Letters: Wildflowers, airline fees, Sicily, Yosemite, Amtrak to Tucson

Hotline for wildflower sites

Regarding “Just Add Water and Apply a Gentle Heat,” by Benoit LeBourgeois, Feb. 28: Another great way to follow wildflower blooms in the California deserts, as well as Central and Southern California, is to utilize the annual wildflower hotline operated by the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants.

Twenty-four hours a day, March 5 through May, anyone can call the Theodore Payne Wildflower Hotline at (818) 768-3533 or https://www.theodorepayne.org to find the best places to view wildflowers in Southern and Central California.

The hotline message is narrated by Emmy-winning actor Joe Spano (“Hill Street Blues,” “Apollo 13,” ) and is updated every Thursday evening with new information on more than 90 wildflower sites.

-- Keith Malone, Montecito Heights

Combine luggage, passenger weight

I am tired of people complaining about having to pay additional fees for a second seat on an airplane to accommodate their large size [“A Look at the Big Picture,” by Jane Engle, Feb. 28]. I routinely pay extra fees despite being a smaller-than-average person. I weigh 130 pounds, and my largest suitcase for a week away usually weighs about 38 pounds.

Depending on the airline, I typically must pay an additional $50 ($25 each way) to check my bag. Yet, if you add together my weight and the weight of my bag, I still weigh less than the 250-pound person with the carry-on bag in the seat next to me. Is this fair? Why should I have to pay extra baggage fees if the total load I’ve added to the weight of the plane is lower than average?

Can’t airlines establish a maximum weight limit for each passenger and their baggage and charge additional fees for exceeding the maximum, whether it originates with the luggage or the passenger themselves?

-- Susan Maples, San Clemente

Inspired to learn more about Sicily

Brava to Susan Spano for her illuminating article and fine photographs [“Sicily Then and Now,” Feb. 21]. She covered the then and the now with perfect balance. In 1962, I spent some time in this area — the days of the jaunty Sicilian carts on the roads. I remember the extraordinary serenity and isolated beauty of Segesta, Selinunte and Agrigento. Her article inspired me to learn more history, and I am doing so, via the Internet. Gracie tante to Ms. Spano.

--Catherine Leary, West Los Angeles

Doubtful of LAX’s ranking

I’m certain there is an error in the J.D.Power & Associates survey rating LAX No. 18 out of 19 large American airports [“Detroit on Top,” by Catharine Hamm, Feb.21]. Having used virtually every major domestic airport, I find it impossible to believe that LAX could rate that high.

-- Jerry Wright, Los Angeles

Staying near Badger pass

It was a good article about Yosemite in the winter [“Updated Badger Pass: It’s Like Fresh Powder,” by Dan Blackburn, Feb. 21]. His depiction of the Badger ski area was spot-on. However, he missed an option for people who want to stay inside Yosemite. About six miles into the park, and 10 miles from Glacier Point Road, is a little community called Wawona. A vacation home rental company there, Redwoods in Yosemite, https://www.redwoodsinyosemite.com, has been in existence since about 1949. It offers great value and housing options for travelers.

-- Joel Landson, Malibu

Tucson train ride

According to Gary Eidecker [Letters, Feb.21], a train ride from L.A. to Tucson is “much less stressful than dealing with airports.” Unfortunately, it was not when I made that trip in November 2007. The train departed almost on time (at 2:40 p.m.) but moved excruciatingly slowly and arrived at its destination four torturous hours late, at about 5 a.m. Needless to say, there were no facilities for overnight travel. Then, it took more than an hour to get a cab from the station, because taxi drivers did not expect anyone to be there at that unpleasantly freezing time before sunrise. Not the kind of trip I would ever want to repeat.

-- Mark Kashper, Los Angeles

Laws on syringes

Regarding “Calling the Shots” [On the Spot, Feb. 21]. An even better resource concerning local laws on syringes and/or medications would be to call a pharmacy in the state or location you will be visiting and ask to speak to the pharmacist.

-- Maura Raffensperger, Oxnard

West Virgina asylum haunting

The story that mentioned the haunting of the asylum in West Virginia [“Peek Into a World of Crazy … If You Dare,” by Jay Jones, Feb. 21] . That’s a crock. I worked ‘em. Natural laws are the same inside as well as outside. But people must have their superstitions.

-- W.D. Grissom, San Diego