Reader’s comments portray club poorly Thank you...

Reader’s comments portray club poorly

Thank you Mark Miller and Tony Dodero for stimulating conversation

about Costa Mesa’s problems, “What happened to Costa Mesa?” in the

April 22 edition of the Daily Pilot.

While they highlight a few of them, there are so many positive

things about this town, including some of the very items Miller

points out. But a response to the original article really troubles

me.

After reading what Michael Berry of Costa Mesa wrote in the April

28 Readers Respond section of the Forum page, quite frankly it make

me wonder where he gets his information. Has Berry ever stepped foot

in the Boys and Girls Club?

According to him, he strolls by on dark nights. He needs to visit

during the day when more than 150 kids are there doing homework,

projects, activities. He would then see that the Boys and Girls Club

is a place making a positive difference in the lives of young people.

There is no one there in the dark of night. He cites that it is

located in “a gang-controlled area” and that “parents forbid their

children from attending.”

Where in the world does he get this? Has he surveyed the parents

in that area? He needs to check with those that are involved. I spend

time at the Boys and Girls Club because I care enough to get involved

personally. Never have I seen Berry there.

I have seen Costa Mesa police officers volunteer their time at the

club to help kids.

I have seen volunteers from Wingnuts restaurant helping kids.

Never Berry. But he writes like he is an expert on gang activity and

dress.

When I was on the City Council, I don’t remember saying gang

attire is fashionable, like Berry alleges. In fact I look better in

Hawaiian shirts myself.

Berry’s comments that the kids in Costa Mesa only get what the

Newport kids don’t want is another misguided comment.

He needs to spend some time on an athletic field or Little League

field some Saturday. They are quality fields with bunches of

dedicated kids and parents.

He says, “Wait till you see what happens at the proposed

‘stadium.’”

My guess is that we will see exciting sports activities. The new

stadium is being organized by parents and others who want Costa Mesa

to have its own magnificent venues. What does Berry think will

happen? Kids hanging around in gang attire?

Let’s address some real issues with real facts, not made up

suppositions and fears. The youth in Costa Mesa have many

opportunities for positive activities and sports.

We have numerous parents and support groups that keep kids

involved and out of the temptation of trouble. So Berry drives by the

Boys and Girls Club and sees some kids dressed in “gang attire.”

Automatically, he assumes we are gang-controlled. Stop and see what

is going on at the Boys and Girls Club; it may open your eyes a

little. It is not the same Boys and Girls Club that Mark Miller and I

attended.

We had a wood shop back then. They can’t now because of liability

issues. That is a problem, not the way some kid is dressed.

We have a major ground swell of positive attitude toward youth in

this city. Check the Costa Mesa United website. The City Council is

not wasting its money on a project to attract gangs and other seedy

elements. They are committed, at least the well-thinking majority is,

to improving this city. The naysayers like Berry are grasping at

straws to find a way to make things look worse than they are.

On the Fish Fry. I have a little bit of knowledge as to what is

happening and how the event has evolved. The Lions didn’t cut back on

the times and activities of the Fish Fry simply because of cost.

Sure, we cannot afford to put on the parade any longer partially due

to police costs. But some of the other issues preventing the parade

are just as important.

Such as: The last time we had a parade I received phone calls from

two businesses in that area threatening to sue the Lions if we went

forward with the parade.

Seems one Saturday in a year would so negatively affect their

operation that they needed to sue. With traffic becoming a bigger

issue, it was not feasible to close down Harbor Boulevard.

Other streets in the area just would not accommodate the parade.

Lastly, the real reason we as Lions have had a cut back? We no longer

have the numbers of members committed to Lions to help work the

event.

In our heyday we had more than 100 members; we are now at 40. Many

of our members are getting older and just not able to do what they

once did. The reasons are far more complex than just the cost. The

good news is that the Fish Fry is back. We still serve the best

bargain in a fish dinner anywhere around. We still have activities,

rides, games.

It is still the biggest event in Costa Mesa and the Harbor Area. I

personally am inviting Mark Miller and his family to have dinner on

me at this year’s event.

I hope we can get him, and others, to take a look at joining the

Lions. We make a positive impact on this community. Of course, we

sometimes dress a little funny.

What’s wrong with Costa Mesa?

Too many people writing to the Daily Pilot about things that just

aren’t factual.

MIKE SCHEAFER

Costa Mesa

I take great exception to Michael Berry’s characterization of the

Costa Mesa Boys and Girls Club as being in a gang-controlled area. He

invites us to “Stroll by Rea some dark night” and to “tell us what

you see.”

I stroll by and visit Rea many dark nights, and I see scores of

young people playing basketball, attending tutoring sessions, working

out at SOY’s gym, playing pool, attending life-skills workshops, and

just visiting with friends and SOY’s excellent staff. In the late

afternoons when the Boys and Girls Club is open, many neighborhood

children take advantage of its excellent programs and learn from its

dedicated staff.

Rea has truly become a neighborhood youth center. If, as Berry

says, “reality is 90% perception,” he seems also to be saying, truth

and reality are in the eye of the beholder.

Too often critics attack without open minds and first-hand

experience. I also invite anyone to visit Rea, but go beyond

perception to reality.

JEAN FORBATH

Costa Mesa

Editor’s note: Forbath is the founder of the Share Our Selves

charity and a member of the board of directors of Save Our Youth.

Repealing estate tax won’t help deficits

I read Rep. Christopher Cox’s article in the Pilot, claiming that

eliminating the estate tax benefits ordinary folk, while I watched,

on CSPAN, the Senate debate a budget that calls for vast deficits to

finance tax cuts.

At the same time, the budget reduces spending on Medicaid (MediCal

here) by $10 billion. People of average income who do not have a big

estate to leave to their children may end up needing the assistance

of MediCal after they use up all their savings on nursing-home care.

But I suspect that Cox will not be writing a piece in the Pilot

criticizing these MediCal cuts or denouncing the huge burden of debt

that deficit budgets are putting on our children and grandchildren.

What ever happened to the Republican Party that stood for balanced

budgets?

PAUL EKLOF

Costa Mesa

It’s time to take ownership of faults

The accident on Adams Boulevard as reported by the Daily Pilot,

“One critical after crash,” April 28, highlights the continuing and

neglected concerns of the Mesa Verde residents regarding the absurd

posted speed of 50 mph (on Adams).

Unfortunately, speed may have been the cause of the accident and

resulting critical injuries to a well-liked tennis coach, Glenn

Morton.

Morton was my daughter’s tennis coach at Mesa Verde Country Club

several years ago, and we enjoyed his upbeat, positive coaching

style. We can only hope that he recovers from his critical injuries,

and we send our best wishes to his family.

The speed on Adams continues to be excessive, especially for a

surface street that intersects our neighborhood. I sent an e-mail to

the Costa Mesa Police Department in June of 2004 to complain about

the all-too-frequent reckless speed and behavior by the motorists.

The response was that the Traffic Department is responsible for

the posted speed. We seem to defer to others while our family,

friends and neighbors run the risk of serious injury and perhaps

death due to the lack of “ownership” by the public servants.

Who’s next to be seriously injured? Perhaps your child, wife,

husband or neighbor. Who will take ownership and action? The Traffic

Department hasn’t, so who do we look to now?

RAY GARCIA

Costa Mesa

See the academy from a student’s perspective

As a student attending the current Newport Beach Police Citizens

Academy, I would like to comment regarding the recent letters

criticizing and defending the Newport Beach Police Department.

For the past three months, students have learned how the Police

Department is organized and how various sections operate. In

addition, we have participated in exercises where we can experience

the officers’ thought processes and pressures while performing

so-called routine, day-to-day activities.

A simple car stop or investigating an alleged perpetrator can be

very complex, if not life threatening, and it challenges officers’

experience and decision-making. We also get a real-life experience

during a ride along with an officer.

Of the dozens of officers and civilian personnel involved in the

program, none of them comes remotely close to the profile expressed

in Randy Johnson’s April 16 letter. Before criticizing and

questioning the Newport Beach Police Department, I would recommend

applying for enrollment in the next citizens academy.

If accepted, you will obtain knowledge and get a true

understanding of what the Police Department is all about, and you

will see how professional and dedicated this group is, and how they

provide the community with the highest quality police services.

BOB DULAC

Newport Beach