MAILBAG - July 13, 2007

Labor site land not considered ‘useless’

Ken Frank, City Manager of Laguna Beach, sounds delusional. Who is he to proclaim that the land that Caltrans is selling is “useless.” (I must have been out of town when he declared himself emperor.)

I would like to hear the Boys and Girls Club or the Laguna Canyon Foundation say that they would not like to have that “useless” land.

Caltrans could do us all a favor and donate the land to a charitable organization. But they must remember that does not include the Episcopalian Church, which is busy running the illegal immigrant day labor site as a business. It declares itself as a 5013c corporation (nonprofit) in order to receive city grant money, while it is collecting money from both illegal day laborers and employers looking for cheap labor. This is illegal.

Let us not forget that each and every one of the city council of Laguna Beach is a felon. Emperor Frank says that the council (with taxpayers’ money) funds the day labor site in order to keep the illegals in one place.

Each and every day there are illegal immigrants in the open, ignored by law enforcement, and our council members are conducting their daily lives in the open with seemingly no fear of being arrested. Hello, law enforcement. Anyone out there?

ALICE JOLIS

Laguna Beach

Steins’ punishment by Sawdust too harsh

I worked at the Sawdust for about six years and I saw a lot of flirting, playfulness or however you want to call it going on. As a female employee, you are responsible to conduct yourself in such a manner to not encourage any negative behavior from men or women unless you are open to it.

Once you open the door to allow flirtatious behavior or any type of inappropriate behavior to happen you are then responsible for the consequences from that point on.

Many young girls and women will encourage flirting and then when they decide they don’t like that behavior will jump on the chance to get the person in trouble. Being a woman I feel this is wrong and they should not have started that behavior in the first place.

I have known Jim Steins for 18 years. Taking pictures of a 16-year-old girl climbing on the table should not be a reason to expel him.

The festival hires young girls to work there and I have personally seen the way they conduct themselves on the grounds. Many of them are serious workers but there have been some who are there to show off and attract attention.

During the years I worked at the festival there were situations that happened and they would be blown out of proportion. Artists in general are very emotional people and tend to react with their emotions rather than logic. I don’t feel there is anything wrong with this, but when they are running a business they need to be more logical in their decision-making.

Jim Steins is a quiet man and doesn’t set out to harm anyone. To take his livelihood away from him for this minor incident is not in the best interest of the Sawdust Festival. There are a lot more serious issues that the Sawdust should address.

I have seen situations that I thought should not be happening but the exhibitors were not thrown out of the festival. The board needs to reconsider their decision and allow Jim Steins back in the show. This was too harsh a punishment for the crime.

JEAN ENGLAND

Irvine

How to dispose of hazardous waste

Johanna and I have used some compact fluorescent bulbs long enough that we had one burn out the other day. It lasted about five years, and new ones are expected to last longer. Over the years, I have tossed many burnt out light bulbs, batteries, etc. into the trashcan and into our landfills. I wanted to make sure your readers knew there are Household Hazardous Waste Collection Centers that we all should use.

See Orange County’s Integrated Waste Management Department at https://www.oc landfills.com/default.asp.

The Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center in Irvine is at 6411 Oak Canyon which is off of Sand Canyon Avenue just south of the 5 Freeway. They are open to Orange County households Tuesday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It’s free.

Particularly with the compact fluorescent bulbs containing some mercury, it is important to properly dispose. I understand that Integrated Waste Management makes an effort to recycle whatever materials they can.

We have set up a corner of our garage where we collect batteries, burnt out light bulbs, old paint cans, and electronic products that would be too costly to repair. They take much more including: antifreeze, brake fluid, car batteries, transmission fluid, used motor oil, used oil filters, computer monitors, computers, electronics, office machines, televisions, adhesives, degreasers, fertilizers, fire extinguishers, fungicides, gasoline and unwanted fuels, herbicides, household cleaners, paint thinners, pesticides, pool chemicals, smoke detectors, solvents, propane tanks and even unwanted or outdated medications.

Every time I have gone, the line is short. They ask you to stay in your car and pop your trunk. You fill out a short form, and they do the unloading taking only a minute or two.

I haven’t taken advantage of it, but they encourage all to visit the Stop & Swap section where you can get partially-used home, yard and automotive care products for free!

GENE FELDER

Laguna Beach