Readers respond

AT ISSUE: What should Newport Beach do about the link from its Web

site to the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce’s Web site, which

features anti-Greenlight initiative material?

I don’t think the connection should be removed. It’s a constitutional

right to be able to post things. I’m in favor of leaving a link in place

and not taking it off.

VIC LAIDLAW

Corona del Mar

I think the link should be cut, or Newport Beach should add the

Greenlight link to the city’s home page.

BERT OHLIG

Newport Beach

That should be the decision of the City Council. It is intellectual

property, and as such it should represent whatever the city wants it to

represent. If the council members believe it’s in the best interest of

the city, then they should leave it.

RON and ANNA WINSHIP

Newport Beach

I am somewhat undecided on the Greenlight issue. I do not believe the

city should have the Chamber of Commerce’s anti-Greenlight issue

available through the city’s Web site. I definitely think the link is

wrong and unfair.

CYNTHIA LANDIS

Newport Beach

I think the city should remove the Web site link to the Newport Harbor

Area Chamber of Commerce’s site. I think the chamber members had better

watch their Ps and Qs; they don’t want to wake the sleeping giant that is

the residents of this city.

I am a full supporter of the Greenlight initiative and hope it passes

this year.

GREG BARTZ

Newport Beach

If the City Council were truly sincere in its desire to remain

neutral, the members would cut the Chamber of Commerce link to the City

Hall Web site or arrange for equal Greenlight coverage.

But isn’t that what this is all about: Newport residents’ basic

distrust of the council’s sincerity and neutrality?

DORIS HOPE

Newport Beach

I’m extremely upset that the city would even consider this action. I

believe the Chamber of Commerce has a right to its Web site and that it

is related very closely to the city. Anyone reading that Web site would

understand that it is the chamber’s position. I feel strongly about this

and strongly believe the Greenlight proponents are making a major

mistake.

BILL PIERPOINT

Balboa Island

The information on the Web site favoring the chamber’s attitude of

control of traffic is wrong. The chamber is using taxpayers’ money to

fight one side of the battle and the connection should be removed.

TOM MYAN

Newport Beach

I believe the Web site should be removed. The chamber should not be a

part of Newport Beach as far as Web sites are concerned.

FRANK EISENDRATH

Newport Beach

By all means remove the link to anti-Greenlight campaign literature

from the Newport Beach Web site.

I also believe conducting any publication’s poll on the weekend, when

many subscribers may not have the opportunity to read an article, is

counterproductive. Try again on a weekday.

EVELYN REED

Corona del Mar

The city must remove from its Web site the link it maintains to the

Chamber of Commerce’s Web site. It is the right of the chamber to

maintain its spurious, anti-Greenlight argument on its own Web site. It

is not the chamber’s right to deliver that at city expense.

The City Council maintains it wants to be publicly neutral on the

issue. So why do they allow this implication of partiality? Is that a

corollary to their “Trust us” entreaty?

The chamber chose the city’s Web site as an ancillary vehicle to

deliver the curious to the same hogwash. The chamber has every right to

”... put information on [our Web site] as we see fit,” as chamber

president Richard Luehrs is quoted.

“As we see fit” is the right term to use. It took them a while to get

the right fit, though. The chambers’ Web site message claims the public

rejects Greenlight, as they do. They substantiate this claim with

responses to questions from expensive telephone polls which were followed

by expensive mail surveys. My recollection is that several iterations

were required before the polling firm was able to develop proper

preambles to each question, in order to produce the proper answer. The

big guys who do this call themselves “spin doctors.”

TOM HYANS

Newport Beach