Letters to the Editor: Congratulations to George Skelton on 50 years covering California’s good, bad and in-between

To the editor: Congratulations to George Skelton on his great 50 years of reporting. My issue is with the print caption under the photo of his chat with President Reagan on Air Force One.

Reagan was not exciting to many of us. Take the excitement when, as president, he made major tax cuts to benefit the wealthy. I am still waiting for that wealth to “trickle down” to us lesser slobs.

Michael Gross, Woodland Hills

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To the editor: Thanks to Skelton for his column on his 50 years serving as a journalist covering politics for The Times.

What I found extremely gratifying is how much more we, as a society, are inclusive of different genders, races and ethnicities than we were 50 years ago.

The only omission in Skelton’s accounting was of how many LGBTQ+ people there are now in the Legislature. I’m pretty sure it was zero, at least openly, when Skelton began his career decades ago. And while I don’t know the actual number currently, I would guess that it is more representative of the LGBTQ+ prevalence in the general population.

But I don’t want to detract from Skelton’s overall message about the way our legislative representation has changed over the last half-century. It’s easy to forget how much progress we have made over those 50 years, and it was good to be reminded.

David Pilon, San Pedro

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To the editor: Skelton and I share a lot of common ground.

By the time he arrived at The Times in 1974, I was beginning to find my voice as a writer. They say practice makes perfect, so imagine my surprise when Skelton quoted me in one of his columns years ago.

Today, The Times’ legendary columnist and I are in the fourth quarter of our lives. Despite our ages, I have to believe our days as writers are far from over.

I look forward to reading many more columns from Skelton, especially the ones where he cuts through “the political bull.”

Denny Freidenrich, Laguna Beach

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To the editor: Congratulations to Skelton on 50 years of reporting for The Times from both our state’s and nation’s capitals. His column is essential reading for anyone who values a long perspective on California politics, along with his no-nonsense style and skeptical view of both sides of the political spectrum.

He’s that rare journalist whose opinions I can’t predict based on the headline or his past writing, and The Times needs more like him. May he continue to enliven its pages for many years to come.

Kathy Barreto, Culver City