Mailbag: There are plenty of alternatives to driving
I’m sorry to read about Cindy Frazier’s traffic ticket, “From Canyon to Cove: Steered wrong by the Greeter statue,” Jan. 27.
May I suggest walking in the future? According to Google Maps, it’s only 18 minutes of walking from downtown to Brooks Street. I live on Thalia, also about 18 minutes to downtown, and I do the round-trip several times a day.
I’m pleased to say I’m too poor to own a car, with the result being I walk at least 10 miles daily all over town doing my errands. I have been shouted at by a cop for “jaywalking” while crossing Forest Avenue mid-block, but apart from that, it’s a peaceful life. No worries about parking, or gas or maintenance expenses.
I ride a bike and take the excellent OCTA buses when I go out of town at the laughably low senior fare of $1.25 to ride all day. I take the train to L.A. or San Diego. I don’t feel a bit deprived, and my health is probably superior to anyone at my age of 62, or younger, for that matter.
There’s a lot to be said for poverty. I recommend it.
Charles Alban
Laguna Beach
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Nyes Place also a dangerous spot
Re. “Community Commentary: Skyline is dangerous for boarders,” Jan. 20:
I write to tell you that there is a second “skateboarding interstate” in Laguna Beach as of the past few weeks: Nyes Place, complete with cameras and adults supervising and kids careening around curves and among traffic and all the dangers you describe in this letter.
I had thought to write something similar to your comments, but I fought the good fight for months to try to control the automobile speeding on Nyes Place a year ago — with no result. So I guess I have become jaundiced. Our new “interstates” may have come about because the two streets were left off the list the city released recently as streets too dangerous for skateboarding. Go figure.
Maxine Grefe
Laguna Beach
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Diversity needed with religion column
It seems the Coastline Pilot now has a regular column addressing religion (Unveiled: A Muslim Girl in O.C.). The Forum page has featured a columnist writing about Islam for a number of weeks now.
I look forward to the submissions and articles from the diverse religious groups in southern Orange County.
When can we expect to hear from Catholics, Jews, Baptists, Pagans, Buddhists and others who feel obliged to explain their beliefs and practices?
Pat Wilson
Laguna Beach
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‘Winner steals all’ voting system is flawed
The political system of voting called “winner takes all’ is actually a system primarily designed to foster the two-party system and to silence the voices of smaller political parties. A more accurate name for “winner takes all” would be “winner steals all.”
A current example is the Republican primary in Florida. Florida is a winner-steals-all state, meaning that whomever of the current four Republican candidates gets the largest vote will get all of the Republican delegates, thereby stealing all the votes cast for the other three candidates.
All the voters who worked and spent money and time to support their choice essentially wasted their time. The only fair system for both voters and candidates is that every candidate receives a portion of the delegates in accordance with the number of votes they receive.
The winner steals all system also skews the voting process in many other ways. For example, one of the main subtle adverse impacts is that many Florida voters, who at this point may prefer to vote for Rick Santorum or Ron Paul, may end up voting for their second choice of Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney just because they do not want to see their vote wasted on someone who is not likely to win the majority.
Every voter in every winner-steals-all state should be enraged that they have been sucker-punched by politicians and demand their representatives do away with these systems right now and replace it with proportional voting so that delegation/candidate selection honestly and accurately reflects the voices and real choices of all the voters.
Dave Connell
Laguna Beach
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DUIs are costly in more ways than one
It’s amazing to me that any candidate for office (including Kelly Boyd) would have a campaign party at the Marine Room or any other bar and send followers out into the streets of Laguna where the Laguna Beach Police Department is notorious for giving DUI tickets that can cost $30,000 or more and literally wreck people’s lives.
Of course, people drink at most campaign events, so my wondering may be ridiculous, but a DUI ticket can mean traffic school, counseling, drug testing, and three month’s of house arrest plus probation and attorney fees, and you may not drive for as long as 18 months.
If you should happen to get three DUI tickets, the new law says you will lose your license for 10 years. I have always wondered how much the city gets from each DUI ticket.
Roger Carter
Laguna Beach