Jewel in the rough
The old Water Department land in Seal Beach would have made one of the most scenic vistas or mesas in the area with its sloped land.
It would have been a jewel in the rough, and all you had to do was leave it alone.
But here we are.
The City of Seal Beach has no vision but to try to make a buck off the land-grab and now it seems the state and the California Coastal Commission has no vision but to help Seal Beach make a buck.
So let’s say goodbye to the vistas and the mesas and say Hi! to greed and incompetence.
Bill Napier
Long Beach
Editor’s note: The land is not owned by the city; Bay City Partners LLC owns the property at First Street and Ocean Avenue.
Private property rights are important
Considering the controversy about building on the old water and power property by the present owners.
First I would ask all those who so vehemently opposed any building on the vacant property to remember how important private property rights were to the framers of our national Constitution, and also, how important it was to the framers of California’s Constitution.
Secondly, why in the world would anyone who bought property across the street from a vacant lot one block from the beach expect the land to remain vacant?
I mean “short-sighted?”
I ask all those Nimbys to consider what would you think of your representatives if you and a friend owned that property and you had to give up 70 percent of your property to your local politicians to improve your property?
You would scream like crazy, wouldn’t you?
And, deservedly so!
How things have changed.
Now our politicians from the president to City Council members think it’s all right to ignore the federal and state constitutions.
In the old days a shake-down used to be called blackmail, now we call it “mitigation.”
Taking private property without paying market value is theft, no matter how you couch it in feel-good terms.
By the by, market value is the property’s best and highest use, not what a bureaucrats says it is.
Dwayne Smith
Seal Beach
Remember drought when planning the park
As the development planning moves along, there should be a requirement that all planting requires zero or absolute minimum of irrigation.
Don’t let the developers drop a water guzzling park in our lap.
As the medians on PCH, Electric Avenue and Seal Beach Boulevard are covered with water gobbling grass and plants and sometimes I notice sprinklers pouring water into the streets.
They should be redone to save water.
The city wants us to reduce water usage.
It should do the same on all past and future projects.
Alan Johnson
Seal Beach
Cargo ships and health questioned
This is in response to the letter concerning pollution from cargo ships.
Here is a one of several disturbing facts about cargo ships and their threat to human health as found on Wikipedia under environment impact of shipping.
“Cruise ships, large tankers, and bulk cargo carriers use a huge amount of ballast water, which is often taken on in the coastal waters in one region after ships discharge waste water or unload cargo, and discharged at the next port of call, wherever more cargo is loaded.”
“Ballast water discharge typically contains a variety of biological materials, including plants, animals, viruses, and bacteria.”
“These materials often include non-native, nuisance, invasive, exotic species that can cause extensive ecological and economic damage to aquatic ecosystems along with serious human health problems.”
Cargo boats are fumigated before they are unloaded, however, the boats off our shore have not got to the unloading dock yet.
Ron Howlett
Seal Beach
St. Mary was great for St. Patrick’s Day
Celebrating St. Patrick Day for an afternoon Irish Tea Party at St. Mary in Long Beach was fantastic.
Mostly donned with elegant green attire, everyone enjoyed socializing.
The colorful deco enhanced the festive mood. Linda Rahn, dynamic program coordinator, did an excellent job.
The caterer served varieties of delicious finger sandwiches and there was constant pouring of tea by the friendly waitresses.
Kit Katz, chairman of the Wellness Center, was among the guests.
As a member, I find attending the series of seminars broaden my horizon in the field of medicine and nutrition.
Seasoned guest speakers with their expertise were very informative and educational.
What a wonderful way to celebrate St. Patrick Day at St. Mary with friends and colleagues where continuous support of the community is manifested.
Lisa A. Dickson
Seal Beach
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