Cirque Noise Is Perfectly Awful

I almost became ill while reading Dana Parsons’ sickly sweet, cutie-pie flacking Feb. 7 for that circus that is blasting sound effects to virtually traumatize neighborhoods surrounding the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.

Parsons called the performance the power of perfection. Actually, it’s the power to blow away all peace and quiet for nearby residents.

I always thought columnists were, at least in part, supposed to be champions of underdogs. In this case, the circus neighbors are the real underdogs.

Parsons needs to get out of his ivory tower and get into the real world. He should visit my home in College Park during circus performance times. He should hear the bomb blasts and thunder from the circus tent. Then he might not think that circus is such “a thing of beauty and joy forever.”

CHUCK HUDDLESTON

Costa Mesa

* Re “Cirque Is Too Loud for Residents,” Feb. 6:

You are absolutely correct when you write that residents adjacent to the Orange County Fairgrounds are being disturbed by loud music and noise from Cirque du Soleil’s nightly performances.

As a matter of fact, residents of the College Park subdivision adjacent to the fairgrounds will attest to horrendous volumes of noise that assault their homes in the form of huge thunder claps, artillery-like sound effects and music.

Some of these overwhelming sounds, heard intermittently in each performance between 8 and 11 p.m., have caused houses to shake, windows to rattle and residents with jangled nerves to lose sleep.

The state-appointed fair board of directors and its administrators keep telling residents on the noise blight that they “are working on it.” But no action statements have come publicly from the board. The Costa Mesa City Council, apprised of the situation by citizen protests at its meeting, has remained oddly silent.

Meanwhile, you reported that a circus spokesman said they are doing all they can to be good neighbors. I don’t think so. All they need to do is turn down the noise and music volume.

If the sound assault isn’t abated, all the nearby Costa Mesa residents can pray for is quick and decisive abatement action by the fair board of directors, or Costa Mesa city government, or both.

TOM MURPHINE

Costa Mesa