I enjoyed reading the article of Mr. Steven Hill, “E.U. Solution to U.S. Illegal Immigration.” However there are some comparisons that are almost in the area of science fiction and reveal partial ignorance.
Readers can read sentences like “the European Union admitted 10 new nations into their backyard. Like Mexico, all of these nations were poor, some of them fairly backward, corrupt and recently ravaged by war and communist dictatorship.”
None of these countries were ever so poor like Mexico; in fact they were always the so-called Second World.
Some of them have nuclear technology, some of them manufactured equipment which flew on Mir Space Station and other Soviet science projects for decades. Hungary has had the biggest bus manufacturer in the world with buses Ikarus from Thailand to Indiana, USA. These are just a few examples.
The statement that these countries were “ravaged by war” only makes me ask which war was that and when did it take place?
Apart from that, the thesis is quite well formed, for the EU tackles an array of issues better than the US (from immigration to the implementation of the Metric System).
Thank you for your attention,
Martin Raychev
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I am sitting here feeling personally insulted by the article on Ashes and Snow by Steve Stajich. I feel as if I have been told I have no artistic taste whatsoever because I happened to enjoy this exhibit. Yes, the high ceilings, the “art” suspended in air, the tranquil music…all of it. I have been to more galleries than I could begin to mention and at times I find the work breathtaking and sometimes I wonder how someone can call what they do “art” at all. However, one must always go into an exhibit with an open mind…and a respect for the way that particular artist sees the world. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Mr. Stajich was insulting, period. I wonder what purpose an editorial like that actually serves. Maybe he has crossed too far over that line of cynicism and can only see the negative? I find that sad. Ashes and Snow was the result of passion and hard work. It is what it is, not to be compared to anything else. To insult an exhibit like this one is to insult all those who thought it was so much more than Mr. Stajich was able to see.
Thank you.
Nancy Wiggs
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Steve Stajich implies that Ashes and Snow and Bubba Gump epitomize the term “themed entertainment.” He draws an interesting parallel. What he forgot to comment on is that after Ashes packs up and leaves, we will have our coastal views, and some additional peace and quiet, restored.
We will continue, however, to have an expensive, non-locally operated, themed restaurant that has no reason to take up valuable space in our unique coastal zone, and even worse, a constant reminder that Santa Monica residents and visitors were deprived of a locally-operated restaurant, themed and tied to Route 66.
The Coastal Zone should not constantly be looked at as a money-making and people-attracting resource. Every square inch of Santa Monica doesn’t have to be a multi-purpose room.
David E. Moss
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Editor’s Note:
The Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City has asked Santa Monica residents to write letters to the City employees who will be making decisions regarding a new traffic study. For the second week, the Mirror is publishing a sampling of the letters:
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After a nice spring break, Santa Monica Little League families returned to Memorial Park to discover that parking meters are being installed. The problems at this location are: 1) not enough field space and 2) not enough parking space. Parking meters will do nothing to help these problems. They will only increase frustration among parents, just another notch in the belt of our diminishing quality of life in Santa Monica. No tourists or businesses will be impacted, only families with children. The curse I wish on the bean-counter who came up with this idea is this: that he or she should be blessed with ten children, that they all play sports in Santa Monica, and that none of them have practices or games at the same time. Hope you don’t get a ticket!
Paula Goldman
Santa Monica
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I live on 4th Street. To get to my bank on 4th Street, I drive up to 5th Street just to make the mile drive doable. Driving down 4th Street is like sitting on the freeway going eastbound from Santa Monica at 4pm. The traffic doesn’t flow. And who in the world came up with the onramp to the 10 going east from 4th Street? It’s as bad as getting onto the Ventura Freeway from the 405. This city has to move forward and fund a traffic study. I can’t believe there is even a question about this issue.
BTW, I recall the meetings we had years ago about the 4th Street “improvements” and the all the efforts done to slow the speed of traffic as well as the improved landscaping (including the new pipe and street resurfacing). The result is a disappointment. I remember well hearing the project would turn 4th Street into a “residential” street and not the freeway it was being used for. There was to be an entrance off Pico and Marine, either with a sign or created with landscaping, thus showing drivers they were entering a neighborhood – a community where people lived. There was little attempt made to turn 4th Street into anything other than what it’s been for years (the circle doesn’t slow anyone down) and the street is still a highway where crosswalks are mostly ignored.
Hope you attempt to solve some other traffic issues better than the 4th Street speed problem was handled.
Deborah Levin
Santa Monica
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Why is it that visitors to this part of the city call it “Stinkin’ Lincoln?” I know the answer and so do you – there are too many cars – and unregulated traffic.
I live a long block from Lincoln Blvd but the traffic, even at night, is so heavy, that I can hear the cars even in the middle of the night!
Whatever happened to the quiet city I moved to some 35 years ago? I wanted to raise my children in a safe environment – that is getting to be increasingly difficult.
Ila Lavont
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No matter how much you study traffic, being in it and observing it is the only real test of how traffic mitigation attempts have impacted traffic.
I have lived in Santa Monica all my life, 52 years. I have seen the increases in traffic due to population growth and the things that have been done to make traffic worse (it seems on purpose) here in Santa Monica.
The City Counsel in its infinite lack of wisdom has done many things to make traffic worse in order to get people out of their cars and onto their feet, bicycles, and public transportation by reducing numbers of lanes, corner extensions, traffic circles, speed bumps, etc.
We live in southern California where the automobile rules. We cherish our freedom of mobility so much that we will pay for the gasoline no matter what it costs. The local “radical” environmentalists still drive their SUV’s.
Almost everything this City Council has done for the last 25-30 years has made our city worse in many respects. They are homeless friendly, business unfriendly and don’t understand traffic. Keep in mind that the City Counsel for the last 25+ years has been filled with people from the east coast that have been elected by people from the east coast. Last “local” that tried to run for City Council couldn’t get enough signatures to get on the ballot.
When you do your traffic studies, please use common sense and not just what you learned in college. Theories are great. Facts are facts. Please use common sense and wisdom.
Thank you,
Adrian D. Reif
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Please do something! It is almost impossible to leave Santa Monica in the afternoon. The traffic is so stopped up it is a total nightmare. If you have to get somewhere anytime after 2pm you might as well forget it. Hours upon frustrating hours are wasted in the car and appointments are missed. There has got to be something more efficient to get to other parts of Los Angeles and the Valley. (If only we had a good metro system, it would help millions.)
Georja Umano Jones
