Seal Beach Christmas Parade – a reminisce
Some Christmas parades you remember more than others. In about 1998, a member of the Seal Beach Police Department Volunteers (RSVP) acquired a vintage, mini, unique (surely there could only be one of those), three-wheel, no roof, cousin to a “jinrickshaw,” “pedicab,” or whatever it was.
Sight unseen, the volunteer who weighed the least and would do it—could agree to pedal this decorated rickety rickshaw ahead of the 35 or so marching volunteers, following Chief Michael Sellers’ vehicle. We were proud to be on his team.
I park my car near Third and Central early to ride “Rick-Rick” to the parade start east of the pier.
It turns out Rick is something like an overgrown, extended kiddie tricycle with a boxed passenger seat over the two back wheels, occupied by a Christmas teddy. Wobbly. Hard to steer due to the front wheel listing slightly to the left.
First off, I find Rick has no brakes.
About two blocks into the trip, something vital falls off, so I walk Rick back to his house, thinking that’s the end of it.
But no!—the able volunteer fixes Rick with “rubber bands and chewing gum” and I start out again.
The parade goes well, except that by the end the overcast is actually becoming mist.
As Santa concludes the parade, everyone flees.
Teddy goes back to its owner.
I pedal the six blocks west to Third Street. Oops!
It seems Third does not come through to the street I’m on. I keep going, thinking every turn will take me there.
Every direction is becoming darker, and more desolate as the night draws on.
It’s like a merry-go-round, but nothing moving except this little old lady in parade garb, pedaling this rickety rickshaw into the now heavy mist. Doesn’t matter what she looks like, as by now there is nobody around to see.
“No need of the ever-ready police volunteers’ radio in this position of the Christmas parade.” (Cell phone? What cell phone?)
Now if you think Seal Beach isn’t all that big in any direction, that’s because you’re not riding Rick.
In the blackness, way beyond my destination, I finally come across a man.
Explaining is humiliating but hilarious. It’s too dark to see his reaction, but his directions take me back through the maze in the light drizzle.
I’m more than happy to relinquish this wobbly little vintage number back to its owner—who by now has gone to bed.
So for Rick, it’s nighty-night in the elements.
Doris Bryce V-35
Seal Beach
Disappointed by trapping
I am very disappointed with the mayor and her council with the exception of Councilman Michael Levitt.
We had experts in the field of wildlife presenting critical facts along with Seal Beach residents and our neighboring residents speaking.
The decision to keep trapping was the worst decision the council could have made. And, the residents of Seal Beach will have dire consequences to deal with. What were you thinking? And to waste our tax dollars on top of it.
Lorraine Warrabi
Seal Beach
How much does it cost to remove coyotes?
When my good friend and neighbor, Mike Varipapa, asked if I was interested in serving on the Seal Beach Coyote Committee, I was thankful for the opportunity to help my local community.
As a biology and animal behavior professor, I have heard, read and participated in many discussions about coyotes in urban ecosystems. Opinions from these debates have ranged from “let’s kill them all” to “they were here first, move if you don’t like it” and everything in between.
One point I rarely hear mentioned, however, is the cost of coyote removal programs.
When the Seal Beach Coyote Committee, despite my opposition, decided to trap and kill I voiced the question, “how much is this going to cost?” Much to my surprise I was told that we would worry about cost at a later time because cost was not an issue.
Shocked and somewhat disappointed, I decided to investigate the cost of trapping and killing coyotes on my own.
Reviewing newspaper articles and City Council meeting minutes, I calculated that Southern California cities have captured and killed 40 coyotes at a total cost of $60,000. That works out to be an average of $1,991 per coyote.
This initial high price tag, however, is only part of the story.
As an important keystone species in our urban landscapes, coyotes are significant predators that prey upon rabbits, rats, mice, feral cats, skunks, raccoons and other pests.
These pests, if left uncontrolled, damage landscapes, destroy agriculture and personal gardens, destabilize foundations through their burrowing behavior, increase the spread of diseases, and wreck businesses (particularly restaurants) for the negative images people associate with them.
Without coyotes, cities and citizens would have to increase their spending on pest control.
Pest control methods range, from cost efficient to expensive, to the use of broad scale poisons, electrocution, kill and live traps, and complete “building exclusions.”
The cost of these services range from about $50,000 to potentially millions of dollars for a medium sized Southern California city.
When one considers that a single coyote can eat 300 rabbits or 1,900 rodents in a year, the average cost to replace “rodent control” performed by the lost coyote is approximately $1,487 per coyote.
Thus, removing a coyote and spending the money to trap the pests it would eat costs an average of $3,018 per coyote per year.
If the current rate of trapping in Seal Beach continues, the city stands to spend $198,940 to trap and kill coyotes.
One might argue that if a child is attacked or a pet is killed by a coyote, $198,940 per year is well worth the cost for the protection and piece of mind. It is difficult to argue against that logic.
Fear is a powerful weapon against logic.
Keep in mind, though, you and your pets are much more likely to be injured or killed in a domestic dog attack than by a coyote. Also, by removing the coyotes, the most economical method of rodent control will be the use of lethal toxic baits. These toxins can enter the food chain and pollute our waterways and result in hundreds of children becoming sick each year.
Also, over 4,000 pets become sick or die as a result of these widely used toxins.
Generalized coyote removal program do not work. They are expensive, cause more harm than good, and the end result is that those few coyotes we trap quickly get replaced by the next generation.
In fact, the only groups that benefits from coyote trapping are coyote trapping companies.
A management program that involves education, research, hazing, and the removal of coyote attractants will be much less expensive and more effective.
We need to empower the citizens of Seal Beach with a coyote education program so that our citizens are fearless of coyotes and coyotes are fearful of humans.
Spending only $10,000 a year or so on education could save the city $189,000!
Just think of the great things we could do in Seal Beach with the extra money. We could enhance our parks and recreation programs, restoring wetlands, sprucing up that awesome fishing spot near First Street and Pacific Coast Highway, or reopening the Bay Theatre.
Seal Beach is a wonderful place to live. We have an incredible city with responsible city leaders and kind, intelligent citizens.
We have access to enjoy nature and wildlife that is absent throughout much of Southern California.
I hope that Seal Beach can move forward with an education and research plan that will help foster a coexistence between humans, coyotes, as well as other wildlife in our area.
Tim K. Revell, Ph.D.,
Seal Beach
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