MAILBAG:

The Independent raises a very interesting and heretofore too lightly dwelled upon point in its editorial “District will regret selling” (July 17).

It states, “Even if the city buys Le Bard and agrees to preserve it as open space, what’s to say that plan won’t change?”

Community members may still have cause for anxiety given some questionable decisions our City Council majority and city staff have made in recent years.

Instead of a plan to put the Le Bard facilities to good use as a community center, or even a senior center, one of the first options I hear about is for the city to lease them to a private school or some other tenant that could limit public access or preclude recreational development of the property.

Not what I wanted to hear.

Yes, a commitment to open space is a good idea (and the city would be acquiring prime property for it).

But not at the expense of having the community live in perpetual fear of having the Le Bard site restricted by others.

Tim Geddes

McCain can’t make up his mind about Obama

Is anyone as astounded as I am about all the brouhaha Sen. John McCain is making now that Sen. Barack Obama has gone to Iraq and the Middle East?

I remember all the news clips I saw in which McCain said Obama had never been there even once.

Now that he’s there, McCain is saying it’s a political trip, and McCain is in Kennebunkport, Maine, with President Bush’s father, George H. W. Bush, complaining about the Obama trip to Iraq.

Obama is running for president of the United States, and he’s our only hope.

Huntington Beach

Don’t tow; charge for parking instead

I just read Joanne Milichich’s letter regarding the towing of cars parked at Edison High School on July 4 (“Signage needed before towing cars,” July 17).

While I agree with most of her comments, I believe her suggestion on ticketing versus towing still creates a negative impression.

I would like to offer a positive alternative: Why not use the Edison High School parking lot (and other parking lots near the beach not in use for business/school) as a paid parking lot with shuttle service to the beach and Main Street?

I believe visitors would be happy to pay a reasonable fee to avoid the downtown parking crush and the city would receive needed revenue.

Seems like a simple, win-win solution!

Laurie Delman

Huntington Beach

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