Mailbag: Fresh ideas needed from county supervisor

Supervisor Mike Antonovich thinks state lawmakers are the reason for financial stress and other difficulties of local government (“Supervisor calls for ‘structural overhaul’” July 31).

I think he is the problem — 30 years as a supervisor! You mean to tell me there aren’t hundreds, perhaps thousands, of public-spirited men and women in L.A. County who couldn’t do a better job as Antonovich (and, in the process, bring in fresh ideas and programs that would save us from, or at least alleviate, the problems he mentions)?

Somehow I don’t think this country’s founders envisioned “politician” as a lifelong career because of the vast pool of talent we are fortunate enough to be able to draw upon. Forget term limits; it only results in hop-scotching. How about a new law that limits each citizens’ career in public office to 20 years?

Chuck Rutkin

Burbank

Low-flow toilets might be OK if they worked

Regarding your piece on property owners being slow to replace old toilets (“Owners slow to go low-flow,” July 31), I’d like to get the guys who figured we should all install low-flow toilets to come over to my house on a daily basis and clean the things.

I own two of them, and neither of them flush worth a darn. I am using far more water now, flushing several times per use, than I ever was with the older-style commodes. This is a classic example of emotion taking over logic.

I’m going to Nevada to buy a couple of old-style devices to replace my nifty nonfunctional new ones.

Ren Colantoni

Burbank

Pledge of Allegiance belongs in schools

As a Burbank resident who grew up in the city and attended Burbank schools, I am very disappointed to find out that our schools have decided that our children don’t need to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each morning.

Our country is at war, and we have been at war for my 9-year-old’s entire life. Out of respect for our country and for the men and women in the military, the Pledge of Allegiance is the least we could do to show we are taking the time to remember them.

When I posted on my Facebook page that this was happening, all my friends commented, most not even realizing that their children were not saying it. When I called my child’s school, I was informed that it is left up to the teacher.

Why is this allowed to happen? Our country deserves respect and our children deserve better.

Kim Wilson

Burbank

Verdugo bike lane should be emulated

The bike lane down Verdugo Avenue with a striped line is a big help to cyclists and motor vehicles (“Hoping to see more bicycle lanes,” July 21). It clearly makes it much safer for both to travel on the same road together.

It also lets the bike rider travel more freely, and drivers can now better judge the distance away from the bicyclist.

It would be nice to have more north-to-south bike lanes along a street like Hollywood Way or Buena Vista.

Mike Hoblinski

Burbank