Opinion: In today’s pages: Farewell to Felix, Hallmark humor
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Felix Chevrolet dealership operator Darryl Holter isn’t pleased with the city for deeming the famous Felix the Cat sign at Figueroa and Jefforson a historic landmark:
Like most people, the commissioners are in love with the Felix the Cat sign. But they were not swayed by arguments based on property rights of the owners -- who opposed the designation -- economic development, job retention or sales tax revenue. Instead, their views reflected only a narrow perspective of some in the historic preservation community -- not the needs of the broader community. And they are not beholden to anyone. This became apparent in some of the comments made by commissioners and other historic preservation experts. One suggested that if GM closed the franchise, we could switch to selling cat products. Another said maybe we could open a restaurant. Another suggested that maybe this would teach GM something about corporate responsibility.
Columnist Patt Morrison notes that even the greeting card industry is making jokes at President Bush’s expense, and the American Enterprise Institute’s Norman Ornstein wonders if conventions will actually pick 2008 presidential candidates for the first time in decades.
The editorial board wants to know what exactly is allowed under the CIA’s ‘enhanced interrogation methods.’ The board praises grocery chains for accepting new economic realities in its deal with unions, and urges the state legislature to fix prison overcrowding, especially now that California is the first state to have a federally mandated prison population cap.
Letter writers react to the board’s stand against the Fairness Doctrine. See why San Diego’s Mark Gabrish Conlan thinks ‘It’s amazing that, out of all the conceivable arguments to make against restoring the Fairness Doctrine, your editorial picked the worst.’