Preserves, parks should be left alone

It is truly amazing to watch the political process at work. On the front page of the Daily Pilot we read about how the city of Irvine, with the state’s help, is going to skillfully move the Orange County Fairgrounds to the “Great Park.” And, in the middle of the paper, we are reading about how we are trying to give Costa Mesa’s Fairview Park back to an unspecified organization that is going to create the Orange Coast River Park.

Did we forget that the city bought Fairview Park from the county back in 1985 to prevent the county from building an RV Park? Did we forget that if we help stop the airport at El Toro and create a Great Park, that there would be no impact to the fairgrounds? Did we forget that Talbert Nature Preserve is a preserve, not a park? Did we forget that residents of Costa Mesa created a master plan for Fairview Park that did not include a $5-million “natural” sewage treatment plant to treat runoff from Santa Ana?

If we are interested in preserving the preserve and our passive park, we should leave them alone and let nature take care of itself. It is not nice to fool with Mother Nature.

Jim J. Jones

Costa Mesa

Faith leaders decry burning of Koran

As leaders united in our diverse faiths, we, the Newport Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council, are appalled and outraged that an attack upon the Muslim faith occurred in our community. An attack on one faith is an attack on all faiths.

The Jan. 1 Koran burning at the Islamic Education Center of Orange County is being treated as a hate crime by Costa Mesa police authorities.

We stand with them in naming this a hateful incident and condemn all acts of hate.

Our Interfaith Council is committed to “building a community that honors and respects our many voices.”

We encourage friendship, understanding and compassion, and stand against violence and intolerance.

The heart of all religions includes these values.

We, the undersigned and members of the Interfaith Council Board of Directors, stand with the Islamic Education Center of Orange County to deplore the actions of the person or persons who burned the Koran as we work toward a community that is inclusive of all faiths, where people can freely worship without fear of bigotry or violence.

It is our hope that religious people will join us in our vision of bridge building that we might truly live in a safe and open community.

The Rev. Julie Elkins,

Greg Kelley,

The Rev. Karen Stoyanoff,

Armand Mauss,

The Rev. David Stoner,

Lane Calvert,

The Rev. Lloyd Sellers,

Eman Bermani,

Victoria Dendinger,

Rabbi Marc Dworkin,

Ken Everson Jr.,

The Rev. Sarah Halverson,

Susan Munsell,

The Rev. Don Oliver,