Mailbag: Read the signs before feeding ducks in Orange County parks

The front-page picture featuring ducks in the Daily Pilot should have included information that ducks shouldn’t be fed “people” food. It’s damaging to their diet, discourages them from getting their own food, and the leftovers cause pollution in the ponds and lakes. Signs are posted in most parks that say “Do Not Feed Wildlife.”

Jean Toh
Newport Beach

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Foley is only candidate focused on COVID and climate

There were two things that stood out as I reviewed the qualifications of each candidate in Daily Pilot reporter Sara Cardine’s look at “5 candidates for O.C. Supervisor blaze campaign trails before special election.” The first is how serious the candidate is about protecting citizens from COVID-19 and the second is, who is doing anything about climate change? The only candidate that is doing both is Katrina Foley.

On COVID-19, Foley has overseen a mask-wearing rule in Costa Mesa, with those not wearing masks punishable by fines. The only other city in Orange County that has a similar rule is Irvine. Just think how many lives would have been saved if all the other cities had the courage to follow science to protect its citizens.

On climate change, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana are the only cities in Orange County that have endorsed a carbon fee and dividend approach — an approach that has the best chance of reducing global warming. Finally, Katrina Foley is the only candidate in the Orange County Voter Information Guide that has stated she will combat the climate crisis.

The most important issues facing our county, state, country and world are addressed by only one candidate — Katrina Foley.

Philip Chipman
Costa Mesa

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How to choose the right candidate for you

Are you wondering who to vote for for Orange County Supervisor on March 9? If so, I have devised a little activity to help you make up your mind. There are five candidates, which makes this race a little complicated.

I have known for months who I am voting for, but if you don’t, I would recommend making five columns, one for each candidate. Start by listing all the positive things that the candidate has done for the community. Then list the negatives, subtracting those from the positives. Some of these candidates have been around awhile, so that should give you more information. If you end up with a zero, that’s not too good. But a zero would always trump a negative score.

If I followed these instructions, I would probably end up with at least one zero, and maybe even one negative score. This activity I conducted in my head if not on paper, gave me the candidate, Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley.

I had heard a lot about Katrina’s accomplishments but did not realize how many there were until I sat down to write about her. Costa Mesa residents and fans in Newport Beach sure like her. They are coming out in large numbers to work for her campaign. When I sat down to write a full article on her, I could not list all of her accomplishments as there were too many to note. Google Katrina Foley if you don’t believe me.

As for the other candidates, I do not know much about Fountain Valley Mayor Michael Vo, but I like his platform. He believes that more should have been done to fight COVID-19 in the county.

I sure agree with him there. State Sen. John Moorlach has been around a long time and recently he helped one of our favorite local activists by taking a voter rights’ issue to the state legislature and getting it passed in honor of her deceased father. That was a very impressive thing for him to do. Nonetheless, I just can’t be lured away from my enthusiasm for Foley’s candidacy because of her many accomplishments for the community and for the amazing positive energy that her followers are projecting.

Lynn Lorenz
Newport Beach

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Attack against Foley just shows GOP desperation

With less than three weeks until the special election for the Second District Orange County Board of Supervisors, I received my first hit piece in the mail against Democrat Katrina Foley. It was sent by those “wonderful folks” at the supposedly Libertarian-leaning Atlas PAC, the same Newport Beach-based outfit that launched a smear campaign in 2012 against Democrat Jill Hardy when she ran for reelection to the Huntington Beach City Council.

Hardy easily prevailed back then, and, when told of the Atlas attack, Foley shrugged. The GOP is getting desperate, and its only hope to salvage the election that features a trio of current and former officials splitting the Republican vote is to go negative in an all-out assault against the only Democrat in the race. The Atlas PAC mailer did not endorse anyone running but implied that there is a better choice than Foley. There isn’t.

Tim Geddes
Huntington Beach

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What’s the fun in the latest bikes?

I live next to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach and observe a lot of people walking, jogging, skateboarding and biking. As of late, however, I’ve been noticing a change in the biking crowd. Rather than pedaling and providing the forward motion for the person on the bike and the bike itself, I see the bike moving sans any effort for the rider because of some kind of motor. When I take the half-mile walk down Superior Avenue to the beach I am overwhelmed by the number of riders on these self-moving bikes ranging in age from about 10 or 11 years old to late teens. Back in the day when bikes were bikes and kids were kids, we would race each other from points A to B producing a winner by shear strength, stamina and a desire to beat the next guy. If that were to take place in today’s world, a winner would be determined by who could press the go button fastest and who had the longest charge on their battery. I did a cursory check on line and found that these electric two-wheel wonders start around $1,000, or 10 times the amount I spent on my first car which was a ’51 ford. Things really do change, and I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at this new item, but it really isn’t the same when an old-fashioned proven method of enjoying one’s youth would rely solely on your desire to get from one place to another with only the strength in your legs providing the means to get there. And if for some reason the high-tech bike would fail, one only needs to reach into one’s pocket, pull out the cellphone and call Mom.

Bill Spitalnick
Newport Beach

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