Re: Kaiser on a Roll, June 12, 2014
Dennis, just read your piece today and noted you are both a golfer (reluctantly) and former caddy from Long Island?
Where?
I grew up in Lake Success (Great Neck) and caddied/worked in the pro shop at our village country club – Lake Success – for many years until moving out here in 1978.
And to antagonize the elite locals further, we used to sneak on Fresh Meadows Country Club – our ‘winter membership’ until routinely chased off by irate (think Judge Schmeil from Caddy Shack) members who chased us down fairways in their Cadillac! (Who was really damaging the course at that point?)
Anyway, was pleased to hear of your roots. You should gather up some friends and do nine one evening while summer light is with us at Recreation Park’s -9.
It’s a little more merciful than Bixby’s undulating and almost freakish greens. Keep your faith in the game – golf will reward you eventually!
Ben Singer
Los Alamitos
Follow the money
Are you aware that what you pay bimonthly for Water, Sewer and Trash includes 10 percent of the salaries paid to the City Council, 20 percent of city manager’s salary, 20 percent of the city clerk’s salary, 25 percent of the director of finance/treasurer’s salary, 40 percent of the Finance Manager’s salary, 20 percent of one police corporal’s salary, 20 percent of the salary of the director of Community Development in addition to approximately 50 percent of the salaries of the 30 plus individuals who comprise the Public Works Department charged with the responsibility for water and sewer? Yes, the city has a balanced budget approved by my council member and yours, but the city manager is balancing by shifting more and more costs to our Water, Sewer and Trash bills.
This is not right.
Jack Dampman
Seal Beach
Coyote problem overblown
Really, comparing a family of coyotes living near Gum Grove Park to a band of armed men shooting innocent people is alarmist hyperbole. Coyotes, like most wildlife, avoid humans, and if everyone followed a few simple rules, they would not be a problem.
First, keep an eye on your pets! Never leave pets outdoors at night (in the case of cats, it’s best for the cats, the birds, the environment, and human health to keep them indoors at all times). If you let pets outdoors in a yard, ensure that it is properly fenced. Keeps dogs on a leash.
Second, never leave pet food or any food outdoors. Third, keep trash in a proper container with the lid closed. Some people may be unwilling to be responsible and follow these rules, and they may prefer to kill or remove the coyotes. If that is done, the residents of The Hill, Heron Pointe, and Island Village can count on an increase in rats, mice, and gophers on their property.
Judy Todd
Seal Beach
Shaping the future of community and wetlands
It’s an old story. During the past several years, Los Cerritos Wetlands have been placed at risk by one inappropriate development proposal after another. And now it just feels inevitable that every few years there will be put forth a proposal for some outsized development in or near our fragile local wetlands. “And why?” you may well ask.We think the main reason for these unending and exploit
ative development schemes is that the zoning for the area, SEADIP (the Southeast Area Development and Improvement Plan), is really old and out-of-date. So people ignore it. The latest development in the works is entitled “PCH & 2nd Project” and is a large retail project proposed for the corner of 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway. We provided some comments about this development to the City of Long Beach, which we hope will be considered.
Some people believe that the “PCH & 2nd Project” is consistent with the requirements of SEADIP, but that is not really the point.
We do not understand how you can do comprehensive master planning for the SEADIP area while at the same time large, game-changing development project(s) are moving forward concurrent with the master planning process. Despite our misgivings, however, we are glad that the updating of SEADIP has at least commenced.SEADIP updating is expected to be a long process (at least a few years) and will require lots of study, some in the form of an environmental impact report, and also input from the Coastal Commission. However the most important ingredient needed for planning of the SEADIP area to be successful is lots of input from the community, and that means you.
So make a plan to attend the next SEADIP Community Advisory Committee meeting, which will be on Wednesday, June 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the Golden Sails Hotel (6285 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach). This upcoming meeting is public, so I hope you will be able to join us. I’ll be there as an Advisory Committee member, representing the views of those who care about the preservation and protection of Los Cerritos Wetlands, and more. The topic for this meeting will be about urban design and mobility.
Hope to see you there!
Elizabeth Lambe Executive Director, Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust
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.
