Supervisor Moorlach termed out is a loss to OC
Your editorial discussing Supervisor John Moorlach and the “Super City” on Feb. 28, (“Kaiser on a Roll: Super city will likely die without Moorlach”) appropriately noted his support of the Super City concept, and what the end of his term will mean to the idea.
His being termed out of the supervisor’s office, however, represents a far greater loss than that, to the citizens of Orange County.
Moorlach is the only supervisor, probably the only elected official in California, with real understanding of government finance, and the future implications of current actions.
He has proved this over and over, most notably, probably, with his nationally recognized campaign to save the county from our 1994 bankruptcy, stemming from bad investments of an incompetent Assessor’s office. At the same time, he is the only Orange County supervisor with the courage and strength to confront the county’s powerful special interests, and effectively support the public’s interest.
His support of citizen interests extends to cleaning out corrupt and incompetent government officials, as was recently demonstrated in Orange County, when those who ignored or enabled Carlos Bustamante’s depredations were shown the door.
With any luck, Moorlach will run for governor, the California public will recognize these attributes, and Orange County’s loss will be the State’s gain.
Ken Brown
Rossmoor
Seal Beach Pier Fishing
Good news. Our Seal Beach College Park East Councilman (Mayor) Gary Miller appears to have changed his mind regarding public fishing on the Seal Beach Pier. (District 4 City Council Newsletter-College Park East / March 2013),
The change would be of sharing the pier, but with certain areas off limits to public fishing.
Those specific areas would be at the piers end (best fishing area).
Unobstructed sunset and Catalina views, as well as the new restaurant area would be off limits to public fishing.
But the above move would require a change to the cities prior Fish and Game (financial assist) agreement as well as the Coastal Commission stamp of approval.
Let the meetings begin …
Note: It’ll be interesting to see if an end of pier “family type restaurant” is the best choice for the new investor.
Mr. Mrs. Arnold R. Wilkins
Seal Beach
Going postal
I wish to share a situation that I have recently experienced at the Seal Beach Main Post Office on Westminster.
This Post Office is the most spacious one that we have in this city and its serving area is well equipped with two long and comfortable benches, each which can sit five people. These are particularly useful for those customers like myself who have to support themselves with a cane.
Until recently, one was able to take a number from a centrally located number dispenser and sit at one of those useful benches until one of the postal attendants called out their number.
In this way one would not have to worry about losing their place in line while they sat and waited for their number to be called.
This past Saturday when I went to this post office to mail a couple of small packages I found that the number dispenser had been removed. I asked several of the attendants the reason and none of them knew.
I figured that even if the machine had broken, since a new one only cost $32.49 that could not be the reason. Such queue management systems have shown their value many times over in many diverse establishments.
This is particularly true for the handicapped or those burdened with several bundles I myself had to lean on a cane for 15 minutes while gingerly holding two parcels before I could move forward to the attendant for service.
It would seem to me that Title III of the American with Disabilities Act and Section 501 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, which prohibits discrimination in programs and activities particularly conducted by the United States Postal Service should provide some well deserved guidance on this matter.
G. F. McVey
Seal Beach
City Council’s knee jerk reaction to vacation rentals
I am one of those horrible vacationers who has enjoyed renting a house in your town over the past few years. My family and I have loved the times we spent together and were so grateful for the homes we were able to gather in for birthdays, holidays, just spending time together, cooking meals together, etc.
I am so sad and disappointed to see the way the Seal Beach City Council has responded to a few loud residents and the council’s knee-jerk reactions to problems with a very few vacation rentals when most of the rentals have no problems at all.
So pull the plug on as many as you can.
What a diplomatic and creative thing to do.
Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Did you even consider the loss of revenue?
All of us awful vacation renters paid a bed tax that went directly into the Seal Beach coffers of 12 percent every single day.
That’s 12 percent of the daily rental rate—add it up and you’ll see how much revenue you will lose now. Not to mention all the local businesses we supported – the tally on that loss of revenue will never be known.
I sure hope the good people of Seal Beach will vote these loons off the council the next time they get the opportunity.
They show no skills or initiative in being able to resolve issues to accommodate the majority but instead placate the few noisy complainers.
Why not revoke the CUPs for the offenders at the properties that did have problems instead of ruining it for everyone else?
Did anyone ever consider that? It doesn’t seem so. Talk about one bad apple ruining the rest. I guess my family and I will be out hunting for another vacation venue—one where we aren’t made to feel like horrible, awful people for wanting to rent a few days in your lovely little town.
Brenda Larson
Unusual requirement
For whoever takes over the restaurant space at the end of the Seal Beach Pier, the city added a heretofore unheard of requirement that some community service must be laid out and budgeted for in the restaurant’s proposal … sponsoring a run, or something like that.
This had never been asked of any restaurant in Seal Beach. So no other establishment has this requirement, just whoever wants Ruby’s old location? It’s a restaurant, not a DUI.
Is this city hell-bent on not getting a tenant out there? Someone convince me otherwise …
Mike Nicoletti
Seal Beach
Retaliation versus rehabilitation: You decide
A youth commits a crime, gets locked up, is labeled with a black mark on their record, and is punished in a way the present court system considers just.
Does jailing this youth for their poor decisions, which are often associated with that minor’s living environment and neighborhood, create a catalyst for positive change? Conversely, does this treatment further embitter them and, in turn, encourage this individual to repeat their cycle of criminal offenses?
Alternatively, could we as a society help to create and foster a productive and positive plan for this juvenile so as to help them break this vicious cycle? Father Gregory Boyle from Homeboy Industries has been spearheading the movement away from the retaliatory efforts toward a more humane alternative approach under the premise of “jobs, not jails.”
Efforts, such as providing education and jobs, have shown significant success in addressing some of the factors that contribute to and promote juvenile delinquency and recidivism.
A question we could ask is, “Should we continue to support this costly yet ineffective punitive juvenile justice system, or could we address the underlying factors in a less costly but more effective way instead?” The future of our youth is at stake. Their fate is in your hands. Retaliation versus Rehabilitation: You Decide!
Derek Baldridge, Dahiana Guadarrama, Tiease Lee, Wesley Norvell, and Sara Tousi
California State University, Long Beach masters of social work students
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