Where is the parking problem?
After the large turnout of La Jollans who voiced their opposition to metered parking at the recent La Jolla Parking Board meeting (no one other than board members spoke in favor of paid parking); after the results of the business poll showed 642 La Jolla businesses against and only 73 for metered parking and after the wishes of the community have become crystal clear that La Jolla doesn’t want on-street paid parking, why are we still talking about it?
The parking board’s current seven member make-up is certainly open to question as Promote La Jolla is allowed to appoint three of the members and all of them are vocal parking meter advocates. Isn’t Promote La Jolla supposed to represent the businesses of La Jolla? Then, why does the board of PLJ continue to appoint pro-meter parking representatives to the parking board when the businesses are opposed?
A remedy is apparent:
1. The board of directors of PLJ should immediately appoint appropriate representatives to the parking board who represent the wishes of its membership.
2. Present members of the board of PLJ who don’t feel they are capable of representing the membership should immediately resign and allow the membership to elect new board members who are willing to appoint appropriate representatives to the parking board who will reflect the wishes of the membership.
How can La Jollans make this more clear? This isn’t a question of whether or not parking meter revenues will come back to La Jolla. This is about ” La Jolla doesn’t want on-street paid parking! The failure of Promote La Jolla’s parking board representatives to properly reflect the wishes of their own membership and of the parking board’s other paid parking proponents’ failure to reflect the overwhelming majority of the community is La Jolla’s “real” parking problem.
Why not take parking meters off the table and get to the business of improving La Jolla’s parking situation? Whether you as a La Jollan think we have a parking “problem” or not; better enforcement, re-striping, improved signage, sensible use of commercial, passenger loading and valet zones, and well-thought-out time-limit spaces will certainly make downtown parking a better experience for all of us.
Keith N. Kelman, K. Nathan Gallery, La Jolla

Loitering is not the problem
Which is more obnoxious? “Transient loitering” on benches or affluent women “loitering” on benches in La Jolla?
Esther Viti’s bench sitting is shameful evidence of her arrogance and ignorance. Those benches may have been donated, but they are public space for everyone to use. Her offer of bus tickets to send homeless out of La Jolla is too offensive to be laughable.
I recommend that Viti buy herself a one-way bus ticket to New Mexico. Her nasty bench sitting campaign to keep out homeles people is unbelievably mean-spirited and a greater embarrassment to our Village than any presence of poor people. She is clearly an affluent woman who has no clue about the hardships of homelessness. She might try sleeping on those benches for a month to see how great a treat they are. Or she might try listening to the stories of a homeless person’s life.
The problem is not loitering, but the presence of poverty and homelessness in our country. The presence of poor people is a reminder that all is not well in the USA. It is time that San Diego (including La Jolla) considers an outstanding program that has been successful in New York and many other cities. It provides homeless people with decent housing, a support system, counseling and most of all hope. What a radical idea!
“Helping people reclaim lives lost: We restore hope and dignity by offering opportunities for health and self-sufficiency ” Read about the Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC), http://www.brc.org.

Tanja Winter, La Jolla