Mailbag: Show support for PMMC

Last month, former Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords, her husband Mark Kelly and his daughter were vacationing in Laguna Beach when Kelly’s daughter’s dog escaped from its owner and attacked and killed a young California sea lion pup, devastating Kelly’s daughter and many beach goers who witnessed the tragic event.

My first thought was “Why was the dog so close?” Then I thought, “Are there really that many sick sea lions that they are willing to risk coming in contact with humans just to get some needed rest?” Neither answer is easy.

Also in national news, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, which rescues and rehabilitates marine mammals (sea lions) from local beaches, has been inundated with many animals this year and are in dire need of financial support. They are independently funded and rely strictly on donations to operate and to help these beloved sea mammals get back to the ocean.

Let’s help draw a positive light to this issue by encouraging the Giffords Kelly to step up and take the lead on flooding the mammal center with donations. Surely they would be willing to use their high-profile status to help turn around this unfortunate event into something positive and beneficial.

Don’t you agree?

If you do, please sign the petition at Change.org.

Christian Macke

Laguna Beach

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All city vehicles should be black and white

I was with a group of 20 Laguna Beach residents who are seniors and I told them of council member Steve Dicterow’s plan to change the color of the city’s police cars from blue and white to black and white.

One voted in favor and the rest said “no.” If Dicterow is trying to identify city vehicles who may visit your home, office, or stop you somewhere in the city of Laguna Beach, and “write you up” he forgot the Animal Control trucks.

They give out hundreds of tickets every month. He also forgot the lifeguards who might write you up or call someone to write you up for fishing, playing Frisbee on the sand, digging a hole too deep, having too big of a umbrella or breaking other municipal codes.

Certainly the city’s building inspectors who cruise around trying to identify age-old units should have black and white cars and don’t forget community development who could write you up for washing your car, having a bright light on at night, etc.

Laguna Beach is after all, the city of “no” and City Hall is full of quasi-police waiting to disturb and complicate your life. Maybe all of the 130-plus city vehicles should be black and white.

Roger Carter

Laguna Beach

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More planning needed for power lines

Re: David Hansen’s column, “No citywide will to bury power lines” (Coastline Pilot March 22): One thing I don’t understand is why the city considers Laguna Canyon Road as the main thoroughfare in case of disaster. Making your way to the canyon and then through the canyon in a disaster would be a disaster in itself.

As a long-time resident in North Laguna, I’ve observed that whenever traffic is blocked on Coast Highway or the Laguna Canyon Road, the traffic ends up on the streets that parallel Coast Highway: Glenneyre, Monterey and Cedar streets are greatly affected as folks try to find a way out of town. These are critical streets for moving through and out of Laguna. The power lines on these streets should be a priority for undergrounding as well.

There’s a lot at stake — safety, dependability of services, and the one that seems to get the most attention, view pollution. You pointed out that it’s not only Edison on the poles — it’s Cox, AT&T and more that add to the spaghetti of lines.

If we in Laguna Beach want the poles and services undergrounded, there needs to be comprehensive planning by concerned residents and the city; not the piecemeal effort that currently is in place.

Hopefully Hansen’s article will stimulate some discussion and action.

Pat Carpenter

Laguna Beach