McGrath State Beach; disaster aid; more jobs and better PR

Parks and Coke

Re “Coke contest could save beach,” Aug. 29, and “Park won’t close for two months,” Aug. 31

First of all, one clap to Coca-Cola for spreading its pocket change in a somewhat positive direction with this program. My question is: Why set up a contest that begs to be exploited with “vote as many times as you can”?

Oak Park, in Minot, N.D., is leading the contest to win $100,000. Minot’s population is about 40,000; the park has almost 3 million votes. The whole state of North Dakota has a population of 680,000.

McGrath State Beach near Oxnard, which may close because of budget cuts, has a yearly visitor count of 300,000 campers — and a few hundred thousand votes. Granted, Minot had an epic flood this year, but a 2.8-million sympathy vote?

Whatever the fairness or outcome of this contest, the fact is that Coca-Cola has turned this state’s public recreation funding crisis into another shill for its products — and for only $100,000. Not bad.

Craig Petersen

Palmdale

Disaster aid begins at home

Re “How to pay for disasters,” Editorial, Aug. 31

In your editorial, you are again suggesting that Congress must use its ability to borrow money and spread the costs over time.

Consider this: We spend trillions on wars and billions on foreign aid to help countries cope with their disasters. How is it possible our government can’t afford to help its own citizens in time of disaster?

Perhaps foreign aid should be the budget item that is conditional. Perhaps that is the program Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) can consider cutting in his belt-tightening quest.

As global warming increases and more disasters arise, perhaps the old adage “charity begins at home” must finally be a topic of serious consideration.

Dorothy Ungerleider

Encino

The Republican right-wing leaders are quick to point out their impressive educational backgrounds. However, they must have had limited class time in the study of economics.

Imagine this, Mr. Cantor:

There is a storm that devastates your community and home. The Cantor family does not have the cash reserves to rebuild, so you tell them: “We’ll have to sleep under this plastic tarp until we can pay for this without putting it on credit. There won’t be any aid from the government, as that agency was recently defunded — sorry.”

In the real world, Cantor’s kind would simply leave the ruined house and move into another.

There is a vast difference between family economics and national economics. It is to our detriment that Cantor apparently skipped his macroeconomics class; it would have made for a better, more compassionate government.

Stephen S. Anderson

Hacienda Heights

Cantor’s suggestion to offset relief spending with cuts in other programs doesn’t make sense.

He proposes cuts in programs we need now to build the infrastructure and mitigate damage in future emergencies. Perhaps he is playing to his political base when he takes this approach. It is shortsighted.

Ellie Berner

San Diego

You criticize Cantor for stating that Congress should offset any relief spending with cuts in other programs.

What did you suggest as a solution? Borrow money and spread the costs out over time.

The national debt is staggering, yet you are suggesting that we borrow more?

You must be in total denial.

Kermit Beck

Simi Valley

More jobs, and better PR

Re “Obama yields to GOP, moves speech,” Sept. 1

Why is President Obama delivering his jobs speech to a joint session of Congress? Isn’t he running for reelection?

Congress’ approval ratings are plummeting. Just like the debt-ceiling debate, Obama is jumping into the pigpen with the farm animals and getting spattered with mud.

The president should be announcing a comprehensive jobs plan in the state with the highest unemployment rate, standing in front of a closed factory.

Although the White House cannot single-handedly solve the economic problems of the country, it can at least employ a competent public relations team.

Nancy L. Koprowski

Laguna Beach

Here’s what I am looking for in Obama’s big speech and, simultaneously, from the Republican candidates: A blueprint for creating 8 million to 10 million jobs.

The Republicans in Congress already have painted a broad-brush canvas of reducing government regulations and taxes — targeting the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Labor Relations Board.

The president reportedly will be pushing for transportation and various other infrastructure initiatives as cornerstones of his jobs/recovery package.

What I want to know is how many millions of jobs will the GOP create by taking on the EPA or the NLRB? In the same breath, how many millions of highway or school construction jobs will the president’s plan create?

I know what their respective goals are, but I don’t know how they intend to achieve them. This is a basic tenet of business, and it needs to be part of the political discussion until the unemployment problem is solved.

Denny Freidenrich

Laguna Beach

Richardson case’s lessons

Re “No More Mitrices,” Editorial, Aug. 29

I agree that it is time to make sure that no one else suffers the same horrible fate as Mitrice Richardson.

However, as long as The Times endorses the erroneous conclusion of the Office of Independent Review when, as you write, “the department was found not to have violated any of its policies regarding custody and release in the case of Richardson,” the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department will not have any incentive to review and upgrade its policies regarding the release of mentally impaired arrestees during early morning hours without means of transportation or money.

Sheriff Lee Baca himself reported to the county board that it is the policy of the department that mentally ill detainees shall be released to the care of a family member or friend or, if no one is available, to a mental health facility — yet Baca denied any mishandling of Richardson, callously summing up her case as an “unusual and unfortunate one.”

Clearly, the department has no interest or incentive to make changes. It will just wait for the clamor over this case to die down and return to business as usual.

Benjamin Schonbrun

Venice

The writer is the attorney for Michael Richardson, the father of Mitrice Richardson.

Assessing Villaraigosa

Re “Villaraigosa going forward,” Opinion, Aug. 30

What Jim Newton left out of his piece concerning Antonio Villaraigosa’s legacy is that when the mayor leaves office, he will have set in motion his election pledge to make L.A. the greenest city in the nation, for which all of us will be shelling out mucho green bucks for electricity.

Leon Furgatch

Granada Hills

I have to agree that L.A.’s mayor isn’t done yet.

The only problem is that the charismatic and “driven” mayor has failed to lead. As a result, many workers sit idle now or are going backward — in terms of pay and benefits and overall living conditions.

David Tulanian

Los Angeles

I think Newton has it wrong. Villaraigosa doesn’t like to govern. He spends a very small portion of his time on city affairs. He likes to travel. He likes publicity. He likes to be the center of attention.But he accomplishes very little for those who pay him. He’s clever and personable, but he can’t run a city.

Daniel Fink

Beverly Hills

Vernon’s escape

Re “Senate keeps Vernon intact,” Aug. 30

The headline should have read: “State Senate condones corruption in Vernon.” That would reflect more accurately the motives of those who opposed the disincorporation of that city. They apparently want to participate in the game.

The fallacious argument that eliminating the source of the mess would cost jobs makes about as much sense as claiming that street crime should be condoned because it creates employment.

Robert W. Homan

Manhattan Beach