‘Cruel of the Hills’

As of Feb. 24, the City of La Mesa, formerly known as “jewel of the hills,” became known as “cruel of the hills.” I refer to the City Council’s decision not to let Sally Lambert, a volunteer for Project Wildlife, continue with her service of 11 years, helping residents who find injured wild animals.

The council seemed to fear that if Sally were allowed a special use permit, the city would be deluged with such requests and become a wildlife way station of sorts. The council seemed convinced that the only way the law could be impartially meted out was to deny Sally’s request.

I submit that, with a little bit of creative thought, a compromise could be found to prevent an onslaught of applications for home animal-care facilities permits and yet allow qualified and dedicated people like Sally to continue serving the human and wild animal populations in San Diego County, where growth promises to continue to throw wildlife into contact with people--and mostly to the detriment of the animals.

But the current La Mesa City Council, with the exception of Jerri Lopez, lost La Mesa’s chance to shine as a jewel of the hills, and instead glowers cruel in the hills.

TERRY DOWNEY

Vista