Mailbag: A daily reminder of the special bond between friends

As we roll into the holidays, here’s a way to stay connected with family or friends on a daily basis. For more than a year, a dozen of my USC fraternity brothers and I have greeted each other with a “good morning” text. This simple message serves two purposes. First, it proves we still are alive at our advanced age; and second, it reminds us daily how special our bond of more than 50 years truly is.

So, if you are 50 or older, and have friends from high school, college or work you haven’t been in touch with for years, try inviting one or two — or maybe a group of four or five — to join your “good morning” group. If your experience is anything like ours has been, then I think you’ll enjoy the daily texts.

Denny Freidenrich
Laguna Beach

Keep politics out of NMUSD business

Regarding the article “Allegations of misconduct from NMUSD trustee spurs calls for her resignation,” while I do not defend Ms. Anderson’s decisions or behavior, I am appalled by the hypocrisy of some calling for her resignation from the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education.

The leading voice, Will O’Neill, claiming concern for our students and district is particularly hard to take seriously. O’Neill, chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County, is the same individual whose dissatisfaction with the Board’s qualified chosen replacement for Michelle Barto resulted in a costly special election; that’s money that should have directly supported student learning.

Instead, he backed a highly conservative candidate with a questionable record of financial management and little experience in school matters. It seems clear that his goal is to reshape the Board of Education into a partisan instrument prioritizing party loyalty over the needs of children.

I believe healthy boards rely on diverse perspectives, thoughtful discussion and decisions grounded in what’s best for students, not rubber-stamping choices aligned with a single political agenda by using party-backed funding to overwhelm potential qualified adversaries. It’s sad to watch this unfold.

Whether Ms. Anderson chooses to resign over something that happened years ago is her decision, and not an opportunity for Mr. O’Neill’s team to “stack” the board. It’s disappointing behavior, to say the least.

Vicki Snell
Costa Mesa
Former NUMSD trustee

Rehiring Gates is outrageous

I am bewildered and outraged that Huntington Beach has rehired Michael Gates. He cost Huntington Beach taxpayers $2.5 million in an age discrimination lawsuit while serving as our city attorney.

In February, Michael Gates resigned his post and took a position in the federal Office for Civil Rights, of all places. A few weeks ago, Gates was allegedly fired with cause for multiple counts of verbally harassing women in his D.C. office.

Gates then returned to H.B., claiming he resigned from his job of 10 months because he missed his family and city. The city immediately hired him. It seems that he hadn’t revealed the truth of his termination according to the OC Register’s reported discovery of his SF-52 termination with cause. His personal attorney then threatened to sue his beloved Huntington Beach if officials rescinded their offer of employment.

A special closed-door session of the City Council was convened on Nov. 21. Before meeting, the public was limited to 30 seconds each to speak on the matter. Calvary Chapel of the Harbour sent its congregants to speak in favor of the rehire with their spiritual leader, Pastor Joe Pedick, leading them.

The other half of speakers implored the council to reconsider, to have an independent outside investigation and to be aware of the legal risk facing the city in employing an attorney with multiple allegations of harassment.

After closed session, the council announced the city will indeed employ Gates. Remarkably, the federal government then removed the SF-52 termination form and replaced it with a SF-50 resignation form.

Rehiring this toxic bully jeopardizes Huntington Beach. It opens the city to indefensible lawsuits. To hire Michael Gates with his record of discrimination is more than stupid, it is lunacy.

Nora Pedersen
Huntington Beach

Laguna Art Museum has earned respect

I am writing as a longtime volunteer and docent for the Laguna Art Museum, and as someone deeply committed to the cultural life of Laguna Beach. I was proud to volunteer every day for the museum’s 13th annual Art & Nature Festival, Nov. 1-10. The main event Sunday, Nov. 9, was a “social structure” on Main Beach with 800 volunteers, dozens of museum staff, docents, friends and a huge audience.

For that reason, I was disappointed that the mayor didn’t attend, and that his printed public remarks at the Laguna Beach City Council meeting Nov. 18 praising the Coast Film Festival never mentioned LAM or the Art & Nature events. Sawdust and Pageant were mentioned, but not the museum.

Coast Film Festival is a valuable addition to our cultural landscape. I have attended it, and I appreciate the creativity it celebrates. It is a ticketed event with a unique mission and reach. Art & Nature is, by contrast, open to all, thanks to our legacy on Main Beach and our stewardship of the origins of the Art Colony since 1918, grounded in our town’s heritage.

And I can’t wait for the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center arrival, another museum! How fortunate we are to live here.

Laguna Beach has a wide array of art organizations, each contributing something personal and unique. I hope the mayor will champion them all and that the Laguna Art Museum, our oldest cultural institution and a defining anchor of our town’s identity, will receive the support and visibility it deserves from city leadership. It is not a pop up, it’s a built in. And I thought it was disrespected.

David A. Powers
Laguna Beach

Snug Harbor thoughts

Re: Erik Weigand’s letter, Nov. 23. Newport Beach Councilmember Erik Weigand’s letter concerned me on multiple levels.

Firstly, his characterization of the current golf course as “an outdated three hole practice range” and the surf park as high quality recreation. Is a surf park better quality recreation than a public golf course that serves the youth, seniors and everyone in between daily? It is the only public golf course open to all ages and incomes in the city! Maybe he is going to require the country clubs or Pelican to be open to the public at a $50 rate? Is there no reality on the council to see the need for an affordable option for its citizens? The current facility serves the needs of all.

Secondly, it is stated it will provide a safe controlled environment to train junior guards, fire personnel and Olympic athletes. Actually, it seems to me these groups need to train in more uncontrolled environments to provide what they truly need to experience. My family is hugely involved in search and rescue. They train in real-life scenario in probable locations where they would take place.

Thirdly, Weigand states Snug Harbor will provide a world-class family destination instead of a “declining facility.” Does the councilmember not realize the volume of current family use and the money put into the facility recently? Or does it only qualify if it’s expensive or of limited access? Weigand’s letter ends with, “Doing nothing would have resulted in a deteriorating property providing no benefit to the community.” It is not deteriorating; it is heavily used by the whole community. It meets airport safety requirements that the council ignored, it doesn’t emit chlorine gas and it provides recreation, at a reasonable cost, to a large community!

I assume Mr. Weigand represents the council’s views with his letter. The attitude that ignores huge parts of the community’s need for economically reasonable recreation comes through loud and clear. It is true it isn’t Big Canyon or Newport Country Club, but those members are not your only citizens.

Le Wentz
Costa Mesa/Newport Beach