L.A. Harbor Controversies

Congratulations to City Controller Rick Tuttle for curtailing the out-of-control spending of Los Angeles Harbor Department officials (“Harbor Officials to Pay City $1,530 for Dinners,” April 17). How dare they pay $31 for a bottle of wine and $32 for lobster dinners! Everyone knows that important port clients and potential future clients love to eat from the local lunch wagon or street vendor. It’s not as if these port clients were bringing in large amounts of revenue or anything like that.

Wake up, Los Angeles! If we want to be a world-class city, we’d better starting acting and, most important, thinking like one. We are all sensitive to local and state government spending, especially in today’s environment of public school deficits and increasing demands on social services, but if we don’t allocate our resources correctly and intelligently, L.A. won’t have a chance when competing with other cities. The jobs and revenue generated by our port more than justify the cost of $75 client dinners. For those who would argue that these costs are not justifiable, think about this: Virtually everything we own, from our cars to our shoes to the ink on this page, passed entirely or contains some component which passed through the Port of Los Angeles.

KELLY T. MIYASHITA

Redondo Beach