Microplastics no longer under the radar I like to skim your paper for local news and I’m so glad to see you covering something so important as microplastics (“Facing facts about castoff microplastics in the ocean,” Village News, Feb. 11, page B·1). I pride myself on being an informed consumer, but as a busy mother of three some things go under the radar and this was one of them. I quickly checked all my beauty products and was relieved to see no microplastics in them, and I certainly won’t be purchasing them anytime in the future. Thanks for providing valuable consumer information that has as huge impact on our planet. Marie Hemming, La Jolla Sad day for surfing My name is Roger Raffee. Today I went surfing at Tourmaline surf park. A kitesurfer named Ross buzzed me closely a couple of times. I yelled at him to please stay away from me. I didn’t use any obscenities in asking him to do so, but I was a bit perturbed. A little while later I took off on a nice wave. While taking off I noticed him on his kiteboard a long distance off, maybe 75 yards or so closer to PB Point than I was, but on the same wave. After I dropped in and was making a turn I was hit hard by him. Judging by the way he flew off his board, he appeared to have been going full speed. The collision was loud and my board was dinged. He bounced towards another surfer, then recovered and took off. I asked the other surfer if he saw what happened, and got his name. Then I got the name of another surfer who saw it. I went in and used the Tourmaline call box to call the lifeguards who then called the police. I wanted to place an assault charge against the kiteboarder. The chief lifeguard at the scene was not on my side, not at all. He told the cop that the kitesurfer told him I dropped in front of him and that the ding on my board appeared to him, the lifeguard, to already have been there. He said, in a very negative tone, that he had heard about me, that I was from Windansea as if being from Windansea implied I was a bad person. I was dumbstruck at the lifeguard’s obvious negative attitude toward me. I replied it’s true, I’m from Windansea but my reputation, whatever it is, is purely for how I ride waves, not for any mischief I ever caused in or out of the water. The cop was trying to be neutral but he didn’t understand and couldn’t comprehend that a kitesurfer shouldn’t be running into surfers. To him it was just an accident of some type, and therefore as far as he was concerned nobody should be at fault. Josh Hall and Justin Larigione were the other surfers who saw what happened. They both said the kitesurfer headed for me at full speed from a long ways off and ran straight in to me. As I said, I didn’t see him coming. I thought the kitesurfer belonged in jail for reckless endangerment or assault. The cop put us together and asked the kitesurfer to apologize, which he did, although grudgingly. I told the kitesurfer that he had no business riding anywhere close to surfers. He said that it was his understanding that the person first on the wave has the right of way. He said that in front of the cop but that apparently made no impression on the officer. I am 50 now, but when I was younger I spent many years surfing all over the Hawaiian Islands, including the North Shore. Five years ago I spent the entire winter surfing Hanalei Bay and Kauai. It seems to me my life is more in danger now, surfing a mellow windy day at Tourmaline than any of the big wave situations I ever faced in Hawaii. The head lifeguard in charge was against me, clearly, and the cop didn’t understand. That’s sad. I could have been killed or badly injured, and all I was trying to do was catch a pretty, mellow wave at Tourmaline. I didn’t make a complaint about it just because I was angry, which I was, but mainly because I wanted to do something that might help this from happening again. Maybe next time it will be your son or daughter. I hope you print this letter because I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t speak up, and it will be even more sad if something isn’t done about it. Roger Raffee, La Jolla LWV asks for ‘strong mayor’ extension San Diegans will be asked in June to vote on locking in the city’s experiment with a “strong mayor” form of government.  The League of Women Voters believes that the public should have more time to evaluate what will be a transformative City Charter revision — the first in 80 years. The League proposed a separate choice on the June ballot to extend the trial period of the strong mayor system. The option to extend the trial period was made explicit when the strong mayor experiment began in 2004. A representative from the mayor’s office attacked the League proposal during a City Council committee discussion last week. He said, “The Mayor believes that this measure, the League’s measure, is a strategy to sink strong-mayor by confusing voters.” Quite the contrary, informing voters about complex and confusing matters of government has always been the League’s high purpose. The League wants to give San Diego voters more time to make a wise decision about whether, when or how to revise the San Diego City Charter. This is consistent with the League’s longstanding commitment to the strengthening of voters’ rights and democratic and ethical government.  Norma Damashek President, San Diego League of Women Voters