City Council Should Limit News Helicopter Hover Rights
My toddler son and I recently were jarred awake at an ungodly hour by a news helicopter orbiting near the 10 Freeway. This was not the first time I’ve been woken up by a helicopter over Santa Monica’s skies, not traversing through on its way somewhere, but hanging around for what seemed like forever, probably annoying many thousands of Santa Monica residents. Many of these helicopters are operated by the television news channels.
The continued exploitation of Santa Monica airspace must stop, and the City Council may have authority to do so under existing noise pollution laws. The news organizations that operate these choppers would argue that their free speech would be jeopardized, which is a ridiculous argument. A helicopter doesn’t need to park itself over the scene of an accident. Nothing on the ground changes fast enough to require constant vigilance from the sky. Santa Monica would not be restricting the free passage of aircraft through its airspace, so the FAA probably wouldn’t mind. The City would merely be telling “ghetto birds” not to stick around, violating residents’ right to peace and quiet.
Lee Fischman
Santa Monica
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Reference the article on how the lady actress, in the role of Ms. Drew, “Nancy Blew: Nancy Drew” was unable to depict actions of an inquisitive female in the “old world.” As a representative of that world (my age: over 70), mental wondering becomes, “Why didn’t the writer place all the blame on the director/writer and the producers.” Both of them have the responsibility to be honest with their script writing or change the name of the movie so that it is not related to the original. You are correct with explaining it was an “updated version” of the original writer’s writings.
Hja van Tobruk
Los Angeles
