Goodbye to Irvine Ice Rink

* Re “Irvine’s Ice Age Comes to an End” (Sept. 1):

Enough with the ice rink. They did not pay their bills, and the owners wanted to sell, end of the story. Would there have been this much space devoted to such a non-topic if the buyers had not been University Synagogue? I think not. It is time that the Coonans face up to their responsibilities and just leave without all the hysterics, and that newspapers get back to what matters.

RHODA FRIEDMAN

Newport Beach

* Farewell, and now that the Irvine Ice Arena has closed, we would like to extend a “thank you.”

Thank you to the landowners for not considering the youth of Irvine and for not having a “continued use” clause in your listing. Thank you to the operators for the disappointment of all the skaters who lived for the rink, for the loss of Irvine’s hockey team, the synchronized skating teams, the individual skaters who competed regularly and the coaches who worked so hard to train them, and for the loss of family togetherness recreational skating brought to Irvine.

We are now left with a wish that someday we can try to regain these skaters and the esteem they brought to the city of Irvine in all their competitions. We can only hope we have not lost them permanently.

BARBARA WHITAKER

Irvine