HUD Tenants at the Hotel

Every taxpayer should be infuriated by your June 3 article on La Colonia public housing tenants living high on the hog at the Radisson Suite Hotel, while their subsidized government housing is being rebuilt.

One tenant said, “It’s like being on vacation.” Others had the audacity to complain about the amenities and service at the hotel. Wouldn’t we all like to send our children to school in taxis, and have pools and tennis courts in our back yards?

What is even worse is that Oxnard officials were reported saying the $128,000 price tag is not a concern because the city is receiving HUD money. Are these public officials so arrogant that they do not realize or care that HUD money is also taxpayer money? Does that mean it is OK to squander taxpayer money because it does not come from the city coffers?

With bureaucratic attitudes like this, it’s no wonder that government cannot be downsized. This liberal mentality and shortsightedness should be remembered by voters during the next election.

LORRAINE KOSTER, Oxnard

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In my opinion, the Radisson Hotel has a lot of nerve to charge the city of Oxnard $50 per family who have been displaced by renovation of the public housing projects.

The Radisson is costing the city nearly $1 million a year on a loan the city unwittingly co-signed with the hotel. It has been reported that the hotel has neither paid on this debt, nor has it paid taxes due to the city.

It would have been a goodwill gesture if the hotel had agreed to take in these families as payment of their debts to the city and to every citizen of Oxnard who has suffered from service cutbacks due to budget restrictions.

MARION S. GRIEVE, Oxnard