Bad question belies newspaper ignorance Shame on...

Bad question belies newspaper ignorance

Shame on the Independent for the questions proposed to its readers

in the July 28 edition. The question next week should be, “Do you

think that Poseidon has succeeded in compromising the Independent’s

independence?” The question -- “Given a choice between treated sewer

water and treated sea water, which would you drink? And why?” -- has

little to do with Huntington Beach. The Independent is now a purveyor

of fear and ignorance. Poseidon’s water will not be used in

Huntington Beach. The reverse osmosis process used by the Orange

County Sanitation District will produce water purer than the water we

drink today.

The Independent should be promoting the conservation of our

resources and enlightening people so that they rise above their fears

and prejudices. Shame on you.

JOHN F. SCOTT

Huntington Beach

Question is another piece to lost integrity

A choice between treated sewer water and treated sea water --

which would I drink?

Come on. The media has lost enough integrity over the last year or

two. You add to it? Or don’t journalistic ethics count anymore?

Slanted question? Absolutely.

It is also an insult to our astronauts who must live with treated

sewage. I have no problem drinking treated sewage water, nor do I

have a problem drinking treated sea water, seeing as all the water on

this planet is always being recirculated and treated by nature.

I guess we all drink treated sewage water, but that truism

wouldn’t stand in the way of someone with an agenda.

GLENN WOODS

Huntington Beach

Question not about facts in desal debate

Your question is skewed. The average person would never choose to

drink treated sewer water. How about asking: Would your support for a

desalination plant be affected if you knew that Huntington Beach

would never receive the water? How about: Would you support the

building of a desalination plant if the water ended up costing two to

three times more than water obtained locally? The bottom line is that

before we build such an expensive and questionable desalination

plant, we ought to look at other less expensive and intrusive

methods. (How about dealing with the inconvenience of 10 miles of

pipe being installed along our city streets?) Let’s have a real

debate about this issue. For more facts, please visit

o7www.hbdesalfacts.orgf7.

LYNDA A. HERNANDEZ

Huntington Beach

Desal plant not the

right beachfront fit

Your article about the proposed desalination plant in the July 21

Independent was well-written in that you gave quite of bit of good

information.

What you didn’t mention, however, are two significant things.

One is that none of the water is earmarked for Huntington Beach.

And two is the “unknown” factor about how much contamination this

will mean for our local beaches in particular and the ocean in

general.

Poseidon came here lobbying for this facility. The city had not

solicited, or defined a need for it -- quite the contrary.

There are other unanswered questions, as well, such as what can we

glean for Huntington Beach from Poseidon’s bad track record in

Florida; and who might be operating the facility in the future after

Poseidon has stepped aside?

This facility has the potential to have a major negative impact on

our city. I believe it should not be approved.

ANNIE JELNICK

Huntington Beach

Desal plant would

be a step forward

I recently watched a short documentary, obviously prepared by the

Orange County Sanitation District. The host was a TV personality well

known for hosting special places in our county. He repeatedly

expressed his amazement on how the district could transform sewage

water through various stages of the process, while walking through

the process stages. There was one major element not discussed -- the

cost of the many stages, it’s equipment and maintenance to achieve

this “miraculous” process.

One need not be a mental giant to clearly see that the comparative

simple process of desalination of our infinite supply of ocean water

would be not only simpler but less expensive. Is this process touted

by the district the reason our sewage rates have been dramatically

raised? The district is a government agency, so the cost is passed to

every single homeowner.

Let common sense prevail and give Poseidon a green light to take

advantage of lessons learned and build a state-of-the-art

desalination plant, at its own expense, and put Huntington Beach on

the map as a booster for this future technology. Is it not about time

we look ahead instead of constantly trying to put our city back to

the horse and buggy age?

BOB POLKOW

HuntingtonBeach

Simple: If no support, then no fireworks

If there is a lack of support for the Fourth of July parade and

fireworks from the folks who donate big bucks and some of the other

movers and shakers, as there appears to be, lets cancel it or

downsize it to fit the existing budget or get rid of it all together.

For the people who scream about tradition and want a parade and

fireworks, let them kick in the bucks to pay for it. Lets not spend

money we don’t have because it’s a Fourth tradition and we’ve done it

for the last 75 or so years.

Jim Barry

Huntington Beach

Who’s to blame for job not so well done?

The Fourth of July board sounds like it is blaming everyone but

itself for a job not so well done.

If the city is going to make any changes to the fireworks and

parade, I would suggest it start by making major changes to the

committee.

They seem to complain every year about what the rest of us don’t

do for them. If they can’t get it done, let’s find some people who

can.

Kimberlee Jackson

Huntington Beach

Don’t like Fourth? How unpatriotic

I certainly do not think that the parade and Fourth of July

celebration should be scaled back in any way next year. Look at how

many people turn out for this event. In a time when traditions are

few and far between, we cannot allow a handful of grumpy shop owners

to ruin the festivities for us and our families because it’s an

inconvenience for them. How completely unpatriotic.

PAM KOLAND

Huntington Beach

Dog parks good

for all involved

Smart cities realize the opportunity connected to providing space

for dog owners to bring their dogs and spend money. The Park Bench

Cafe in Huntington Central Park is an example. An added public safety

benefit of getting family pets out into society is socializing the

dogs so they learn to behave around strangers and other dogs.

GORDON LUNDENE

Downey