Letters to the Editor - 12/09/2005

By: Readers of the North County Times and The Californian | Thursday, December 8, 2005 8:27 PM PST ∞

Handicapped lawsuits


I was appalled to read about that activist lawyer's method of demanding payment from all those people in Julian ("Businesses threatened with disability access lawsuits," Dec. 3). I am surprised that the attorney general's office hasn't taken notice of that and done something to protect people from his methods. He could very easily destroy the whole town of Julian.

I also find it very interesting this season of the year, all the antics people come up with not to mention Christmas. With a 2,000-year history of celebrating it's pretty hard to deny it's Christ's birthday. And, by the way, Xmas is entirely acceptable. The X stands for Christ's name in the Greek alphabet.

May everyone have peace, joy and happiness this holy season, a blessed Christmas to all.

ELIZABETH NIENHAUS

Escondido

Shenanigans continue at the City Council


I will not be voting for Jerome Stocks, who is running for the 74th Assembly District in 2006. Mr. Stocks has shown a significant lack of judgment; as examples, he endorsed Proposition A and injected his personal opinion in an attempt to sway the voters to support his position. Prop. A was the Ecke rezoning initiative, which was soundly trounced by the citizens of Encinitas.

I also question Mr. Stocks on his vote in favor of moving a traffic signal to Crest and El Camino instead of accepting the traffic engineer's recommendation of installing the light at Willowspring and El Camino. Had he followed the engineer's recommendation, it would have increased the traffic flow around his residence. Mr. Stocks' residence is on a corner of Willowspring, which is less than 300 feet from the recommended site.

Ethically he should not have voted on the issue, but that was not to be. Should Mr. Stocks prevail and win the Assembly seat it may actually be a blessing in disguise. Mr. Stocks would leave the Encinitas City Council, and that would give the citizens the opportunity to repair the damage he has inflicted on this city since his election.

HECTOR A. LOPEZ

Encinitas

Julian lawsuits may not be legal


In her Dec. 3 article, Teri Figueroa writes what predatory attorney Theodore Pinnock is doing to Julian small-business owners under the guise of the Americans with Disabilities Act. What Ms. Figueroa fails to point out in her article is information about recent laws enacted in California that prevent this very type of shakedown.

Under Proposition 64, which passed in November 2004, the language of the law states that what Pinnock does is clearly illegal: "Change the rules about who can file lawsuits about unfair business practices. Only government lawyers could file these lawsuits on behalf of the general public. Private individuals could sue only if they had been injured and lost money or property."

Attorney Pinnock, who conveniently represents himself in these suits, not only states that he has basically appointed himself as a vigilante inspector -- a clear violation of the law -- but also states that he intends to use the proceeds of any favorable settlements or judgments as "payment for his time," again, a clear violation of the language of the law.

That money can now be spent on any kind of government program. With Prop. 64, penalty money won from cases about unfair business practices could only be spent on enforcing laws that protect consumers.

I am not an attorney, but if I were in the same position as the Julian business owners, I would politely tell Mr. Pinnock what he can do with his lawsuit.

JEFF PETSCHE

Escondido

'Duke' should be charged with treason


Randy "Duke" Cunningham should have been charged with treason.

If the money Duke stole was used for additional armor on military vehicles in Iraq, it may have saved some lives. At $1,000 per vehicle, a total of 2,400 vehicles could have been safer for all U.S. service members.

What a tough decision, Duke -- $2.4 million to line your pockets or 2,400 vehicles with additional armor plating. It seems ironic that roughly 2,400 service members have died in Iraq thanks to guys like Duke.

He got off easy with his plea bargain.

JIM WATSON

Carlsbad

Where did City Council candidates go?


Where did all those candidates in the last City Council race in Oceanside go? I don't see them at City Hall fighting for the causes they proposed were things they would eliminate if we elected them.

Is there a retreat they go to and stay in until the next election? It would seem to me the art of Politics 101 would be to participate on a regular basis at the ongoing City Council meetings in discussions, expounding their positions for what they said they believe in is right for the citizens they wanted to represent. Maybe they have appeared in the Obituary page and I just missed the announcement.

I fear not. They will just crawl out of the woodwork next election and waste more of our time and use the newspaper and public forums for personal gain or self-recognition. They are just at camp practicing for the next campaign for money they can live on until the next election. Maybe buying antique furniture.

How many times have you actually seen them on the TV or in public before they ran for election or since they lost the election -- ever?

DONNA McGINTY

Oceanside

Politicians are letting this country down


Rep. Cunningham and the rest of the politicians are letting this country get away from us.

Illegal immigration: Mr. Bush says they are doing what Americans don't want to do. Heck, the story in the paper has the Carlsbad workers living in cardboard shacks and 30 to an apartment.

Jobs: We are shipping the jobs overseas by the handful. Ford and Chevy are closing plants, among other companies that are downsizing. And it appears that the majority of those companies are those that are unionized. We are becoming a country of consumers who make nothing to trade with people overseas. I see no end in sight, as the population is unwilling to get out the vote.

I am sick of what politicians are doing to this country. And some are dying for it, which is another sadness in itself. And that religious guy, Pat Robertson, says that Muslims preach killing in the name of their god, while he calls for the snuffing of a foreign president.

Don't you guys realize that most wars are religion related? Get religion out of government, school, prayers, pledges and off the mountaintops. Keep it in your hearts, right alongside honesty and integrity. To love one another means that, along with not taking bribes and making war on other people.

TIM TAYLOR

Oceanside

Happy Holiday haters


I was sad to read many letter writers who oppose the use of Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Why are people offended by an effort to be inclusive of many people of different traditions? It seems to me that these people are really more concerned with power -- my holiday is better than yours. After all, we all know why Dec. 25 is a holiday, so it is already being officially recognized.

The greedy are never satisfied, and they claim to feel victimized.

Ironically, they are strangling the Christmas spirit that they wish they embodied. They might as well adopt something more Scrooge-like and say, "Bah humbug."

RYAN A. JOHNSON

Escondido

Do neighbors have recourse?


I live in San Marcos in an area called Santa Fe Hills. Recently we had three families move into this one house. There are at least 15 cars parked in front of everyone's homes.

We have nowhere to park ourselves. They have two limos that park in their driveway and then a slew of junkers that park using everybody's parking places. There are about 17 people living in the single-family home, and the rest of the neighbors would like to know if we have any recourse.

These people leave their trash all over the place. They have a 2-year-old little boy who is constantly outside with absolutely no supervision. He has almost been hit by passing traffic on several occasions. One of the men works on cars all day, and they aren't his cars. My home is worth close to $700,000. When I bought this house I was sure I was safe from renters and this type of situation here.

Three families bought one home and 17 people live there. Is this legal? I am begging the readers for some help, please.

NICK MORRIS

San Marcos

Two types of Marines


There are two types of career Marines. There are the focused, goal-oriented Marines and there are the lifers. John Murtha is an example of the first type of Marine. He is a decorated war hero and longtime member of the House. For his service to the Corps and country, he was blasted by Jean Schmidt, the lowest-ranking member of the House, in more ways than one.

Next we have the Marine who needs someone to guide them through life. They need somebody to tell them what to do. Upon retirement, some find their guidance on talk radio. They follow orders from Limbaugh, Savage, Roberts and so on. They obey and spread this propaganda, sometimes in the Letters sections. We know some of this type. Two of them show up often in the NCT.

One has avoided challenges to debate his heroes' redeeming qualities. Yes, he cut and ran. The other would rather serve with Bush and Cheney. In other words, he, too, would cut and run, as did his heroes. Even Jane Fonda spent more time in Vietnam than Bush and Cheney. As for me, I would follow John Murtha.

THOMAS S. COWAN JR.

Escondido

Trials of past and future


At times at age 81, I think and talk out loud, and even talk back to my TV set. So much for the distinct advantage of being alone. TV detective and cop shows, coupled with the legal gurus, are plentiful too.

Adrian Camacho was very fortunate to have his day in court, but saying everyone is entitled to same doesn't make it so. In my former home in Chicago if you killed a cop, it was your own death warrant. No ifs, ands or buts. No trial, no jury -- you were killed by the police.

Poor Randy. I'll give him credit for pleading guilty and now, we'll get the rest of another dirty politician's confessions. My "make a wish dream come true" is to see George W. Bush stand trial before an international tribunal for his war in Iraq. It will easily top the Nuremburg trials of Nazi Germany in the 1940s.

I don't give a hoot in hell what he tries to spin to the American public to prove his case. Two years ago in the NCT Letters section I stated, "We do not meet the criteria for war in Iraq" and it will be his Waterloo.

Question: Can Junious M. top this?

DOUG B. COOK

Escondido

Del Mar school board stymies purchase


The Del Mar school board has, thus far, refused to reveal the official appraisal price of the Shores property even though the appraisal was done many months ago. Their stance is making it harder for the Save Our School Committee to raise the necessary funds to purchase the property.

For months now, our City Council has been meeting behind closed doors with their selected negotiator in an attempt to work out a solution with the school board and save the property from being purchased by a private developer. Does the Del Mar school board believe they can rezone the property from public facilities to commercial or high density residential so that they can reap a better price at the expense of the residents of Del Mar? To many concerned citizens, it would seem so.

A few months ago our City Council held a meeting to listen to our residents express their ideas about how the property should be used. At that meeting, Councilman Henry Abarbanel pledged that he would not vote to rezone the property from public facilities. It takes four votes to rezone without a vote of the people. The members of the school board must be scratching their heads and wondering what to do next.

HERSHELL T. PRICE

Del Mar

God, it wasn't her time to go


I started reading "Conversations," the wonderful columns written by Agnes Diggs, out of pure frustration. My fiancee, with her index fingers in her ears, demanded one day that I engage myself in some light reading so as to withdraw myself from the liberal political commentary that frustrated me immensely and made her life at our home sometimes unbearable.

Ms. Diggs' words were refreshing, so much so, that I began sharing her articles with my English classes at Orange Glen High School, and my students enjoyed them as well. I believe that my class might have been the last one that she spoke with as Agnes visited my 10th-grade classroom about three weeks ago.

Her focus on that particular day was teen pregnancy and the benefits of making wise use of your time in school. Her candor and sensitive answers to the troubling, personal questions posed by my students was enlightening.

At the end of her hour together with us I handed Agnes a thank-you card with a gift certificate in appreciation of her time. Graciously, she opened the card and then pushed the gift certificate back to me and said, "Use this as a motivator for one of your students. They need the recognition a lot more than I do." I did just what you said, Agnes. Thank you so much for your time in our classroom, in our lives and on this troubled earth.

ROB L. THOMPSON

teacher

Orange Glen High School

Escondido

Agnes won't be forgotten


I am very grateful to the North County Times for allowing all of us the time and space to try and express our appreciation for and fondness of someone we knew only by the printed word. I wrote one quick note to Agnes shortly after she appeared in the NCT and I wish I had expressed myself to her many more times.

Thank you for the full coverage in the Dec. 4 issue. I won't forget soon the heart of your staff and the generosity of the decision makers of NCT.

BARBARA M. HARRISON

Escondido

Her 'Two Cents' Worth' really worth a fortune


Dear Agnes,

Who will I have coffee with now? Who will make me smile or make me laugh at 5:30 in the morning? How am I going to know that there are still really kind people out there? You know, just plain old-fashioned, down home, sweet people.

I had always hoped to meet you some day. Maybe see you in the grocery line, or at the bank. I've always wanted to say hello. Thank you for all your Two Cents' Worth. Your charm and warmth will truly be missed in our home.

My prayers are with all her family and the many of you who were lucky enough to work with her.

KIM YARGER

Temecula

One skate park is not enough


I am writing out of pure frustration. Temecula is growing in leaps and bounds. Having lived here six years, I have seen school after school be built and in every new tract of homes a park with equipment for little children. When is Temecula going to realize we have a need for our middle- and high-school kids?

My main concern is our skateboarders. There is not a street corner or sidewalk that you don't see a child or group of children skating. To most of you, it is a hindrance and they are looked at as troublemakers. Being a parent of skateboarders, it is very frustrating the lack of places these children have to skate.

We have one skate park for hundreds of kids to skate, but there are parks in every area of town. Not only is the skate park too small but the children have to pay to skate. This gets very expensive for parents. The only alternative is to skate wherever they can which has become a problem. No one wants them in their area and they are constantly being harassed and kicked out with no place to go.

We need to find a safe alternative for these children. I'm not sure what it would cost or the liabilities of building a bigger skate park, but it sure would be a relief to the parents, schools and businesses in our town.

KATHRYN SCOTT

Temecula

Politics more and more like sewage


Thank you for printing Ray Haynes' column of Dec. 5, ("Canary is on life support"). It is perfectly positioned between the editorial cartoon about Republican Congressman Duke Cunningham's disgrace and the article on page A-7 about sewage.

Assemblyman Haynes seems to be making the point that some canaries are playing football with "hazardous gas." But wait, now I get it. This is all a setup so he can call Susan Kennedy, Arnold Schwarzenegger's new chief of staff, "hazardous gas" (name-calling is not very sportsmanlike) and fault the governor for not throwing the "ball" to "our team." Then, overlooking the fact that he allegedly represents all the flesh and blood people of his district, he emphasizes that "our team" is the "conservative agenda." Is that the only team Mr. Haynes is playing on?

In keeping with Haynes' theme of "hazardous gas," the sewage article was about the public health hazard of deteriorating septic tanks. The people of Quail Valley used to trust that their sewage would simply go away. Now, it is seeping into their ground water and backing up into their homes. Does that remind anyone of politics?

Lately, we have had too much hazardous gas spewing out of our uncivil lawmakers. Potty-mouthed, mean-spirited, name-calling politics is full of the same stuff the septic tanks are full of. In 2006, let's vote in some fresh air.

PAT PROUD

Temecula