Mailbag:

This letter is in response to Jay Krietz’s plea to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher in last week’s edition of the Independent to step up and fight the “socialism” that is supposedly being forced upon us by the Obama administration (“Local rep. must help fight socialism,” Mailbag, Nov. 26).

Maybe the time Krietz took to write his letter could have been better spent if he would have written it a few years ago when it began to become apparent what a disaster the Bush presidency was to America.

He could have asked Rohrabacher to investigate the lies the president’s administration cast upon us in order to lead us into a war that has resulted in the deaths of thousands and has cost our country more than a trillion dollars.

Maybe he could have asked Rohrabacher to stand up and protest the irresponsible spending that turned a government surplus into a massive deficit.

Maybe Krietz could have asked our congressman to stand up to the oil and gas companies that generated record profits during the Bush administration while we paid up to $4 a gallon to fill our cars.

Perhaps he could have encouraged Rohrabacher to stop denying that global warming exists and study the work of the U.N. panel of scientists from around the world who have unanimously declared that global warming is real and being caused by mankind.

Finally, Krietz could have appealed to our congressman to do something about the lack of government oversight on the financial industry that led to predatory lending, reckless financial schemes and eventually the full-blown recession from which we are now all trying to recover.

Maybe Rohrabacher will help fight the “socialism” about which Krietz is so concerned.

I just wish our congressman would have shown some true leadership and courage a few years ago and used his voice to help stop some of the real problems that President Obama is now trying to solve.

Corridor will open a can of worms

Regarding “City seeks ‘lifestyle center’ along Beach Blvd.,” Nov. 19:

Since the approvals last year for Ripcurl and mixed-use residential at Bella Terra, the question of how and when building is done with the increased density, and the significant and unavoidable impacts, will be addressed.

In the immediate area, how people get from one part to another part of the corridor is crucial for good planning and quality of life for the moderate-income residents targeted to live in these projects.

There are power lines and rail between Bella Terra and the Ripcurl site, which makes it difficult to provide a walking path for residents to go between Golden West College and Bella Terra, an area where the focus was to decrease use of vehicles so people can walk from one area to another.

Will that ever be addressed before ground is broken on these two projects, which predate the planning for the Edinger/Beach Corridor? Will taxpayer funds be required to pay for a bridge, as the developers will need to see this issue addressed?

The Edinger/Beach Corridor has traffic levels now that are heavy, so adding more will create a significant and unavoidable impact. How will public transportation serve this area?

The existing parking garage serving the theaters and businesses will be asked to also serve substantially more traffic when additional building is done.

If it is full, is that a significant and unavoidable impact, and where will parking be available to shop? Who will pay for widening of the roads to carry the increased traffic? Will widening require taking some property although the political climate is against doing so?

The two-cycle parking signal waiting which occurs on Beach Boulevard now at several locations will increase to how many signal cycles to get forward? Do we just accept the increased travel time as inevitable?

Or do we ask for more advance planning, for making agreements with other cities impacted by this plan, and allow for what may be proposed but is not funded to widen the 405 Freeway? What recent contact can be reported to us about the status of the arterial roads that exit our city and go into other cities?