Projects debate takes on vitriolic tone After I wrote my last letter to the editor concerning the Whitney Project in La Jolla Shores (“Setting The Record Straight, ” Jan 2, 2012), I waited for the Whitney-aimed lightening bolts to rain down upon my home. When nothing happened for a month or two, I figured my advice (to suck it up and get on with the application) had been taken to heart and I merrily departed for the family “cabin in the woods,” confident the worst of the vendetta was over. When I returned a few weeks ago, I was shocked to hear the battle was still raging. After reading a few recent letters to the editor and catching up on a couple I had missed, I am dismayed at the vitriolic and mean-spirited tone the conflict has taken. The situation has become a “theater of the ridiculous.” Mr. Whitney’s attacks on those who oppose him seems misguided and off target. If he wants to garner support for his project, I hardly think alienating the whole community is a profitable course. If he wants to show himself to be a vindictive and mean-spirited poor loser, then he may have made his point. Both sides of the conflict have been accused of having similar situations: a non-conforming use or non-permitted addition or some other sort of ministerial problem with their property. To make this a topic is an attempt to smear those who disagree and create a totally hostile environment. The actuality is that most of the accusations have been found to be false or have been resolved seems to be lost in the chatter. The issue of  non-conforming current use is nothing more than a red herring. It is an attempt to mislead the community. The real issue is the merit, or lack of merit, of the proposed Whitney project. That is where the battle lies. It’s not about who the decision makers are, who the new councilmember might be, who is supporting who, or any other extraneous matter. It is about the merits of the proposed project. Mr. Whitney wants to steer the discussion away from the actual facts — a classic tactic of misdirection. As the Wizard of Oz said, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain …” — Fritz Liebhardt, La Jolla