of an angry horde, I’d need a drink.

Turns out, the horde would not be so tidily defined.

Lively, yes.

Opinionated, uh huh.

And angered about the proliferation of sober-living homes in Newport, the possible expansion of John Wayne Airport and some opinions spewed on our website and in our newspaper.

But also: friendly, funny and informed; really, no mob at all, just a bunch of people with whom it was good to shake hands and converse.

Did I mention that they’re ticked off about the reputed 100-plus sober-living homes in Newport? Most seemed to think that City Council members sat on their hands on this issue for far too long. The peninsula, they said, has turned into fraternity row with a criminal twist.

Also, it smells more like urine than ocean spray.

Also: The council’s move to seek injunctive relief against two of the homes’ operators is a bit like boy proposing to girl after girl breaks up — or vice versa. Where were you when it mattered?

On other topics, some praised the Daily Pilot’s recent editorial proposing this alternative to turning John Wayne Airport into an international enterprise: transform it into the John Wayne Airport and Transportation Center, where commuters could, instead of boarding a flight right there, hop on a train and take a maglev train ride to Ontario Airport or points beyond.

Others said such an approach is a good way of getting boiled in the pan when it comes to negotiating with expansion proponents. The Daily Pilot, they said, should be the catalyst for a hard-line, just-say-no approach to any intensification of the airport.

That suggestion, no doubt, will come up in future editorial board meetings.

As will the evolving, exciting, maddening world of the web. How far is too far when it comes to reader comments?

Should someone, for instance, get to call former mayor Gary “Skosh” Monahan — the gathering was held at his Costa Mesa restaurant; future gatherings will be held at a variety of venues — a leprechaun?

Should web postings get printed in the paper? Why can’t we post comments more quickly? This is an electronic conversation, for crying out loud.

By summing up some of the views espoused at the gathering and glossing over the gray areas, I’m, admittedly, taking the easy route.

These were individuals with individual opinions, each attended by nuances and mitigating factors that will not fit into this column space.

Many more issues were touched on, not the least being illegal immigration, speed limits on neighborhood streets in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach’s spending habits and open space at Banning Ranch.

City Editor Paul Anderson and I are semi-confident we heard them.

Even if I did order that hard cider before, not after, the back-and-forth.

Brady Rhoades is the Daily Pilot’s managing editor. He can be reached at brady.rhoades@latimes.com or at (714) 966-4607.