Racism charges are unfounded In the July...

Racism charges are unfounded

In the July 29 issue, the paper published letters in response to

the question “Do labor centers foster illegal immigration?” There

were two that stood out, as they were especially misguided. “Activism

masks racism” and “Hate mongers not welcome.” Judging by the headline

alone, I can see the writers were seriously misguided. Although they

answered your question, instead of keeping to the topic and expanding

on the reasons for their answers, they choose to use this forum to

attack and accuse us of being racist. This is confusing, as there is

not one example of us ever saying or doing anything to support these

accusations.

We, along with a group of friends, mostly women, organized a rally

in front of the art festival July 16 to protest the city using

community assistance money to fund the cross cultural council, the

nonprofit whose purpose it is to oversee the daily operations of the

day labor site. During the rally we passed out fliers to explain our

position, and we held signs on the street corner. Had Ms. Dolphin and

Mr. Cavanaugh taken the time to read through the information, they

would have found the rally was all about the city using money to fund

a project that does not directly benefit Laguna Beach residents.

Any reasonable person would know the workers who show up at the

site each day are not Laguna Beach residents and the contractors who

employ the workers are not from our city either. In 1999 the city

agreed to a one-time funding to assist the Cross Cultural Council set

the site up. At that time the city council stated they must seek

their own funding as community assistance funds are better used for

other programs. Six years later, the day labor site is the highest

funded program in Laguna Beach. We find this to be an outrage, as

there are many worthy charities in Laguna Beach that have had funding

cut or are desperately seeking funding. One example is Laguna Beach

Relief and Resource Center, which assists the landslide victims, then

there are the HIV-AIDS programs, having received the greatest cuts to

their funding.

So as you can see, the rally of July 16 had nothing to do with

race or hate. It was, is and always will be about the city using

community assistance money to fund a project that does not directly

benefit Laguna Beach residents.

GEORGE RIVIERE

EILEEN GARCIA

Laguna Beach

Red tide could be result of runoff

We are injecting gross, unneeded amounts of nutrients into our

streams and into the Pacific Ocean, exacerbated by increased

urbanization. Some believe the prolonged red tide this summer was a

direct result of the heavy rains we had this year, increasing the

amount of phosphate-based nutrients delivered hence providing a

protracted, unprecedented blooming season.

The theory is that plankton are being fed slowly as these

nutrients gradually upwell and are released. Sea urchin and other

populations are heavily reduced because of oxygen depletion and

environmental disruption, causing radical entropic chaos. If seen as

chemotherapy, we’re killing our patient, not curing her.

Remarking on Laguna Beach and urban runoff, Dennis Kelly,

professor of marine science biology at orange coast college, said in

January of 2000 that it changes the ecosystem so much that few

animals can tolerate these pollutants, which have become so abundant;

if efforts are not made, the coastal waters in Laguna Beach will

resemble a desert. He went on to say that efforts to educate the

public about the issue have failed.

So we are delivering unnecessary, decimating poisons to our

bed-ridden ocean via urban runoff during peak rainy events,

especially downpours that flush out storm-drain infrastructure and

scrub stream beds. Watercourses act as cheap flood control devices,

rushing this toxic soup faster and in greater volumes every day due

to the efficient impervious drainage surfaces engineers have so

thoughtfully provided. Pavement equals pollution.

When I moved here in 1972, there were abalone shells washing up

that were big enough to hold a large dinner salad. There were

starfish on our rocks, sand dollars by the buckets. Sea lion, shark

and dolphin sightings were common, not extraordinary events. Even the

whales seem to migrate further off-shore these days. The very number

and diversity of the shells found while strolling was incredible,

reflecting a healthy, vibrant sea.

Laguna Beach has a lot in common with other coastal communities

that continue to intentionally mislead the public, the recreational

lovers of water. Do these public officials go in the water, or do

they avoid it like the plague it has become? If everything is going

so swimmingly, perhaps they can tell us: Where have all the urchins

gone?

ROGER von BUTOW

Founder & Chairman, Clean

Water Now Coalition

Laguna Beach