Mailbag: An open letter to an Orange County restaurant

Regarding a restaurant’s email declaring its plans to reopen outside dining, citing “freedom of choice”:

Is it OK if I smoke amid the people there? Or, maybe yell “fire!” just for the fun of it?

Freedom of choice and all that.

Your current application of freedom of choice against COVID-19 restrictions alarms me. It is specifically contrary to the efforts of the state of California to keep us alive and not in the hospital. I believe restaurants are the highest locations of contagion, right up there with places of worship.

I was alarmed enough when your outside dining seemed full on Thanksgiving as my expectation was that it would be at reduced capacity — relative to the guidelines in place at the time. Seems to me that the compliance you offer shouldn’t mean with just some of the guidelines.

The reason previous restrictions didn’t have the desired effect is because of the scofflaws — or rather, those who believe that freedom of choice means they can put others at risk.

I love your restaurant and all its servers, managers and owners. I hate that the restrictions are costing everyone so dearly.

Still, if we could just do this for three weeks, maybe we could get the shrinking hospital capacity under control. And maybe we could have less severe restrictions until 100 million of us are vaccinated.

I am frustrated, like you. I lean in the direction of what’s good for the country, and it’s beyond understanding when I see maskless people gathering, from home-size events to hundreds at the White House.

You are more inclined to look at what’s good for your cohort. I understand us both.

Wishing you the best of all possible outcomes,

Liz Swiertz Newman
Corona del Mar

Coronavirus concerns

This is serious, folks. The disease is real. Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths are at an all time high nationally and in California. If you have been lucky enough not to have caught the coronavirus up until now, this is the time to buckle down and redouble and triple your efforts to follow the health guidelines set down by the state and county health departments.

Stay home unless you need to be out because you are an essential worker, need supplies or are exercising. Scrupulously wear a mask at all times in public and physically distance as much as you can. Wash your hands regularly. Only socialize with members of your own household and limit the size of your gatherings with other people.

If you are exposed to someone with the coronavirus or you have symptoms, get tested so you can avoid spreading it to others. If you are sick, isolate in your home. When you are eligible to receive the vaccine, get one.

And no, no one can force you to do these things. Do it to protect yourself and your family, friends, colleagues, co-workers, neighbors and those essential workers who are leaving their homes every day to keep our economy going by providing essential goods and services. We all can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s not break down before we can all bask in that light.

Steven Rosansky
Former mayor, Newport Beach

We’ve heard all their names before and many of us are weary of their questionably feigned resistance to statewide stay-at-home orders, this time to contain the coronavirus from overloading the emergency rooms throughout the state.

Even though the coronavirus cased in Orange County just topped 100,000 and ICU rooms are reaching capacity, the “resistance group” consisting of familiar names we have all heard before in similar contexts, are out there protesting the latest orders, this time in Newport Beach rather than Huntington Beach.

Where is this group’s concern for the thousands of victims who have died in Orange County, California, and finally, the United States? I don’t recall any of them ever referring to the overwhelming loss of lives.

I do have an idea though, of what would be a better use of their time, at least for the supervisors involved. Perhaps they could focus their energy on helping small businesses better adapt to COVID-19 protocols, or as the Voice of OC pointed out recently, “publicly release the spending details about the vast majority of federal coronavirus relief aid they received in April.” It seems that Supervisor Lisa Bartlett is the only one yet to do so.

As for the two Newport Beach council members involved in Sunday’s protest, I would give the same type of advice. Your resistance might be worth some political capital now, you might be momentarily admired by some misguided souls, but in the end, history will not look back upon you kindly.

Lynn Lorenz
Newport Beach

Newport Beach Councilmen Kevin Muldoon and Noah Blom participated in a protest against COVID-19 restrictions as cases explode and overwhelm hospitals. I attended a virtual meeting this week discussing the planned protocols for allocating scarce medical resources, the most horrifying conversation of my medical career.

If cases continue to climb, California will declare a state of medical emergency and hospitals will begin to triage who receives care. The more people blindly follow the likes of Muldoon and Blom, the more likely we will be to ration care. Choose wisely.

Susan Skinner, MD
Newport Beach

Showing shades of blue

A warped sense of reality has been in the O.C. for longer than I’ve been alive. The John Birch Society, the politics of Walter Knott, of berry fame, the disgrace of erstwhile county sheriff and convicted felon Mike Corona, former president Richard Nixon, whose “Western White House” was a San Clemente mansion; and the Newport Beach residence of movie cowboy John Wayne each provide insight into the the long and too often lauded history of Orange County, some of which still lingers.

Nevertheless, with the reelection of Katie Porter to congress and the one-term service in congress of representatives Harley Rouda and Gil Cisneros, the O.C. has developed and is continuing to develop a purple haze.

Ben Miles
Huntington Beach

Release could put community at risk

Recently, Superior Court Judge Peter J. Wilson ordered a 50% reduction of the population in Orange County jails to protect incarcerated people from spread of the coronavirus. If the order stands, it could mean the release of more than 1,800 inmates.

According to the American Civil Liberty Union’s Daisy Ramirez, “This order recognizes that we must not forget the humanity of incarcerated people and they should not be put in mortal danger.”

Both Judge Wilson and the ACLU should consider that although prisoners do not have full constitutional rights, they are protected by the 8th Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment and that testing “positive” should not lead to “panic” with a 98% survival rate.

Perhaps, both Wilson and Ramirez need to ask the question, “Is having flu-like symptoms more severe than the crime committed?”

As Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes commented, “This order puts our community at substantial risk and does not take into account the impact on the victims of these crimes.”

ACLU President Susan Herman stated that the organization’s founders believe that everyone should have a right to liberty and justice.

This should include the parents of the Saldana family who were innocently killed while leaving their three children orphaned in a Newport Beach accident on Dec. 9. Suspect Grace Coleman’s first offence in August in Laguna Beach for a DUI was still pending investigation by the Orange County district attorney’s office at the time of her alleged second offense.

Will Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve, release Coleman, along with 1,799 potentially dangerous criminals, because we must protect those rights who have taken the rights of another person?

Or shall the rights of convicted murderers, rapists and felons be restricted if they are outweighed by the interests of society?

We should collectively support our sheriff, police and first responders but most of all support the call for common sense.

Peggy V. Palmer
Newport Beach

Praising H.B.’s choice on power

I am writing to offer a brief message of thanks to the Huntington Beach City Council for their vote supporting Community Choice Energy and becoming one of the Orange County Joint Powers Authority’s founding members.

Since first being considered by our City Council back in 2017, Community Choice Energy has been reviewed and debated before three different councils and 10 different council members. Each time a matter related to Community Choice Energy has been put up for a vote at a council meeting, it had been approved.

Last week’s Huntington Beach City Council’s vote in favor of moving forward with Community Choice Energy is not some random action taken on a whim but rather the culmination of a lengthy review and consideration process.

And to the naysayers, of which there are many, I ask only that you have an open mind. With 23 different operational CCE agencies across the state providing electricity for some 11 million Californians in 180 different California cities, towns and counties, the least we should do is give Community Choice Energy a chance.

Steve Shepherd
Huntington Beach

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