MAILBAG - Jan. 19, 2009

An easy meter is worth the dime

What an idiotic, stupid idea, the new parking meters on Brand Boulevard (“Frenzied feeding of meters,” Dec. 6). I asked a young man to help me.

He could not figure it out, then said, “Do your shopping in Burbank, like I do. They have the coin-operated meters.”

Why weren’t the regular coin meters installed? Everyone knows how to drop a coin.

MAURINE BLAKELY

Glendale

City to be cheered for smoking grade

Congratulations, Glendale! The city of Glendale received an overall A in the American Lung Assn.’s report card on how cities are helping to keep their communities smoke-free (“Anti-smoking report gives Glendale an A,” Wednesday).

And might I add, they have received the only overall grade of A in the state of California. Glendale is a leader in tobacco control.

Now comes the hard part — keeping the A rating with the enforcement of our fresh-air ordinance.

While it’s great to have this acknowledgment, it’s better to have the long-term effects of a healthier and safer environment.

I encourage the public and business owners to work with the city and to play a positive role in helping make Glendale not just an A on paper, but to the public at large, and especially our children, who deserve all the health benefits that go hand in hand with stronger prohibitions on smoking.

Not only will they live longer, but so will their parents and grandparents.

Thanks again to everyone who worked so hard to bring this issue to the forefront of our city and to our city leaders for courageously taking a stand to control our exposure to secondhand smoke.

We look forward to your continued efforts to control exposure to secondhand smoke in multiunit housing. Let’s keep the lead in this important issue.

AMIEE KLEM

Glendale

Glendale leaders are out of touch

Andrew Hagler, in his letter (“Is city’s integrity going up in smoke?” Mailbag, Tuesday), questions the integrity of the city of Glendale for passing a ban on smoking and then accepting tax money or revenues associated with tobacco.

He is right.

If the real motivation to ban smoking is to have a healthier outdoors in which everyone benefits, then the city must take every measure to pursue it.

It is hypocrisy to let the stores sell cigarettes and expect the citizens to quit. It is like giving the medicine and the poison to the patient at the same time.

I have lived in Glendale for 20 years. The city can brag about accomplishing big things, but it has done so little for people.

Another example is to allow the LA X . . . Press paper, which advertises legal prostitution, to be sold for more revenue.

Where the Police Department successfully busted a few prostitution rings last year, the city should act in the same direction.

Many names in the city of Glendale seek reelection, where they have no credentials serving the poor.

MARTIK ABRAMIAN

Glendale

Stop before there’s another accident

Regarding “Girl struck in crosswalk by school,” Tuesday:

So when are all the people in Glendale going to slow down when people are in a crosswalk crossing the street?

The Glendale Police Department should give Patrick Tchatalbachian a ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk; plus, he should have a ticket for reckless driving, and his license should be taken away for a year.

That is the only way you are going to teach everybody in Glendale to slow down. Everybody in Glendale drives like they are training for the Daytona 500.

Slow down before you guys kill somebody.

PAUL D. CARNEY

Glendale