Regarding the ‘fishing problem’ on the pier
Before we start lynching those low-life fishermen, consider this: without those fishermen we may not have a pier.
After the pier was washed away in 1983, local citizenry rallied and raised approximately $170K in several months by selling T-shirts, pier remnants and cookies—along with a lot of shameless begging.
At that rate it would have taken years to raise the funds to rebuild.
Despair turned to joy when the State Department of Fish and Game donated 1.4 million dollars!
Why? Because the pier was (is) a public recreational fishing facility, open to all who visit it.
Because of the fishermen we were able to get our pier rebuilt quickly enough to keep those tourists coming … and Main Street humming.
A city that can afford flower planters in the streets and $30,000 for a memorial to the Salon Meritage Eight surely can afford the maintenance to keep our pier clean, even with the messiness that is the essence of fishing.
When a bench becomes more important than the enjoyment a poor family gets from fishing off our pier, perhaps we need to reorder our values.
Stu Orton,
Seal Beach
Gum Grove Park needs help now
What a disaster is occurring to a very unique and special part of the Marina Hill area of Seal Beach. It has so much potential. The beautiful wildflowers in the spring sometimes are sometimes up to 6 feet tall.
The forest fragrances of the eucalyptus trees along with the peace and quiet of the area is relaxing and allows for an escape from our busy lives. It is a special area that mostly only residents know about. A number of residents try to keep it protected and cared for, but it is woefully neglected by the city.
We whole heartily agree with Mr. Kropf and Ms. Parsell that something needs to be done and special consideration should be given to this area.
This area should be given some priority consideration. It can be said that Gum Grove Park has become a blighted area. There is very little if any care given to the trees. A large percentage of the trees are dying or diseased.
Some areas are devoid of any thing but dirt and stumps due to neglect.
There does not seem to be any reforesting or tree replacement plan. Eventually there will be no more eucalyptus trees, but rather a nice dirt hill.
The inclusion of Gum Grove Park in the proposed park plan is a great idea, but perhaps the city could initiate a stopgap plan to help Gum Grove.
Replanting some eucalyptus trees and a temporary drip irrigations system along with fence repair and a little security would be nice. The city replaces trees on Seal Beach Boulevard and Main Street. How about the historic Gum Grove?
Kent and Shelley Seitz
Seal Beach
Thank you and farewell
To the wonderful people of Seal Beach, I would like to thank all of you for your friendship and patronage, it has been an honor to serve you.
I can only hope that my influence has done something good for the community these past 33 years.
I will miss everyone here. In these last few weeks, I have had hundreds of people come through to give me their well wishes, it means so much to me. I would like to thank everybody, but, I would have to take up the whole paper.
I will be entering a new chapter in my life.
I will be moving to Pine Mountain Club, Los Padres National Forest. (One and a half hours away.) I will still be doing art and other things, so I will be back. I will miss you all, thank you for all of your loving support.I will be available on Facebook; Art on Glass by Belinda and I will stay in touch with future visits to the area and I will still be involved in the Arts and Crafts Fair, maybe even in it! Thank you, thank you, thank you … with love, belinda.
Belinda Ewing
Owner, Art On Glass
Main Street, Seal Beach
‘Sunny’ discovery
The Seal Beach Sun weekly newspaper really shines brightly on the city of Seal Beach, California.
Last week, very much to my amazement and delight, while surfing through my computer, I made a discovery that I wondered why I hadn’t ever seen it before. The unearthing began when I logged in on Google to do some research for a Kindle book I am writing when in a moment of curiosity, I decided to see what Google had to say about “Seal Beach.” I began seeing information about the city several years ago but this time I decided to see if there was anything specifically about the Seal Beach Sun newspaper.
My reason for this was because of the half page article the Sun staff had written about the “Military Veterans Plaque” and a bit about my interest and effort in designing the Plaque.
After I punched into “Google” I typed, “Seal Beach Sun.”
A page opened showing a whole list of items about the “Seal Beach News. I decided to open the first item. There before me was a whole lot of information, photos, news stories, advertisements, politics, etc. all in bright living color.
The first page showed photos of sports teams, “The Surfer of the Week,” a “Community Calendar,” and the “History and a Virtual Tour of the City.” Next, my eyes caught the “Seal Beach Blog,” the Blog written by Charles Kelly describing the best ways to play chess. Then there was the “Community Sound Off,” listing the personal comments of some of the readers of the Sun expressing real life concerns of local citizens. There is space there requesting readers to “sound off.” Following all this was the “Weekly Poll” where Editor Dennis Kaiser asks suitable questions and photos of passersby on Main Street. And some space on the page revealed “Recent Posts” and “Recent Comments.”
I was interested in scanning the “Archives” but not being a chess player, I was disappointed to only find “Chess With Charles.” I had hoped to find some stories or articles I had missed in previous issues. I believe I’ll send in my comments in the “Community Sound Off.” I enjoy the columns written by people I know like Seth Eaker, Esther Kenyon, and many others I won’t name. (I don’t want anyone thinking I am a “name-dropper.”) There is so much more I could write about this wonder-filled discovery but when you want to, go to your computer and open to “Seal Beach Sun” and see for yourself.
Bill Thomas
Rossmoor
The opinions expressed in Letters to the Editor are not necessarily those of the Sun. The Sun welcomes Letters to the Editor. Letters should be 300 words maximum. Letters should be e-mailed, signed by the author and include the author’s address and phone number (the latter two are for verification, not publication). The Sun reserves the right to accept, edit, or reject letters for any reason. Unless otherwise indicated, all letters sent to the Sun are understood to be intended for publication. E-mail letters to: dennis@sunnews.org.
