Mailbag - July 29, 2001

Bell’s worth the find on any page in the paper

Nevermind Joe Bell’s mixed feeling about his new venue on Page 1 (“A

different take on the world,” July 19). So long as he continues to

stimulate, provoke and amuse us once a week, I’ll track him down even if

you buried him among the real estate ads.

Two comments in his column caught my eye: his observation that the

French separate politics and morality, whereas we combine them; and the

quip about finding God and the Republican Party.

The latter have been joined at the hip since the Moral Majority

evolved (if that’s the right word). The result: an arranged marriage of

politics and morality, consummated in the Bush White House.

DICK LEWIS

Balboa Island

Reporter an invaluable asset to the Pilot

I have been a regular reader of the Daily Pilot and the Los Angeles

Times for the 12 years I have been living in Newport Beach.

Though my business is in North Orange County, I like to keep up with

what is going on in my adopted hometown.

To that point, I would like to acknowledge the fine writing skills of

Young Chang. She has a great ability with local human interest stories

and communicates in a natural, flowing style. Her articles are always

engaging and a pleasure to read. Chang has been a great addition to the

Daily Pilot staff.

RALPH HAWKINS

Newport Beach

Newport Beach City Council needs to step up its efforts

Who is in charge at Newport Beach City Council? We are told that the

best way to get to the facts is to follow the money trail or connect the

dots. I would like to connect some dots, based on some recent articles in

the newspapers.

We read that the Orange County Grand Jury has to “reproach” the city

of Newport Beach for failures to enforce or police its own laws or

ordinances. One of our main concerns has always been the quality of water

in our bay, so we find it very necessary to ask some questions.

* On June 28, we read that two new beaches are closed. This is added

to four others still closed. One beach closed is the “Harbor Patrol

Beach,” almost at the ocean. Isn’t that a surprise. Note: Recently I took

my grown daughter -- who lives at Lake Tahoe -- over to that beach for a

nice swim. As a teenager, she swam there all the time. She read the sign

and said, “Dad, I can’t swim here. It says high bacteria levels. It would

be dangerous. I could get sick, couldn’t I?” Well, what could a father

say?

* On July 13, we read that on April 25, the Orange County Grand Jury

released a report titled “Sewage Spills -- Beach Closures -- Troubles in

Paradise.” They were criticizing our city for five years of failures to

enforce our own laws and ordinances passed in 1996. Question: Why did it

take almost three months for this article to make the front pages of our

local papers?

* A question for the members of the Newport Beach City Council, those

past and present. Why do some of you spend as much as $60,000 to get

elected, attend meetings, take everyone’s time to pass laws and

ordinances, and not follow up to see that they are enforced?

To me, it seems like a terrible reflection on you and our fine city to

have the Orange County Grand Jury point this out to us. Is the Newport

Beach City Council in charge or not? If the seven City Council members

are not in charge, please tell us who is. We need to know.

Forgive me for asking questions this way, but we are told questions

are not allowed at council meetings. One thing is for sure, directing

Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff “to prepare a report in 120 days” is a

very good move. He does a very good job and gets things done.

Without what appears to be five years of City Council failures to

properly follow up on this issue, we would not have to face the

embarrassment to our city from the Orange County Grand Jury, would we?

GEORGE G. GRUPE III

Balboa Island