Letters to the Editor: May 17, 2007
Dear Editor:
Give me a break.
Last week we received a letter from the “La Jolla Community Enhancement Program” informing us of a complaint against our neighbor’s basketball hoop. The basketball hoop is abutting the center island in the Mira Monte Plaza cul de sac. It does not obstruct any traffic in or out of the cul de sac. It provides outdoor exercise to children who might otherwise be doing much worse activities or no activity at all.
So what is next? Will we have to paint our houses the same color, plant the same flowers in our yard? Maybe we should have a community law against any kind of exercise. Maybe the person who complained should move to an adult-only trailer park where there are no children or basketball hoops and very little exercise going on. Give me a break! There are much more serious issues to worry about I am sure. We do not live in a gated community where people pay homeowner fees so that they can be regulated. We live in one of the most desirable neighborhoods for families. Removing this basketball hoop will not “enhance our quality of life”
Neighbor on Beaumont
Dear Editor:
I started to fill out the Promote La Jolla questionnaire inserted this week in your paper but quickly realized, with the first question, that it was merely a PR piece disguised as a poll. It consisted mostly of loaded questions like “workers should be allowed to park ALL day...in residential areas taking up ALL parking in front of homes (emphasis mine)” or “duh” questions like “Additional landscaping...would enhance the quality of life...” Clearly, it’s part of the campaign to install parking meters, with the possibility of additional revenue for La Jolla -- which, of course, is a legitimate argument. But if they truly want an accurate measure of community opinion, they need ask only one simple question: “Do you think installing parking meters on some La Jolla streets would add to, or subtract from, the quality of life in La Jolla?”
Don Braunagel
Soledad Mountain Road
Dear Editor:
Another hoax by our local Chamber of Commerce!
Their “Promote La Jolla Community Parking Questionnaire< which is being widely distributed, is blatantly
biased and loaded with misleading fantasy questions.
The questionnaire is clearly worded to frighten and coerce residents into supporting radical changes in parking policy. Changes are ostensibly for the benefit of La Jolla, but clearly meant to benefit the business community at the expense of everyone else.
Here are some sample questions:
- Workers (employees) or students should be allowed to park all day on public streets in residential areas taking up all parking in front of homes of La Jolla residents.
- Visitors and Beachgoers visiting La Jolla’s coastline and beaches should compete for parking on public streets with workers (employees) and students/faculty who park there for extended periods of time (2 hours).
- It is OK for employees to park on public streets in front of businesses in the Village of La Jolla taking up spaces that might be used by shoppers (customers).
Who appointed the Chamber of Commerce the guardian of our welfare? For too long the Chambers of Commerce has has been hiding behind a facade of neutrality while agressively promoting damaging policies against the public good.
What right do they have to determine policies that affect ALL La Jolla residents and visitors?
Considering the history of Promote La Jolla and its self serving promotion that included the termination of our yearly Arts Festival, we should relegate “Promote La Jolla” to its appropriate role, as one player in decisions that affect the thousands of La Jollan who live and work in San Diego. Its time to blow their cover and expose them for their deceptive title and priorities. They should be called “Promote La Jolla Business and Let the People Pay”.
In addition, all parking and especially Beach parking affects more than La Jollans. Our beaches belong to the public and any attempt to restrict parking in beach areas should be rejected. The present trend to reduce public access and privatize public spaces must be fiercely opposed.
Tanja Winter
La Jolla