I corresponded with you last year, regarding my disappointment with the quality of beach clean-up by the City.
You were good enough to publish my email and photos in this regard.
Your efforts in calling attention to this important issue seem to have been very effective.
This year I have nothing but kudos for Grant Tavasci and his team at the Public Works Maintenance Yard. They are doing an outstanding job, resulting in sparkling, pristine beach conditions.
Hope you find a couple of inches in the paper for this well-deserved shout-out.
Best!
Regards,
Ken Constable
Seal Beach
She loves the shuttle
I love, love, love Circuit shuttle!
It has changed my life! I am a senior citizen. I have lived in Old Town, Seal Beach for over 45 years. I do not drive at night and have difficulty parking. Circuit has given me freedom. I now meet friends almost every weekend at our local establishments; Hennessy’s, The Abbey, Finbar’s and the Hangout.
Now my friends (who also use Circuit) and I give business to our local merchants often.
I totally agree with District One Council Member Joe Kalmick that Circuit needs more publicity.
How did I find out about Circuit? I was having dinner at the Abbey with friends on a Friday evening. I was leaving to walk home before it got dark. There in front of the Abbey was a Circuit electric car! I asked the driver to tell me about Circuit. He did. He said I can hail a Circuit. I jumped in, met some new neighbors who were in the car already … safely returned home.
Circuit is a blessing for seniors!
I do suggest someone be available at city hall to help seniors download the app. A dear friend helped me. After you have the app … it’s simple to get a ride!
I LOVE CIRCUIT!
Marcha E. Katz
Seal Beach
Regarding WAGS and Seal Beach Animal Control
In July of 2023, the City of Seal Beach signed a two-year contract with the Westminster Adoption Group and Services (WAGS) for animal sheltering services. The Seal Beach Police Department (SBPD) Animal Control (SBAC) division provides animal control services. WAGS is being paid $72,000 annually by the City of Seal Beach. The contract stipulates that “WAGS shall accept all animals brought in by Seal Beach Animal Control Officers and citizens on behalf of the City of Seal Beach. This includes live strays, deceased animals for disposal, and owner-releases for adoption or euthanasia.”
Prior to this contract, Seal Beach residents who found stray cats or dogs could bring them to the Seal Beach Animal Care Center (SBACC) located at 1700 Adolfo Lopez Drive in Seal Beach. Commencing in July of 2023, the staff at SBACC was instructed to refer all Seal Beach residents with stray cats or dogs either directly to WAGS or to SBAC at the Police Department. Many Seal Beach residents were unhappy about this new arrangement, and it never worked very smoothly. It has now reached the point where WAGS refuses to take cats brought to them either by SBAC or by Seal Beach residents and tells them to just return them to where they were found. They regard cats found outdoors as “community cats” and do not distinguish between feral cats who have never had any human contact and domesticated cats who have been abandoned or accidentally escaped from their homes.
We understand WAGS is well over capacity, as many city shelters currently are, and we have reached out to them several times, offering to help with the overflow of cats and kittens, but the offer hasn’t been accepted. They say they will take only injured cats or kittens under eight weeks of age and lately are also turning the kittens away. The SBACC has started to take kittens and some cats that were turned away by WAGS when we have space.
A recent incident involved two cats found at the McGaugh School in Seal Beach. They were refused by WAGS, and SBAC was told to just return them to the school parking lot where they were found. They did so, and the cats then got into the engine and wheel well of a car that was in the lot. The car owner called SBACC, not WAGS, asking for help. Unfortunately, we were unable to help and do not know what happened to these two cats.
Another recent incident involved a very friendly two-month-old kitten found in a Seal Beach park where coyotes are frequently seen. The finder was instructed by SBACC staff to take the kitten to WAGS but was turned away, so the finder brought him back to SBACC, and we took him in.
The employees and volunteers at SBACC feel that the community should be aware that WAGS is not fulfilling its contract with the City of Seal Beach and that Seal Beach residents are not getting the services that they are paying for. Lost, domesticated cats will not be reunited with their owners if WAGS refuses to take them in and scan them for microchips. Since WAGS is unable to accommodate Seal Beach stray cats, we think Seal Beach needs to develop other options for these vulnerable animals.
Seal Beach Animal Care Center Board of Directors
Gail Bowers
Murlyn Burkes
Christine Miller
Paula Fox
Willie Riddle
