City Life:

There were no doubt many readers who wondered what last week’s column had to do with kids or parenting. But only two chose to question it on the comment thread following the column online. And I wonder at this moment how many readers have noticed that the name of the column has changed.

Before I get to the point, I want to recommend to you that, whether you read the Daily Pilot online or in its paper version, remember to look at the comment threads following each column.

The exchanges can get quite lively, as they did recently when Costa Mesa City Councilman Eric Bever wrote: “You generalize and promote hate in the name of moral superiority... Pathetic.”

So don’t miss the future online fireworks.

Subsequent columns will deal with any issue facing Newport Beach or Costa Mesa, whether it is politics, economics, business, the airport and more. I’ll still pay attention to child and parenting issues but they will no longer be this column’s sole focus.

To give you an idea of what could be covered, here are some topics I am kicking around:

 Does anyone who moved under the John Wayne Airport flight path after the major expansion in 1990 have a right to complain about the noise?

 National TV Turnoff Week started yesterday. Pediatricians and other experts say TV is very bad for kids. Other experts note that when kids stop watching TV, the first activity that usually replaces it is reading. So why isn’t our school board on board with the TV turnoff program?

 Speaking of the school board, what is the status of the $492 billion in taxes, sorry — bonds, that you voted for in 2002 and 2004? Are schools looking a half billion dollars better? Are grades and test scores up thanks to construction?

 Why does the Costa Mesa-based Pacific Symphony Orchestra play its summer season in Irvine instead of at the Pacific Amphitheater in (drum roll) Costa Mesa?

Some folks still like to communicate to me using the U.S. mail. Recently, David W. Lang of Corona del Mar wrote to inform me of an old article in the San Francisco Examiner that he’d kept for the right moment.

The article is by Ken Gallegos, a teacher in the San Francisco public school district who went back to dressing up for school, including a tie.

“If a day comes when I don’t wear a tie, I hear about it,” Gallegos wrote. “On one such day, one little girl told me that I looked like I shouldn’t be at school. That made my day.”

Lang made my day by sending the story along. I’ve been arguing for years that dressing down is affecting a teacher’s ability to command the proper level of classroom respect, but nothing has changed, certainly not in this district.

Last week’s topic is not likely to go away any time soon.

The subject was the nonstop trashing of Costa Mesa for years by speakers at City Council meetings and by Mayor Allan Mansoor himself, starting in 2006 when he was in the national spotlight informing the country that the city has problems with illegal immigrant violent criminals.

The subject was communication but many readers took the opportunity to challenge me on whether there are actually slums in Costa Mesa, as some speakers maintain.

Many problems can be solved through better communication, so I’ll start: E-mail me at [email protected].

I’ll get back to you as soon as I’m through promoting hate in the name of moral superiority.

STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. He may be reached at [email protected].