Secession Legislation

* On Sunday the Los Angeles Times again beat its drum against Valley independence (“Secession Bill Revives Divisiveness,” Dec. 8).

According to The Times, the Valley can’t declare its freedom from downtown Los Angeles because: We can’t afford to leave, it would cost us too much; and you can’t afford to have us, it will cost you too much. Don’t those two arguments seem a tad mutually exclusive?

We are told by The Times that, yes, city government is fat, overweight with red tape, and perhaps a little corrupt. But the Valley must be nuts to want to keep its elected crooks closer to home.

Can you see Willie Williams investigating corruption near City Hall? And unless a corrupt official bursts into flames in front of a news camera, television news is not going to bump an O.J. Simpson story for an investigation about corruption in City Hall.

So I guess that leaves you. Instead of telling us calmly why we shouldn’t go, why don’t you give us a reason to stay? How about saving our city? Stick your necks out. Make all of us who live and work and pay for Los Angeles feel that somebody is fighting with us to save this city.

Does your newspaper have any courage left? Are your editors willing to lift any rock in City Hall, and keep lifting them until the bugs are running? Or perhaps you should just redo the front page, add some color photos and some puff pieces on movie stars and maybe everybody, you included, can forget you are a newspaper.

Until the people at the center of power in this city (you) seem to think the city is what is important, and not the power, then us poor folks on the fringes, paying the bills, will continue to think we would be better off in the fire rather than simmering in the frying pan.

Those of us in the Valley are not buying your arguments about the dangers of separation. We can only see the damage being done by complacency.

KIMIT A. MUSTON

North Hollywood