MAILBAG:

So many times I have heard about how hard it is to work with the city.

As the executive director of the local nonprofit Glass House Ministry, I have just finished working on a community project where we, in conjunction with the Crossing Church, built an extension on a house for Bill Thomas.

Bill is the young man who had a rare spinal stroke two years ago.

Through this total experience, from helping the family arrange a no-interest loan that was made available by the city of Costa Mesa, to the building inspection process, the city of Costa Mesa was fantastic!

Daniel Baker, management analyst/housing rehabilitation coordinator for Costa Mesa, spent a great deal of time working with us to find the most appropriate program to help the Thomas family through the planning process. Gary Hooke, city inspector of Costa Mesa, also went out of his way to assist the family and often visited the site on his own time to advise us on construction elements.

It would be remiss of me not to also recognize the dozens of companies in the community that came together to volunteer their time, talents and treasures to make this project a success.

So often we find reasons to find fault with our city, our community and our country, but I have been fortunate enough to witness people and companies at their very best. People who are willing to give to a need, with no expectation of any reward.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge and thank the many very good people who work for the city of Costa Mesa and neighborhood companies that gave to this great cause.

WARD NICKLESS

Executive Director

Glass House Ministry

Mechanic brought peace of mind for us

During the Christmas holidays, my wife and I took a trip originating at John Wayne Airport.

It was more convenient for us to drive up from San Diego County on the evening before. While driving up the 5 Freeway a strange and persistent noise developed in the left front area of the car.

We checked into our motel but the problem worried me, as I did not want to return with the possibility of the problem getting worse.

The next morning, we had a few hours before our flight left and so I checked the yellow pages early to determine if an auto shop specializing in foreign cars might be nearby.

I found Alex’s Auto Performance Plus at 2960 Airway Ave. in Costa Mesa. Alex and his crew were sympathetic to our tight schedule and after a short check-out drive pinpointed the problem. Parts were ordered and by lunch time we were on our way to the airport.

I can enthusiastically recommend Alex as a very knowledgeable, sympathetic and reasonable man.

BOB JACOBSON

Fallbrook