Letters to the Editor 1-7-2021
Cartoon by Alison Chavez
Redondo ZOOMs to the polls, again
Dear ER:
Rescue Our Waterfront has tirelessly fought for the revitalization of King Harbor, on behalf of Redondo Beach residents. With a citywide election coming on March 2, 2021, we feel it’s vital to ensure that an in-depth discussion of this extremely important community resource takes place. All candidates for Redondo Beach Mayor and City Council seats have been invited to share their vision for the future of King Harbor. Questions will be submitted from community leaders and Redondo residents. The questions will not be shared with any of the candidates in advance.
The forum will be moderated on Jan 13 at 6 p.m. via Zoom, with a live feed on the Rescue Our Waterfront Facebook page.
Questions for the candidates can be submitted to: Info@RescueOurWaterfront.org, or to
RescueOurWaterfront@gmail.com.
Wayne Craigt
President, Rescue Our Waterfront
Long memories
Dear ER:
What a great year end summary (“2020: Shadowed by the Pandemic,” ER Dec. 31, 2020). It was a wonderful, in depth coverage of the good and bad of last year. I walk down to the post office to pick up a copy of Easy Reader. A trip well worth while. Your writing is superior to any other news services. Rumor is that years ago you did something which drove all the Realtor advertising away. If that’s true, then it’s time for them to return because you have a great local paper that needs support. Thanks for continuing to be available.
Tracy Johnson
Manhattan Beach
Rumbling stomach
Dear ER:
I think South Bay Restaurants should ban together and just open outdoor dining and defy Governor Gavin Newsom’s orders. Heck, Orange County and Riverside County have. We should follow suit!
Cecelia Peters
ERNews.com
Airline food
Dear ER:
It’s not working (“Manhattan Beach closes outdoor dining.” ERNews.com.) Give us the right to choose. Tell me why sitting at a restaurant outdoors is not safe? Regulations are killing our wonderful town. We will never regain what is lost. Tell me why people can still fly and sit right next to each other for several hours? There isn’t any consistency in the rules that are being set.
Chris Salem
ERNews.com
Manhattan goes Republican
Dear ER:
It could be argued that the writer cherrypicks facts to create a desired narrative (“Beached party: Beach Cities Republicans numbers tumble over Trump,” ER Dec. 24, 2020). For example, in the last Manhattan Beach city council election, the most liberal candidates were defeated and moderate democrat Nancy Hersman was replaced by registered Republican Joe Franklin, while Hersman heir in pectore Grettel Fournell was defeated. I believe it really comes down to having the right candidates and organizing the right campaign. We will see what happens in the next cycle. One thing is sure — conservatives need their own media because all the local newspapers have a progressive agenda.
Lucia la Rosa Ames
ERNews.com
Beach media
Dear ER:
The title of this article, “Beached Party,” is a prime example of Media bias and is better suited as an op-ed piece (“Beached party: Beach Cities Republicans numbers tumble over Trump,: ER Dec. 24, 2020). The journalist is overlooking the frustration with current Democratic politicians. There are two recalls of Democrats on going.
Lee Phillips Meller
ERNews.com
Grist for the media
Dear ER:
Any “Republican” who does not support our great president Trump, needs to leave the Republican party. It’s those RINO’s (Republican in Name Only) who provide the substance for articles like this.
Lorie Armie
ERNews.com
Schaper image
Dear ER:
Any party that claims the insane (Republican 66th District Assembly candidate) Art Schaper as one of its own is not to be taken seriously (“Beached party: Beach Cities Republicans numbers tumble over Trump,” ER Dec. 24, 2020) . A racist, a homophobe, a crackpot. That man is out of his bloody mind.
Jack Malda
ERNews.com
Schaper image 2
Dear ER:
Arthur Schaper was an excellent Republican 66th Assembly District candidate and he would’ve done amazing for district 66. The fact that the corrupt, do-nothing GOP would not endorse him tells you everything you need to know. It tells you that Arthur is a man of character and a true man of the people. He is not a compromised, phony that will betray his morals that is so typical of nearly every politician.
Mike Mike
ERNews.com
Hope for 2021
Dear ER:
Thank you for taking the time and effort to write this article about two party politics in the South Bay (“Beached party: Beach Cities Republicans numbers tumble over Trump,” ER Dec. 24, 2020). People can agree or disagree about specific points, but the journalism involved is greatly appreciated. It is an enlightening article. I hope that in 2021 people spend more time listening to each other.
Allen Kirschenbaum
Manhattan Beach
Third party cry
Dear ER:
Well researched article. And thanks for reaching out to so many locals who are conflicted by the hardline stances of each party (“Beached party: Beach Cities Republicans numbers tumble over Trump,” ER Dec. 24, 2020). This is indeed a difficult era for a large plurality in our area that is both economically conservative and socially progressive. It highlights the need for a strong third party.
Mo Kapila
ERNews.com
Republican short list
Dear ER:
- Glad to see the pandemic has not stopped interesting and informative writing at the Easy Reader (“Beached party: Beach Cities Republicans numbers tumble over Trump,” ER Dec. 24, 2020). 2. The Republican party has a lot of decisions to make for the next 20 years. Are they the “big tent party,” or are they doomed to be a smaller and smaller portion of California voters? Unfortunately, I am betting the latter. 3. Republicans must deal with the fringe element. Q followers have no place in the mainstream. They should go back under the rock where they belong. 4. Evangelicals need to be brought back into the mainstream. 5. Science needs to be reestablished into mainstream Republican thinking. There are ways for Republicans to be relevant again. This list is a start.
Mike Rausch
ERNews.com
No light
Dear ER:
I left the Republican party party because the GOP is not the party I belonged to my whole adult life. Science denial combined with inability to form rational policy drove me away as much as absolute dismay with Trump’s actions. I was not a fan of Obamacare, but the Republicans have been promising a replacement for years and have yet to come up with any spelled out, rational plan. And I did not become a Democrat because I can’t stomach how Democrats like Los Angeles Councilman Scott Wiener want to sell out communities as they champion state laws that favor their biggest donors — those in the real estate industry — over the control local governments need to make sustainable zoning and development decisions. I am disgusted with both parties and feel I now must settle for whichever candidate represents the lesser of two evils. I hope the GOP recovers, but I am not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
Jim Light
Redondo Beach
Blame the Boomers
Dear ER:
The South Bay of Los Angeles is becoming another New York City, and has been drifting in that direction for decades, which was long before Trump entered the scene. Since long before most people on Earth were born, California has been called the land of fruits and nuts. And for good reason. (Republican 66th District Assembly candidate) Arthur Schaper is a certifiably insane example. Easy Reader devoted a lot of time and effort into this article, which is unusual for a newspaper, but you missed the forest for the trees. The reason Californians vote the way they do, as opposed to the way they voted when they elected Ronald Reagan for governor in 1966 and elected him President in 1980 comes down to demographics. Voters have changed from what they were 40 and 50 years ago. The conservative Depression Era and World War II generation of voters has died. Older voters are more conservative than younger voters, notwithstanding that those voters born between 1958 and 1964 overwhelmingly voted to elect Ronald Regan for President. This may be impossible for Democrats today to believe, but 40 and more years ago there were a lot of conservative Democrat voters, and conservative Democrats elected to office. The politics of Democrat John Kennedy, elected President in 1960, were nearly indistinguishable from that of Republican Ronald Reagan when he was elected 20 years later, and who could not have been elected were it not for millions of Democrats voting for him. But that generation of voters is dead. What we have now are the ageing “drug crazed hippie” Baby Boomers and their equally dysfunctional children and grandchildren, who are likewise certifiably insane.
Charles Nicols
ERNews.com
Not alt-right
Dear ER:
I agree with every quote in the article. Shame on those Republicans who refuse to stand against hate (Republican 66th District Assembly candidate). To witness firsthand, so-called Republican “leaders” who embrace hate groups for political gain is disgusting. This article cites Republicans who are afraid to publicly condemn hate groups and those who lead them. This philosophy among some Republicans is to “Unite the center right.” That strategy should be edited to say, “Unite the right and alt-right.” What’s next…tolerating sedition, treason, and overthrowing an election? That is actually happening. “I did not leave the Republican Party. The Republican Party left me.”
John Paul Tabakian
ERNews.com