Mailbag: Passing on story of more kindness

I was touched when I read the letter from Huntington Beach resident Carolyn Crockett regarding the kindness she has been shown in local venues around our town (“Thanks to you all for being there,” Jan. 17).

It inspired me to share my own similar experience: The other evening my son and I stopped at the drive-through at the Del Taco on Beach Boulevard and Slater Avenue. When we pulled up to the window to pay, I handed the friendly cashier my credit card and with a smile he said, “the lady in front of you paid your bill for you.”

What a pleasant surprise, and not only that, what a wonderful example this stranger made for both the teenaged employee and my teenaged son as well.

I hope my story encourages readers to do the same. I know I will.

Mary E. Williams

Huntington Beach

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Social host law would be dangerous

Re: “H.B. considers law on parent-hosted drinking,” in the Dec. 18 Huntington Beach Independent.

After reading your article regarding adult support of underage drinking, I was intrigued by the social host ordinance’s ability to cause more corruption within our lovely city.

I personally have had adults who knowingly supply alcohol to minor parties within the neighborhood and have not seen any negative consequences resulting from such acts. In fact, I feel that implementing this ordinance will actually escalate the youths’ decision to rebel — in a dangerous environment rather than a safe haven. Your paper seems to not address the other side’s view of trying to protect their children through the act of acting as supervisor during this learning curve.

Say that a loving father living in Huntington Beach is getting ready to send his daughter off to her first day of college. Knowing that she has never had a sip of alcohol in her life, is he worried about her exposure? Peer pressure? Force?

According to the Department of Transportation, “about half of the teenagers who die from alcohol poisoning occur while drinking alcohol for the first time” because of social pressure. Wouldn’t you want to prevent such an outrage as the youth dying from a minor rebellious act? Shouldn’t we have the right as Americans to educate our children about alcohol consumption by our rules, rather than the City Council’s ordinances?

Some argue that any sort of government, whether it be at the federal, state or city, shouldn’t dictate parenting ideals or techniques. They do not legally have the privilege of stripping adults’ rights to raise their children. Then again, legally, citizens over the age of 21 are not allowed to purchase alcohol for minors. But what about those parents who give their 19-year-old son a glass of wine with dinner? Are the police going to grab a warrant and bombard the household with fines?

This will not only increase the number of arrests and fines of adults within the city, but also heighten the amount of minors who engage in underage drinking. Through the idea of punishment over privilege, the youth and adults within the city will grow a sense of dishonor in the system and work against to find a way to prevent further citations.

If you actually “cared about what happened to [us]”, wouldn’t it be safer to be under your supervision while consuming alcohol, rather than others who might kill us by doing so?

Samantha Elisabeth Biardi

Huntington Beach

* Time to make the smart move on guns

Banning assault weapons is a no-brainer.

Do we need any more proof?

All the school tragedies and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ assault were all caused by them. They are a military weapon to kill and should only be used by the military.

Bite the bullet, America, and demand this weapon be banned.

Eileen Murphy

Huntington Beach

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New council isn’t friendly toward desalination plant

Re: “Community needs stronger voice on issues,” Mailbag in the Jan. 17 Huntington Beach Independent.

I am so glad that Drew Kovacs has enlarged his critical viewpoint to include citywide issues like the Poseidon Desalination Project.

Despite Kovacs’ self-proclaimed long opposition to the desalination plant, he should keep up with both political and community events regarding the project.

All three winning candidates in the 2012 City Council election took stands against Poseidon in their campaigns. That now means our council majority has flipped from 5-2 favoring the project to 5-2 opposing it. Poseidon will not be getting any love from our City Council going forward.

A long-standing community nonprofit, Residents for Responsible Desalination (R4RD), has actively opposed the Poseidon project for years. In 2008, R4RD held a very successful town hall meeting bringing the community up to speed on the project. I was on the R4RD board at the time and helped organize the meeting.

I am sure more will be forthcoming once push comes to shove with Poseidon developments.

Our current local government and community opposition groups will not allow the hoodwinking of the public to continue over the proposed Poseidon boondoggle.

Perhaps Kovacs should attend some of the City Council’s Southeast Area Committee meetings (which I regularly do), or join a community group like R4RD to get some real answers on the project.

I would invite other concerned citizens to do the same.

Tim Geddes

Huntington Beach

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