Mailbag: Noisy park games put neighbors in a pickle

Noisy park games put neighbors in a pickle

I am writing about the pickleball article because the city did not give you a complete picture of the facts (“Lawsuit claims pickleball is making Newport park’s tennis courts too noisy,” March 30). I am absolutely in sync with the lawsuit’s complainant, Susan Thomas.

It’s not just the decibels of the noise; it’s the character of the noise — the pitch of that particular popping sound is particularly irritating.

You compared the decibels to a washing machine, but that has a comforting, consistent whir — quite different from the incessant pop, pop, pop of pickleball. I have been in my kitchen on conference calls (I work from home), and the other person on the end of the line has asked: “What is that loud popping sound?”

That’s how loud it is when three, or even four, games are going at once. In the hot summer months, I have to keep my windows closed (with no air conditioning) and turn on the radio to drown out the sound.

It’s really more than your article makes it seem. And for people with ADD, autism or PTSD, who might be especially sensitive to loud popping sounds, I cannot even imagine. Please do not trivialize this.

It also completely ruins the enjoyment of the tennis players on the adjacent courts. It is impossible to concentrate on your tennis game with the loud, boisterous pickleball games right next to you.

I have called the city at least four times in the past year to ask to please move pickleball to a less-residential setting. Each time, someone at the city told me they are looking to move it to a different home. So I would guess that is the reason more complaints have not been filed: If a person thinks pickleball is moving, they would be less likely to file a complaint than if they think it is permanent.

It is disingenuous of the city to pretend that only one other resident is bothered by the noise. I wish the city would be more forthcoming and say that they have received many calls about pickle ball, asking that it be moved. And those callers were told that it would, indeed, be moved. The sooner the better, as far as I am concerned.

Gialisa Gaffaney

Newport Beach

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COIN ordinance helps clarify city pension reforms

I am a fan of transparency and Costa Mesa’s Civic Openness In Negotiation (COIN) ordinance. And it works! Costa Mesa Police Assn.’s tentative 2014-18 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be getting a second hearing at City Council on April 19.

City staff does excellent fiscal analysis, which is reviewed and approved by an outside CPA firm, Lance Soll Lunghard LLP. I was concerned, however, that an actuary had not reviewed the funded and unfunded pension liability numbers; CPAs are not actuaries.

I am glad to report that after meeting with the Finance Advisory Committee, city staff recently obtained validation for the pension numbers from CalPERS’s actuary.

I would like to see the council improve COIN and have an actuary weigh in every time. This MOU’s pension change is complicated — transferring responsibility for making employer-paid member contributions (EPMC) from the city to employees in 3% annual increments over three years to match CalPERS’ 3% overall payroll growth assumption could have been a big impact, but it was not.

It’s encouraging to see progress in police pensions and hiring. Twenty-eight officers have been hired under the new PEPRA 2.7%@57 plan and, in 2017-18, police employees will be contributing 14% of pay, and CalPERS projects the city will be contributing the balance of 54.9%.

Jeff Arthur

Chairman, Costa Mesa Pension Oversight Committee

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Costa Mesa is not so red these days

Re. “Commentary: Sacramento’s policies hurting us in the pocketbook,” (April 1): Wow, Mr. Mayor! I didn’t realize my city was in such horrible shape. Maybe we should all move away since we seem to be overwhelmed by society’s dregs.

No? More like typical conservative, fear-mongering and pessimism is what this sounds like. If things are so bad here in Costa Mesa, Mr. Mayor, because of our state government in Sacramento, maybe instead you should move to one of those thriving red states like Kansas or Louisiana, where the conservative governments there have their states in such fine fiscal order.

No? Didn’t think so.

Mike Aguilar

Costa Mesa

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Candidate advocated for rehabs

City Council candidate Phil Greer, an attorney who has represented the operators of drug rehabilitation homes, should be careful what he wishes for! Greer’s letter to the editor advocates for Councilman Keith Curry’s campaign “reforms” and “transparency,” yet Greer fails to note for the benefit of readers critical pieces of information about himself.

While castigating politicians and local public officials about taking contributions from special interests, Greer failed to mention his own long-standing business relationship with a very popular drug rehab operator, the Newport Academyhttps://www.ocregister.com/articles/academy-650873-beds-newport.html, which operates an academic center in Newport (but no rehab homes).

Newport Beach has long suffered from the drug rehab, over-concentration problem since 2004, when the state began allowing community-based treatment versus lengthy stays in state-funded prisons.

So let’s be absolutely clear about Mr. Greer and his brand of politics: We’ve been there and done that already. Let’s not be fooled again!

Bob Rush

Newport Beach

The writer is a former state Assembly candidate.

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Politics threaten Medicare Advantage program

As a retired Orange County firefighter, I learned a lot about the political process and funding battles. I also learned that my vote matters.

Over the years, I’ve experienced some medical challenges that have reminded me how important my health insurance plan is to my well-being, both personally and financially. Until now, though, I didn’t think that medical issues and political issues would be on a collision course in my life.

The target? Medicare Advantage, which is a fantastic program that provides vital benefits to seniors, just like myself.

While Congress fixed the problem doctors faced regarding Medicare reimbursements, seniors are again facing massive funding reductions to Medicare Advantage to the tune of billions that, if implemented, would reduce the benefits received by 250,000 seniors in Orange County.

The benefits include a cap on out-of-pocket expenses, a choice of doctors and medical facilities and a whole array of wellness programs that keep us healthy and active. Our voting power is but one reason why Congress should fight back against any cuts to Medicare Advantage. The other reason is simple: We shouldn’t be balancing the budget on the backs of senior citizens.

Jerry Strom

Costa Mesa