Copyright Los Angeles Times
The Newport Beach City Council’s 6–0 vote Tuesday approving the proposed Snug Harbor Surf Park at the site of the Newport Beach Golf Course is a serious misstep. Like the over-promised Orange County Great Park, marketed as a regional treasure but ultimately consumed by housing and commercial projects, this Surf Park is being sold as a “world-class recreational destination” when it is, in truth, a private resort venture, needlessly “bringing coals to Newcastle.” The site lies directly beneath the John Wayne Airport takeoff path, raising clear safety, traffic and environmental concerns that have been downplayed. It also eliminates an affordable, accessible public golf course in favor of membership-based recreation and commercial uses. Newport Beach voters in November 2000 passed the Greenlight Initiative precisely to ensure that major projects like this face public scrutiny and a vote. The City Council’s unanimous approval disregards that mandate. Residents, and groups such as the Surfrider Foundation, should insist on accountability and, if needed, bring the issue to the ballot box. Newport Beach deserves honest planning and respect for its voters, not another private venture disguised as a public good. Richard G. Heston Newport Beach Housing policy is serious business Thank you to [Daily Pilot reporter] Matt Szabo for an excellent summary of the Oct. 21 Huntington Beach City Council agenda item on the Pelican Harbor senior apartments (“Huntington Beach Council to hold special meeting Tuesday on loan for senior apartments,” Oct. 25). Affordable housing finance is complex. These projects combine multiple funding sources — tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, public grants from city, county, and state agencies and private donations. Each source carries its own reporting and compliance requirements. It’s not like buying a home with a down payment and mortgage. Unfortunately, the council discussion became a de facto study session that exposed a lack of understanding by some members who voted to delay what was purely a procedural item — converting construction bonds to permanent financing now that the project is complete and fully occupied. Meeting the housing needs of residents is one of the City Council’s core responsibilities. The Pelican Harbor development is a success the council should celebrate: a well-designed, well-located community serving low-income seniors and residents with disabilities. Earlier this year, the council promoted budget education for the public. Now would be a good time for town halls on housing — to build understanding of how these projects work and why they matter. Housing policy deserves thoughtful discussion, not campaign slogans like “No High-Density Housing.” Pat Goodman Huntington Beach Protesters don’t hate America I stay in regular contact with about 25 of my USC fraternity brothers. Since June, when the first “No Kings” rally took place in Laguna, several of the “bros” who live in Orange County have asked me, “Do you hate America?” My answer is simple: No I don’t. But I am deeply concerned that Donald Trump’s attacks on our system of justice threaten the rule of law — the very foundation that protects freedom of speech and the right to peacefully protest, for example. According to Professor Austin Sarat of Amherst College, “No one likes to be told that what they are doing is wrong or unpopular. This is especially true of politicians in a democracy. Yet without the freedom to criticize and point out flaws in government policy, democracy turns into a hollow shell.” Candidly, I thought my protest days were behind me — until the president began attacking lawyers and law firms. That’s when it hit me: Trump wants to silence people who represent clients he doesn’t like. If he can do that, my friends and I wondered, what rights will our grandchildren inherit 20 years from now? That question became the launching pad for Grandparents for Grandkids. Political scientist Michael Lipsky writes, “Protesting is a way of giving voice to grievances. It also can be targeted toward a particular policy or, as in the ‘No Kings’ protests, toward a president and his administration more generally.” So to my beloved fraternity brothers — and to anyone who believes the Republican mantra that protesters hate America — let me be clear: that is not true. What is true is this: Donald Trump has made it clear he hates Democrats. He even said so publicly at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service last August. Please consider joining Grandparents for Grandkids; you can do so by emailing me at dennyfreidenrich@gmail.com. We don’t hate anyone. On the contrary, we cherish the rule of law. We simply wish the president of the United States felt the same way. Denny Freidenrich Laguna Beach H.B. City Council shouldn’t push for voter ID Huntington Beach wants to run local elections. Why? The California State Constitution overrules Huntington Beach’s voter ID Measure A, plain and simple. The state’s election code makes that crystal clear, yet the H.B. City Council continues to push a legally baseless measure without a shred of factual or legal justification. At a previous meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Casey McKeon openly admitted this measure was not about voter fraud, it was about “faith in our elections” and “increasing voter turnout.” Now the council is trying to rewrite history, claiming it is about fraud. That is not leadership, it is a post hoc excuse that collapses under even minimal legal scrutiny. Worse, the council never produced a single plan for how voter ID would even work. Would an LA Fitness card qualify? A driver’s license? A passport? A gas bill? No one knows, because they never bothered to figure it out. Meanwhile, taxpayers are asked to foot the bill for a half-baked political stunt dressed up as election reform. Frankly, this is not the behavior of serious public servants. It is the kind of careless, performative politics you would expect from a junior high student council — not from elected officials entrusted with governing a major city.
