Lower taxes for AES is a good...

Lower taxes for AES is a good thing

I think it’s a good idea. I don’t think we should be paying taxes

at all. It’s a public utility, we pay the taxes regardless, so we

shouldn’t be taxing ourselves. I’m against any taxes on public

utilities.

CLYDE WAMPLER

Huntington Beach

Reassessment of AES bad for city

The board members of Huntington Beach Tomorrow are quite disturbed

over the State Board of Equalization reassessment of the AES plant

property tax. Reducing the assessment from $260 million to $93

million after a $250 million refurbishment and modernization program

is not logical. This translates to a $1.6 million loss in property

taxes to be used in planned improvements for Southeast Huntington

Beach.

This decision is appalling and makes one wonder how much influence

AES exerted on the Board of Equalization to get such a favorable

decision.

Huntington Beach Tomorrow has asked the city to appeal the boards’

decision to the appropriate government bodies.

ED KERINS

Huntington Beach

Would the State Board of Equalization be willing to lower my

property taxes as well? Because I just kicked in $3,000 this month

and another $3,000 will be due in February and April to the county.

Why don’t they do that?

Why don’t they reassess everybody’s taxes instead of just allowing

the plant to be reassessed. This is totally unfair. It totally puts a

black eye on the whole project. AES should step up to the plate and

offer to pay the $1.6 million because they’re sitting in our town.

ROBERT APONTE

Huntington Beach

Lowering the taxes and making it easier for this plant to stay in

existence is just horrifying to me. This has been a sore subject for

me for a long time. Every time I drive up on the coast and see the

ugly smokestacks in such a beautiful area just disturbs me terribly.

I think the city should do something about fining AES or making

some kind of ordinance that if there are eyesores there should be

heavy fines, but definitely people should get together and try to get

this AES plant out of the way. Or if they’re going to stay there, fix

it up. Be a good neighbor, fix it up and pay the costs for fixing it

up.

HONEY ABRAMOWICZ

Huntington Beach

I cannot for the life of me understand how the State Board of

Equalization lowered the AES tax rate when just last year the whole

place was upgraded and the property value went way up. So there’s

something fishy going on here, and I would like you, as an

independent paper, do something about it, and look into it.

MATTHEW HUNT

Huntington Beach

School board right, code should stand

It is the primary responsibility of school boards and teachers to

ensure that the atmosphere of schools is conducive to the learning

process and free of disruptive interference. In that religion is both

divisive and disruptive, the school board made the correct decision

[in not changing the dress code.]

Further, government institutions should not be in the business of

promoting or becoming excessively entangled in religion.

JOHN BOAG

Huntington Beach

Those kids were totally out of line by trying to grab the senior

picture for their own promotional stunt. They are self-indulgent

teenagers without respect for others.

Katie Agbulos (“Dress code remains unchanged” Dec. 12) can use the

remark about “right and wrong,” but it is her selfish attitude that

is wrong. This attitude about religious superiority is the cause of

so much killing throughout the world.

If they thought it was proper, they wouldn’t have just shown up

with their costumes. Normally groups photos are arranged by the

photographer and staff, not by the subjects.

The board acted properly and sensibly.

PHILIP J. KAUS

Huntington Beach

Invocation for the city is harmless

Plainly, opponents of the invocation before Huntington Beach City

Council meetings are hypocrites. Separation of church and state is

their argument. While separation of church and state is both wise and

necessary, the division is not mutually exclusive.

Religion has been deeply entwined within our society since its

inception. Like it or not, religion has provided the moral foundation

of our great nation (thank God). We as a people should take comfort

when our leaders seek divine wisdom from a power greater than

themselves.

Those who do not recognize God as a divine power and protest

against that recognition should cease and desist using U.S. currency.

For on every denomination of U.S. currency it is printed, “In God we

trust.” Circulators of this currency accept this truth and do not

fret. Hypocrites use the currency while concurrently complaining

about separation of church and state.

NORM WESTWELL

Huntington Beach

Small class sizes are important in learning

There are a variety of options for the pre-kindergarten set.

Full-day, part-day, or opt not to go at all. Kindergarten is the

great equalizer. Kids from working-parent households merging with

those who may have stayed at home.

Some can already read while others find it difficult to sit still

and focus. I really admire kindergarten teachers and their ability to

round these kids up and ready them for “real school” beginning with

the first grade.

I find it amazing that the Huntington Beach City School District

did the juggling that it did to bring the ratio to 20-1 for the

critical time spent learning reading, etc. for the kindergarteners.

Of course, I would prefer that it had remained full-day, 20-1 for

this group since my twin sons will be entering S.A. Moffett

Elementary in September 2004.

From what I understand, the priority for the 20-1 push is first

grade, second, third and then kindergarten. It will be an incredible

feat to raise more than $900,000 to bring the funds up to the level

needed to reinstate full-day kindergarten at 20-1.

I also have twin daughters who are currently in the now 30-1 third

grade. Most unfortunate that the 20-1 rallying started a year late

for them. One of our daughters has the self-motivation, enthusiasm

and ability to stay on top of her school work despite the challenge

her teacher faces this year with the larger class size.

Our other daughter would have had more time to perfect her skills

and habits under the watchful eye of a teacher who would have more

opportunity if they had some time to at least ease into it (they are

dealing with very new and different textbooks which has been as much

of a challenge as the larger class size).

The leap from third to fourth is dramatic in terms of expectations

and work load. Of course I would have preferred to 20-1 ratio for my

daughters this year. I would like to see the district maintain the

ratio for first and second so that my sons can develop the foundation

they will need for their future years of education.

MARYANNE WEISS

Huntington Beach

Five district plan bad for residents

The initiative proposal to change the structure of our city

government from the current seven-member council elected at large to

five districts, where each citizen has only one representative on

City Council is an extremely bad idea. It is obviously much less

democratic.

Now each citizen votes for, and is represented by, seven council

members. Every two years we can vote for all the City Council

positions that are on the ballot. Each citizen can contact any or all

council members as they represent all the people of the city. The

districting proposal would allow residents to vote only once every

four years for only one council member representing only one

district. The citizen would be out of luck if that representative

doesn’t agree with him on issues. Further, that citizen would have no

one else to turn to on the City Council. In other words, that citizen

would lose his voice in our city government. How fair is that?

A lobbyist for the AES plant brought forth the districting

proposal. It is evident that such a plan would make it much easier

for special interests such as AES to control our city elections.

Smaller voting areas mean that less money would be spent on fancy

campaign brochures. AES imposes a hideously ugly eyesore on our city.

It also spews smoke into our air. Now, to add insult to injury,

special interests want to take away our political voice.

MARINKA HORACK

Huntington Beach

In regard to council districts, it sounds good at first, because

all areas will be represented and that is a good thing. But I lived

in this city in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s when it was considered one

of the most corrupt cities by the Fair Political Practices

Commission, which is a watchdog group of the state.

At that time the developers ran this city and the people like you

and me felt helpless because the developers poured so much money into

the City Council elections and controlled the people with beautiful,

expensive brochures mailed to each and every home. What was the

motivation?

Look around you. This is one of the poorest planned cities in the

area. A weird condo community on the beach, a Downtown section that

is a hodgepodge and shopping centers in beautiful neighborhoods that

look like war zones. Ask yourself who negotiated these contracts so

many years ago. They were negotiated by people who were paid off,

that’s who. These folks have long gone, leaving us to deal with the

handy work of their greed.

If we introduce districting and let one area be represented by one

individual, what is to say that individual will not fall prey to a

similar fate? He or she would be responsible for making the decisions

for their area. They would be easy prey to a developer or an

unscrupulous group that has only its own interests in mind.

Debbie Cook is passionate about this situation because she lived

through those years with the rest of us old-timers and was very

involved in exposing some of the under-the-table deals at the time.

Please note that she is always the target. Why is that? She only has

one vote. They go after her because she is willing to stand up to

them and give her opinion.

This business of running government by the petition is so

childish. Please see beyond this. Don’t listen to these hired thugs

who push a petition in your face and spout some pre-arranged comment.

Please don’t sign unless you have the time to read the petition

thoroughly. They target you when you are in a hurry.

Have the guts to say, “I’ll find out more about it first before I

sign this.” The reason is, they are using these petitions to say that

51% of the people are for districting before the people have taken

the time to consider the pros and cons of this decision.

I am sure that 51% of our residents do not have an opinion one way

or another about districting, and to say because they signed a

petition, which most did not even read first, is a proper method of

polling them, is ridiculous.

MEG WATSON

Huntington Beach

On the question of the council district debate, I support the

status quo. The reason being, I don’t see that democracy is

increased, it is decreased if you reduce the opportunities to vote

for who you want. For example, going from seven down to five. That’s

a reduction in the representation, and that’s not the direction you

want to go. If anything, you want to increase it. The seven’s fine.

I’d like to vote for seven separate people, not one. If I only vote

for one, that’s also a reduction in representation as far as who I

can vote for.

ROB NELSON

Huntington Beach

Leave benefits for year, form committee

I have been a city employee for 23 years, a city of Huntington

Beach employee. I believe the only fair solution to the health care

problem is to leave the employee health care benefits as-is, for the

term of a one-year contract, with the agreement that a committee be

formed immediately and the committee would be consisting of city

management and employees from all the different city employee

associations.

The committee’s job would be to fully research all the different

health plans available and then decide upon the health plan or plans

that would be affordable and still meet the needs of the employees.

If the employees are going to be required to contribute their own

money to their health plan, they should certainly have some say so on

what that health plan will be. It is unfair and unreasonable for the

city to impose a huge increase on employees for their health care

with no warning and no input from those employees.

DEBBIE DOVE

Foothill Ranch

Ice rink Downtown is great for Surf City

Having lived here in Southeast Huntington Beach for 30 years, we

really enjoyed the article about the ice skating rink at Main Street

and Pacific Coast Highway. Where else in the entire world can folks

enjoy simultaneously outdoor ice skating, beach volleyball and

surfing, all within a hundred yards of each other?

So what’s next for Huntington Beach? Could it be beach spelunking?

BILL ROSENTHAL

Huntington Beach