Mailbag: West Newport is much improved

As a longtime resident of West Newport, I just wanted to say how great it is to see all the improvements going on in our end of town.

The Coast Highway-Superior Avenue intersection is looking better than ever, and the plantings down the peninsula are a nice addition.

I am excited to see the progress at Sunset Ridge Park and can hardly wait to see the completed project. I only wish Louise Greeley could be here to see her long-time dream finally taking shape.

I applaud our City Council representative for District 2, Tony Petros, along with the entire council and all responsible committees and departments for their efforts to enhance the western entrance to Newport Beach.

Steve Puppo

Newport Beach

We are all the ‘government’

Orange County is experiencing an epidemic. The causes are murky but the symptoms are easily identified: a tendency to blame all that irks us in public life on “government.”

A fine example is seen in a recent opinion piece by Keith Curry published in the Daily Pilot, “Commentary: Grand jury is wrong about airport,” (July 13).

Curry objects to findings in an Orange County Grand Jury report on John Wayne Airport as government interference. Ironically, a grand jury is composed of private citizens while Curry, as a member of the Newport Beach City Council, is “government.”

He also complains of group homes in residential neighborhoods as another example of government interference. Yet, unless he expects neighbors to take action as vigilantes against the property rights of other landowners, the solution is in zoning regulations — more government.

This would be simply silly if the consequences were not serious. It avoids recognizing our responsibility as citizens for what government does. Yes, sometimes the problems come from unaccountable bureaucrats or elites who exercise outsized and often out-of-sight influence.

More often, it is different levels of government and various agencies struggling to balance different interests. Maybe this “blame the government” sentiment is really a way of saying that my interests are legitimate while yours are not.

For in a democracy, ultimately, government is us.

Jim Hess

Irvine