March 29, 2024 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

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I was walking my dogs to the beach Wednesday and was shocked to see the mural by Jean Golden has been tagged across its length. I haven’t been down there for a while but I think the tagging is fairly recent. I have noticed a growth of tagging around Bundy but did not realize how bad it had become on Main. I love the murals in the area and I can’t understand why we are not doing anything to repair and preserve them. The least we can do is set up surveillance cameras. It wouldn’t be that expensive to bolt 1/8th inch sheets of plastic over them. We could ask some of our more affluent residents to adopt the murals and provide those things.

We need to remove the tagging and repair the murals. We need to take the city back. Who ever has done this has established their dominance. Are we going to bow our necks to people who have such contempt for this city and the people in it?

Peggy Marton

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Re: Response to letter to editor from HP Epstein

In May of this year I applied for the position of the assistant to the City Manager, Community Relations position for the City of Santa Monica. The qualifications read in part “responsible for coordinating city publications, media relations, communications planning, customer service and crisis communications, the oversight of a staff of nine in the Community Information Division, which includes CableTV.” I believe this is the position that was given to Ms. Miyasoto.

After filling out a four-page application and attaching my resume online, I was sent an automatic email informing me that I would be contacted if the powers that be thought me worthy of taking an exam. What kind of an exam I’ll never know as I received a form letter that read in part, “For your information, only those applicants who appear to have had the most closely related education, training and experience have been invited to continue in the examination process for this position. Your application is not among this group.”

If HP Epstein’s information about Mona Miyasoto’s qualifications or lack thereof are correct, not only was I qualified, I should have received a gift basket. It’s no secret that the city must post employment opportunities to the public even if they have no intention of ever actually interviewing anyone outside of their inner circle because after all they are an equal opportunity employer.

Based on Mr. Epstein’s information, I’ve probably lived in Santa Monica (thirty years) longer than Ms. Miyasoto has lived on this earth or in Santa Monica for that matter. As a longtime resident of this city and a person of color, I’ve experienced firsthand the need for experience and diversity in a city that has become increasing homogenized and desensitized to the needs of its longtime residents. In addition to a Communications degree from U.S.C., I have over ten years of media and public relations experience and all I got was a lousy form letter from H.R. So I too would like to know who was responsible for Ms. Miyasoto’s good fortune.

Valerie Scott

Santa Monica

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