Mailbag: Rollinger is ‘ideal small town council member’

Being a 45-year resident of Laguna Beach, I care deeply about the issues that keep it a beautiful, unique place to live. I’ve known Verna Rollinger personally for 40 years, and find her to be a principled, intelligent person.

In the public sphere, Verna has proven to be dedicated, serious and innovative. She is the ideal small town council member: She always listens to your individual concerns and responds back to you.

She knows this town inside out, including how the bureaucracy works. Her opinions and her consistent voting record support not only my own views but those of most of my friends and acquaintances, as well as those of the groups who have endorsed her: the local and county Democratic Parties, Village Laguna, the League of Conservation Voters of Orange County, Women in Leadership, Planned Parenthood and the Laguna Beach Police Employees Assn.

These groups all recognize an exceptional candidate in an outstanding field — the best candidate, which is just what Laguna expects and deserves.

Rosemary Boyd

Laguna Beach

*

Funds from Prop. 12 drying up

In response to Mr. Gasparotti’s commentary to Measure CC:

As he mentioned, for the past several years the city has been quietly purchasing key properties using California Proposition 12 funds. He must surely know that Proposition 12 funds have now dried up. There are no more Proposition 12 funds.

Measure CC will allow us to continue as we have done in the past to negotiate and purchase crucial properties. The experienced negotiators will continue their exceptional work under Measure CC with all the checks and balances that are currently in place with the city and which even Mr. Gasparotti approved of.

I will vote for Measure CC; please vote with me.

Charlotte Masarik

Laguna Beach

*

Balance religious column with rationalism

I know you mean well when you keep publishing Mona Shadia’s “Unveiled: A Muslim Girl in O.C.” articles. You hope to promote inter-faith understanding.

But religions promote bigotry, meta-physics; they oppress people and make you want to believe in such blatant nonsense such as men going to heaven and returning from it.

It is probably too much to hope you will desist from printing these inane articles but could you, at least, balance them with some that promote humanism and rationalism?

Eberhard Neutz

Laguna Beach

*

Hansen’s article was well written and poignant

Just a quick note to compliment you on a very well written and poignant article by David Hansen in this week’s Coastline Pilot, “Sign of rich and poor.”

I’m from the United Kingdom and I’ve lived here for three years with my wife and 12-year-old son.

Sad to say, these days, there’s really not enough journalism of this standard.

Keep up the fine work.

Martin Hanlin

Long Beach

*

Better ways to spend $200,000

I’d like to add a few suggestions as to what might be done with all or part of the $200,000 the city turned up — or for that matter any other part of the annual budget.

First, how about working on the underground flood control that could’ve been done years ago but was ignored so as to not interrupt local businesses?

Granted, that’ll take more than $200,000 but even with Canyon improvements, it should be a priority.

Then there’s the filthy sidewalks all over town, which would make only a small dent.

And what about removing the huge piles of kelp and seaweed that’s been shoved to the north end of Main Beach? That would be chump change.

It seems there’s always plenty of money floating around for studies, and pet projects ranging from frivolous to marginal, while the basics continue to get pushed under the carpet.

It’s like getting a fancy hairdo and wearing expensive jewelry, but not bothering to brush your teeth or take a bath.

The council, visitors bureau, and Chamber of Commerce seem to believe that Laguna’s appeal rests solely on shops, restaurants, and the like, when not one of us, including those in the multimillion-dollar mansions, or the lowly renters, artists and musicians, much less the gazillions of tourists who visit annually, would be here were it not for the ocean and beaches.

So let’s take care of them.

Kurt Mahoney

Laguna Beach

*

House was filled with ‘love and laughter’

Re. David Hansen’s column, “Sign of rich and poor:” What started as a very happy life for that house over Abalone Point has now come to a very long and painful death.

That was the house in which I grew up. My parents were the ones who poured their hearts and souls into the design and building of their dream house. They worked with a well-respected architect and the Coastal Commission to create a home that was beautiful, safe and sturdy. It was originally designed with earth tones, so as to blend with the surrounding landscape and not take away from it. It was designed with cement pile-ons, deep into the rock and far enough away from the edge of the cliff to keep it safe for many years to come.

It was a wonderful place to grow up, full of love and happiness and some of my best memories. It was a beautiful home at one time. In fact, I can’t think of a more beautiful home in a more beautiful setting in the whole world.

My family and I feel blessed to have been able to be raised in such a wonderful area. Irvine Cove was full of families and there was such a sense of community. After the children had grown and moved out, my parents decided that such a big home was more suited for another family, not empty nesters. It was not because of financial problems that they sold but a realization that there is a time and season for every part of life. And their time and season was to move to Utah to help care for aging parents.

For the past 10 years at least, we have passed our old house and wondered what was happening to it. We heard rumors that it was in litigation with the Coastal Commission and now you have confirmed them.

I have never met Mr. Yousefi so I don’t know him or his motives, but it makes me question one’s integrity, when, rather than preserving the integrity of the home and the view, they allow vandals and the elements destroy something beautiful just to win an argument.

Unfortunately, in our society, there are those who, rather than preserving something, choose to throw it away and build something bigger and better just to show that they can. Thank you for answering questions that we have had for years. As sad as it has been to see it sit vacant and decrepit, it will be good to see a change.

As I have grown older, I have found what is important in life is not where you live or if your house is the biggest one on the cliff but how you live and with whom you share it.

We have great memories of that house and no bulldozer can take that away. I just wanted you to know that, at one time, that house was filled with love and laughter and I hope that Mr. Yousefi will find the same. Thank you for your insight.

Keri (Montgomery) Harris

North Ogden, Utah