Don’t be fooled by the slander
An open letter to the people of San Diego:
What a disgusting spectacle!
We are witnessing the shameless targeting of City Attorney Mike Aguirre in the most bizarre and transparently phony campaign ever! Aguirre is the truly unique, honest, fearless, brilliant and hardest-working advocate the people of San Diego have ever had.
It is the same “public servants” and their cronies who have been at the center of the fiscal scandals who are now determined to shift the blame for all city problems to Aguirre. And the mayor and the Union Tribune are happily joining in.
People of San Diego, don’t let the slander fool you. Stand up for Aguirre!
Tanja Winter, La Jolla
Just not natural
I read the letter in the May 3, 2007 issue of the La Jolla Village News by Cindy Benner on the harbor seal situation at the Children’s Pool (“Kids naturally understand,” page 8). The San Diego City Council has received a number of opinions with regards to making the Children’s Pool a reserve for harbor seals and they know this would be a terrible idea for the animals that use this beach.
Marine mammal researchers have stated time and time again that harbor seals and sea lions which use public areas (beaches or docks) lose their fear of humans and thus lose a significant level of their wild behavior. Public beaches and docks are not natural, wild environments for harbor seals or other pinnipeds.
Kent Trego, La Jolla
Distillers have the most to lose
While I agree that the laws regarding DUI offenders should be strengthened (“Victims work for tougher DUI, hit-and-run laws,” Village News, May 3, page 3), I believe the focus is on the wrong culprit.
First, there’s the ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control) which continues to grant alcohol licenses without regard for high crime and over-concentration in our PB community. Based on our population, PB has 10 times the number of licenses it’s supposed to have, and continues to rank highest in DUI citations.
Then there’s the City Council which chronically condones the licenses which the ABC issues. Even when the council or the city attorney or the police file objections, the administrative law judges (who are appointed by and paid by the ABC) overrule the protests based on their super-liberal interpretation of Public Convenience & Necessity.
Next, there’s the all-powerful and generous liquor lobby which influences the legislators who write the laws regarding alcohol licensing. Licenses generate money; each year, San Diego County alone receives 100 more licenses, regardless of the state-mandated limit.
Finally, there’s the distillers and distributors of alcohol which remain oblivious to and remote from the consequences of those who choose to drink and attempt to drive.
Of all these “usual suspects,” the distillers have the most to lose from any attempt to hold them accountable for the dangers inherent in the abuse of their product. Remember the multi-billion-dollar tobacco settlement? After years of litigation and a Congress reluctant to face the health problems linked to smoking, massive pay-outs were made to educate the public about the dangers of smoking.
So why not a similar effort to hold alcohol manufacturers accountable for the obvious dangers inherent in using and abusing their product? Why aren’t the families of those devastated by a drunk driver shifting their focus to the ultimate cause of their losses and grief?
Where are all the warning labels on bottles similar to those on packs of cigarettes?
Alfred C. Strohlein, Pacific Beach
