Mailbag: Singer sentenced, his damage will last

It’s hard to believe that William “Rick” Singer’s college admission bribery scandal first came to light nearly four years ago. I always wondered when he would be sentenced and now we know. Singer ruined numerous lives. I’m glad he has been sentenced to 42 months in jail, but I’m not sure that will undo the long term damage his “Varsity Blues” scheme left in its wake.

Denny Freidenrich
Laguna Beach

School’s HVAC system wasteful

Please be advised the HVAC units on five portable classrooms have been running continuously since the start of the break on Dec. 23, starting at 7 a.m. and continuing late into the evening. The campus is closed and no one is inside. This grotesque waste of energy and disregard for taxpayer money is outrageous and unacceptable. Why won’t the school district install and use thermostats like responsible Californians? Of course the school and district offices are closed so this disgusting waste of resources and tax dollars will continue throughout the break. If this is how the district visibly wastes taxpayers’ funds, one can only imagine what other waste, fraud and abuse is going on in not visible places.

Nor is this the first time this has occurred at Andersen: The HVACs routinely run after hours, on weekends and during breaks despite complaints made to the school and district offices.

Apart from the gross waste, the HVACs are noisy and unpleasant for neighbors trying to have a quiet holiday. The school and district need to start acting like a respectful neighbor instead of a thoughtless, energy-wasting bully.

Roman Darmer
Newport Beach

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