Mailbag: ‘Snowden’ reminded me of being a victim of hacking

Recently, the movie “Snowden” came out in theaters, and I must say the topic hits pretty close to home, considering what I experienced in November with my personal digital footprint being hacked.

I filed police reports, and to protect myself from further privacy invasions, I deleted my social media profile. Is that an extreme? I didn’t think so, given what occurred.

I recommend every citizen watch the movie and afterward please give some thought to where we are headed as a society. I agree with Snowden’s motivation that our rights are important to stand up for and protect.

Over the last several years I have been attending City Council meetings, and I can confidently state that I’m quite concerned with our current council majority. I am asking my neighbors to pay close attention.

In past council meetings, you may have seen me discussing good governance, transparency, rule of law, accountability, equality and inclusivity, effectiveness and efficiency, participation, consensus and responsiveness.

To lay a solid foundation for good governance begins with dissecting the truth.

Additionally, I encourage my neighbors to vote yes on measure Y and yes on AA and to vote for Councilwoman Sandra Genis for reelection and candidates Jay Humphrey and John Stephens for City Council in 2016.

I believe a change in the council majority is what is needed for good governance to return to Costa Mesa.

Laurene Keane

Costa Mesa

Great Park overruns

Yes, let’s go ahead and compare New York’s Central Park with our Great Park. They didn’t have the benefit of wasting 200 million bucks.

Gary Simpson

Laguna Woods

That L.L. Bean look

So where do urban movers and shakers go on the weekend?

Someplace down home. Someplace human-sized. Someplace casual, natural and handmade. Someplace that is the opposite of the glitzy downtown where they work 12 hours a day. Elegant simplicity.

Thus is born “weekend chic.” You see it all over the country. Outside New York, it’s the Hamptons. Outside Boston it’s Kennebunkport, Maine, or Nantucket, Mass. Outside San Francisco, it’s Mill Valley, Bolinas and Carmel — beautiful, walkable, classic villages that seem lost in time, and thus are perfect places to relax, recreate and reconnect with your inner-hero.

Charming, wooden, painted, stucco, with flowers and trees and sidewalks in a homey old, small-town style that just makes you want to curl up in a bay window with a glass of wine and a copy of “Walden Pond” and watch the world go by.

But this charming, small-town, natural, architecturally sophisticated look doesn’t seem to happen by itself. Carmel and Nantucket have design regulations that help maintain that classic, casual “weekend chic” look that everyone loves.

Newport Beach loves charm and good taste in cars and clothes. Is it time to develop a “Newport look” in architecture, an “upscale beach chic”? Something natural yet elegant and classic, sunny and free. Perfect for the O.C. weekend. Or any day.

Steve Davidson

Newport Beach